b"I cut it into various sizes to fit my giftleft for the evening, we were sure to wrappingneeds,anditbecamemysendthemhomewithleftoversandIt is time to make your wishes come true!perennial reusable and stylish holidaywe would enjoy what remained in theJoin our WISH BOX in time for the gift giving season and receive wrap. This was more than 15 years ago.days following.an additional 5% discount on purchases from the wish box.AndourgiftsthemselveshaveThecurrentstatisticisjarring:It becomeeco-friendlytoo.Oncemyis estimated that in the United States brother and I were out of college, mybetween30and40percentoffood parentsevolvedtoamoresustain- producedendsupwasted.Formy ablegift-givingregimen.Noweachfamily, the idea has been simple: No year they donate to a charity of ourfood is thrown out after our mealaCELEBRATING| COME IN| PRICE POINTS TO choosing and have come to stress thelesson in valuing food, understanding importance of shopping locally and tothe resources it took to produce it and encouragethegivingofmaking sure it is not53 years inEARLYMATCH EVERY BUDGET experiences ratherwastedalongthebusiness to view our large Finest qualitythanthings:cer- way or in the end. selection of of platinum, gold, silvertificatesfordin- InthedaysNEW ARRIVALS and diamond jewelry nersatfavoriteleadinguptoourWishing all of our friends and customersrestaurants, theaterbigholidaymeal,Happy Holidays and all the best in the New Year!tickets,magazinemymomandaunt subscriptions.wouldbegingath-Besidessupport- eringtheirdishes,Beacon Jewelersing the local econ- utensilsandserv-omy or a charity,ingplatesto this eliminatesmakesurewe anotherkindhadenoughSince 1967, Maplewoods most trusted family jewelersofholidayfor the dinner.Talk to us about our diamond leasing program.waste:holi- Sometimes we daygiftsthatMadibas parents gave her their formal silver- alsoborrowed185 Maplewood AvenueMaplewood Village973-762-8497 ware when they downsized, the ultimate whenTuesday ~ Friday 10:305:30 Saturday 10:303mightother- it comes to reuse. Not only sustainable, passingfromneigh-wiseendupalong useful items is a way we can teach thebors.Ifound innextyearsnext generation to be environmentally con- greatpleasure give-wayscious. inhandling bagor,worse,inthetrash.Instead,dishes that had been in our family forH O L I D A Your family frequents local South Or- a couple of generations, imagining theS H O P P I N Gange and Maplewood shops, and giftmany dinner parties they served.Springfield Avenuecertificates have assumed a much moreMy favorite part of the process was prominent role. Taken together, theseopeningthewoodenboxlinedwithM A P L E W O O Dchanges have gone a long way towardsredvelvetfabricwhereourfamilysMillburn AveURBAN CYCLERY SHOP A LBERT JOSEPH GALLERYmaking our holiday gift giving sustain- formalsilverwarewasstored.AfewRICCIARDI BROTHERS, INC MAPLEWOOD HOBBY SHOPTILE DESIGN INSPIRATION AKUABA FASHIONSable inside and out. yearsback,whenmyparentsdown- N&K PRIME MARKETPLACE MAPLE CHEK FOOD & LIQUORSFoodistheothercustomatthesized, they sent the box of silverwareDESIGN STUDIO BATH&KITCHEN PRO ELITE NUTRITIONtop of our list. Early in December myto my husband and me. The smell ofPark Avemom would place a blank piece of pa- the boxs interior brings me back in anASTAH'S FINE ART GALLERY WINE BARRELHAIRLOT/TEXTUREper on the desk in our kitchen. Oneinstant and now has become the scentLEXANN PHARMACY Prospect StMICHAEL LAMONT NECKWEARYALE CORNER RETAIL MARKETside of the sheet awaited ideas for ourof my own holidays. GENERAL STORE COOPERATIVE (SATURDAYS 11AM-3PM UNTIL 12/19)Christmas menu and the other a list ofThough not conscious of it at theT-MOBILE Yale StTOP HAT AND TAILSguests to invite. I enjoyed brainstorm- time,InowrealizethatmyfamilyTRIMARCO JEWELERS JOE CANAL'S ERALDOLLAR GENSHERWIN WILLIAMSing the menu and it always became awas deliberately fostering the habit ofREMERCH Rutgers Stfamily debate.sharing resources rather than the con- MAPLEWOOD A WNING & SHADE PENN TOOL S UTO PARTSMyfatherwantedthesamebigvenience of single-use items, of whichLOTUS P ETALS FLORAL DESIGN ADVANCED A NE AND LIQUORSARMOIRE CONSIGNMENTKASPER'S WIDOLLAR TREEchunks of meat served over rice thatthelargemajority,ifnotall,isnot7-ELEVENhelikedtocallRichMansStew.recyclable:Single-useplasticutensilsFINLAY + GAGE IKE SHED Tuscan RdMAPLEWOOD BI, on the other hand, would want toand cups, as well as paper plates, be- WALG REENS R STAMP WORKSACME RUBBEF&W CLOTHIERtry something trendy that I had readcome large quantities of trash immedi- AL SHAMS ABAYAS AL HAWA PLACE OF FASHIONMAPLEWOOD BRIDabout in a cooking magazine. What- ately after that one use. GLAM F ABRIC & DRESSMAKERRED CARPET LADYever the ultimate decision, the menuWhen my husband and I boughtTHRIFT GIFTS & MOREFAVOR TEEWAWAwascarefullyplannedbyestimatingourSouthOrangehomeeightyearsChancellorAvethenumberofguests,makingalistago, we decided to buy a box of 36 beforetheshoppingandbuyingthepartyglasses,andwehaveacquiredWWW.SPRINGFIELDAVENUE.COM/SHOPPINGappropriate amount of food. As guestsampledishesforpartiesviaother feature story /45"