Waste-Free Wednesday: The Birthday Party Edition
My youngest daughter turns 3 today, so in honor of her special day, I’d like to dedicate this Waste-Free Wednesday to learning how to throw a green and waste-free birthday party. Here’s how its done:
Invites: Save money and resources by sending invites via email or text message. If you need to send an invitation by snail mail, make sure it is printed on recycled paper.
Decorations: Skip the paper and plastic and decorate with natural items from your own backyard such as plants, flowers, leaves, and pine cones. Pick up reusable decorations such as pillows, scarves, and other fabrics. If your child just loves balloons, don’t deprive him, but make those balloons work hard to earn their place at the party. Use them as decorations and as parting gifts for friends (just make sure at least one stays home for the guest of honor).
Party Supplies: If possible, use reusable dishes, utensils, and cloth napkins. If you do need to use paper products, seek out those with the highest recycled paper content or compostable utensils. Rent or borrow items that you won’t need more than once, like large punch bowls, chaffing dishes, or insulated beverage containers.
Gift Bags: Replace the bags of gift junk with eco-friendly gifts such as consumables (cookies or lollipops are always a hit for kids, or try plants or flowers for adults), tickets (sporting events, movies, museums), or reusables (picture frames or art supplies).
Food: Avoid waste by thinking conservatively when planning the quantity of food to serve guests. You will save a bundle of time and money in food preparation and cleanup. Be sure to donate any extra non-perishable items to your local food shelter.
Trash: Set up recycling areas near your trash cans so that guests can easily recycle cans, paper, and glass.
My oldest son’s 4th birthday party is Sunday so this was perfect timing for me! Thank’s for the great tips!
My twins will be 4 in September, so I have some time, but I had already started thinking about ways to make this year’s party more green. Thanks for the tips.
Great tips! People definitely need to be “green” concious now. Thanks for the info.
Great ideas! Happy birthday to your little one!
Thanks for sharing! These are all great ideas especially the plastic filled
goody bags. I try to incorporate the “goody bag” into the party like a craft
project or dress-up stuff. Last year we gave a pot with seeds for my daughter’s
party. I just have to say;
Plastic bags filled with cheap plastic junk is one of my pet peeves!
Nice tips, I hate goody bags, so our party activities are what kids take home. Break your own geodes (about $1 from science stores or online) broken in an old sock (Note: have safety glasses for kids and parent supervisors) are great for 5 and up. Building NASA for kids 2-liter bottle water rockets from scrap cardboard and 2 liter bottles is a great activity for a summer birthday. Building a pinata is loads of fun. This year my 5 year old built an R2D2 pinata out of paper mache balloon, oatmeal container, two spaghetti boxes and leftover paint. Think about what’s around you, a local playground, the pile of mulch or dirt in your yard can be a place to dig for “treasure”. (Treasure can be leftover happy meal toys or too-many-matchbox cars.
let your kids guide you, they’ll come up with amazing ideas.
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i really love to attend in parties because it is fun an you met a lot of new friends.::-
i do really like parties, it is a fun way to spend your time and meet a lot of people.-;~