For some, the ghosts of Christmases past aren’t scraggly men jingling chains, instead they are horrifying visions of discarded wrapping paper and tons of harmful carbon emissions from travel across land, sky and sea. These specters can be scared away from your celebrations by being conscious of the impact your holiday has on the planet and using these tips to have a happy and environmentally friendly holiday season.

Offset that trip: For many of us, the holidays mean traveling, and that means tons of carbon emissions going toward melting the ice caps. Where would Santa go? There are a few different companies that can offset your emissions. Give the gift of a TerraPass to your friends and family who drive or fly. The company’s Web site calculates the carbon footprint and quotes a price. One can also buy a package that pays for a year of air or car travel. The money you pay supports clean energy, such as wind power, farm power — think methane — and landfill gas capture — think more methane.

Green your Hanukkah: Buy fair trade chocolate gelt from Divine Chocolate. The Farmer Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana produces the cocoa in the coins. You can also green your celebration of the festival of lights by choosing toxin-free beeswax candles. That’s a bright idea.

Shop local, shop organic: Go pesticide and hormone-free for dinner. Buy from farmers’ markets and purchase organic meat or fake meat products, if you so prefer. Vegans can enjoy snog, an abbreviation of soy eggnog. Silk offers the dairy-free holiday treat, and with a sprinkle of nutmeg and a swig of brandy, it can be quite a delicious, animal-free treat.

Recycle that old cell phone: According to the EPA, fewer than 20 percent of cell phones are recycled. Mobile phones contain various metals and chemicals that can harm the environment if thrown away in the landfill. So, before you get a new one from Santa, visit the EPA’s Web site to find out where to recycle the phone that is so last week. You can even help your parents recycle their brick.

Green that evergreen: Many tree farms now offer trees grown without harmful chemicals so that your tree-dressing can be healthy, happy and chemical free.