If a big black rubbish bag is a birthday party essential, then it might be time to rethink how you celebrate your kids’ birthdays.
Planning an eco-friendly kid’s birthday party might take a little extra effort and planning, but by making the extra effort you can celebrate your little one’s milestone today while minimizing the environmental burden our kids will inevitably shoulder tomorrow. And knowing this makes it all worthwhile. At first, I found the thought of planning an eco-friendly birthday party overwhelming, but with a few easy swaps it ended up being a piece of cake (excuse the pun). Here are a few of my top tips for an eco-friendly birthday party.
Simpler is better
I think when it comes to kid’s parties (as with many other things in life) the mantra ‘simpler is better’ rings true. After attending many kids’ parties over the years, I am convinced that most kids have rather simple expectations when it comes to celebrating their birthdays. A simple cake, a few decorations, their favourite food and snacks, and space to run and play is all that is needed to make them feel special.
So, mamma and pappa, ignore social media and let go of everyone’s (and especially your own) elaborate party expectations. Simplifying your little one’s party will free you to be present and enjoy the occasion instead of stressing out about all the party details.
Send an electronic invitation
Swap the paper invitations for a WhatsApp or electronic invite. Electronic invitations are the easiest eco-friendly party swap you can make. There are many free and paid websites like Punchbowl, Evite, and Paperless Post that make sending a digital invitation easy.
Rethink decorations
You want to avoid anything made of plastic or paper products that are laminated or glossy. You also want to steer away from shiny foil, glitter, and mixed media decorations, as they are not recyclable. And, unfortunately, this includes balloons. I know this seems sad, but they cause a lot of waste for something so temporary. I recently learned that the helium we use to fill party balloons is a non-renewable natural resource which is running out. We need this precious resource for running superconducting magnets in MRI scanners.
With this in mind we opted to replace balloons with a cute homemade bunny bunting made of cardboard. Paper and cloth banners and streamers, paper chains, tissue paper pom-poms, and paper fans are wonderful alternatives to plastic decorations. If your kids enjoy arts and craft, you can get them to make their own party decorations.
Decorating with natural elements, like flowers, plants, seashells, or rocks is another great eco-friendly option. I also like the idea of using things you already have. Luckily Amélie chose a bunny theme which meant we could use her stuffed toys as décor. Hanging pictures of the birthday boy or girl, or mementos from when he or she was younger, is also a cute eco-friendly décor alternative.
Food and serving
Serving drinks and food tends to be the most waste-generating aspect of any party which means you need to get creative about the ‘how’. Steering away from highly processed, packaged food is the first step. A few homemade snacks or wors (sausage) on the braai served in a bread roll is a great eco-friendly alternative to preassembled snack platters.
When it comes to serving, whatever food and drinks you have decided on, here are a few great eco-friendly serving ideas:
* Using reusable dishes will save tons of garbage from heading to the landfill.
* If reusable isn’t an option, buy compostable plates and dishes, and then be sure to actually compost them. If you can’t find or afford compostable plates opt for unlaminated plates.
* Skip the bottled water. We found serving filtered water in a large pitcher works well. If you are serving cold drinks buy the drinks in glass bottles (or plastic that can be recycled).
* If you do want to use straws get paper straws. They come in the most beautiful colours and designs.
* Fabric is always better when it comes to table cloths. Avoid plastic tablecloths that get thrown away after one use.
The school party pack
As we decided to host a small party for family and close friends at home, we chose to send party packs to school for Amelie’s class. Making these party packs eco-friendly proved a lot more challenging than we expected.
Packing an eco-friendly, less-waste party pack for toddlers is more difficult than what you might think. Standing in the sweets isle at our local supermarket I soon realized that this was going require more creativity than I had initially bargained on. After some deliberation we decided that each party pack would contain a few marshmallows and a sucker (we bought both in big packets from our supermarket) and a small packet of chips (which unfortunately was in non-recyclable packaging). We opted for packaging-free sugar cookies from a local baker in our community. We also to substitute small juice boxes with large glass bottles of freshly squeezed juice from our local plastic-free fruit and vegetable store. And instead of using Styrofoam or paper cups, we gifted each toddler with their own small tin cup, which also double-up as a gift to take home. Replacing those nasty small plastic toys with a few wax crayons and photocopied pictures worked very well.
Pay it forward
Instead of throwing your used party supplies in the dustbin (or if like me you feel too guilty to throw it away, so it ends up in a cupboard) why not share it with others. Here are some great ideas:
- Share used and extra party supplies with friends and neighbours.
- Borrow party supplies from neighbours and friends. This could be anything from buntings, tablecloths to dishes and chairs (ditto from above).
- Donate your extra or used party gear to a community project or nursing home.
- Give away old, unused, or extra stuff.
Here’s to happy (and less-waste) parties!
xxx
