Environmental groups say the Christmas holiday period is the time of the year when we have the greatest impact on the environment, especially when it comes to plastic. Many children's toys, for example, are packaged in plastic.

Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to lessen that impact and ensure you have a merry and “green” Christmas.

“If you can choose an alternative, for example, we recommend that people buy things like books or wooden toys or perhaps go through the process of recycling toys, if they know people who've got younger kids, kids that are growing up and they can pass their toys onto younger kids,” said Boomerang Alliance deputy director Jayne Paramor.

A Christmas tree is often the centerpiece for a lot of people's decorations. When faced with the decision of buying a real or artificial tree, which one is more environmentally friendly?

“There are lots of arguments against real trees. Ultimately the fact that you are growing a tree in order to have a Christmas tree is a good start because they are out in the environment, they are processing carbon dioxide, they are producing oxygen, they are doing the right thing from that perspective,” said Paramor.

The downside to buying real trees is that they are used for a month or so and then discarded. The key is how you dispose of that tree.

“One of the things we benefit from here is that we provide a recycling collection service where we bring them back and we mulch them and put them back into the ground,” said Dural Christmas Tree Farm owner Leo Demasi.

Demasi uses the mulch to help grow future crops and says it helps hold moisture in the ground, especially in drought conditions.

For artificial trees, Paramor recommends buying ones made from recycled materials, and that you use them for years to come. Also, use paper decorations instead of plastic, and use solar lights.