The Green Parent

On Wednesdeay The Green Parent asked, “Is it OK to come right out and ask for green gifts?” Sixty-one percent of you think is, while 29% think it’s tacky to ask for any kind of gift, green or not. The other 11% think it depends upo the age of the child.

So for those of you that think it’s OK to ask for a green gift, how do you go about doing it? Here are the best tips from Green Parents around the country.

No Gifts, please: Skip gifts altogether by suggesting “no gifts, please,” on the party invitation. Without the hassle of gifts, party goers can come together to celebrate the guest of honor without worrying about who gave the best present. The downside is that not everyone will abide by that request.

Gift Exchanges: Ask guests to bring a unisex wrapped gift of a certain dollar amount (say, $10,) and exchage gifts with a game so that every guest goes home with a gift. Books are a popular gift exchange item. Added bonus: eliminates the pressure to hand out wasteful party favors.

Donations: In lieu of gifts, ask guests to bring wish list items for a favorite charity such as books for the library, pet supplies for the animal shelter, or presents for children in a nearby children’s hospital. After the party, the guest of honor can deliver the donations and take a picture to include in thank-you notes.

Wish Lists: Wish lists or gift registries are another good option. Depending upon your situation, you can ask friends and family for specific gifts or donations toward one meaningful gift. There are even a few cool companies that can help you do this. Wishpot lets parents set up a wish list and add items from any store or charity to their list. DreamBank offers a similar service, allowing “dreamers’ to choose one meaningful dream that guests can contribute towards while also generating funds that are donated to charities. And ECHOage let’s party guests and well-wishers pool funds which can then be divided with half going towards the purchase of ONE memorable gift for the birthday child and the other half going to a charity of their choice.