Comments on: How to Host a Green Birthday Party

By: Purvi

Purvi — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:21:00 +0000

One of the ideas I have started implementing as a party-goer is to give money (read cash) as a gift instead of toys. This is very traditional in India where I am from, but people have moved away from it. I take my daughter’s help in drawing small flowers/writing names (she is 3.5) on the envelope, slide some cash in it and seal the envelope. It feels different practicing that here when you see the room full of huge sparkly gift bags and you having a teeny weeny envelope you fear might get lost, but I am getting used to handling that myself. I make sure I tell the parent of the birthday child that I have her gift in a small envelope so make sure you see it/get it and sometimes I make sure to give it in their hands so it doesnt get lost. Having done this in 4 parties already now in the past 15 days, I feel much better. If you want to give cash, why even spend on the gift cards and contribute to the plastic trash?

By: Hmdavis2010

Hmdavis2010 — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:28:00 +0000

We have been doing green parties for a number of years. We have a compost and chickens so many of our items are designed to either be put in the compost or be eaten by the chickens. The plates we use are sugar cane ware and the cups and utensils are vegetable based instead of plastic. All biodegradable. I have used in the past nice washable tables clothes or biodegradable ones that can be thrown into the compost. The “Goody Bags” consisted of wood whistles, bouncy balls and parachute men. I made ribbon wands using wood dowels, wood beads and ribbon. They were a huge hit.
Most of our friends and families now are philosophy and beliefs and respect it and even participate in activities. The few who have grumbled… oh well.
As too gifts… this year was the first we asked for donations. My son actually came up with the idea after he saw that the local exotic animal rescue needed money for a bear in closure. I made it optional but not mandatory and we had a few parents give both a donation and small gift to my son.
I am proud to say I am a Waldorf Mom so many of our decorations, activities, and meals were inspired by Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf community. This year we were cooped upside for my Son’s birthday party. The theme was imagination, trains and airplanes. It was great! We had forts, airports, train stations, and a castle.

I have boxes of stuff that I find over the year that can be used for future projects and birthdays.

Have fun and be imaginative.

By: Amber

Amber — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:37:19 +0000

Some more ideas…

- Ask guests to be creative in their wrapping, and choose things that can be repurposed, such as a toy bin, a canvas book bag, a lunch box or a photo box.

- Use stevia or xylitol for baking in place of sugar (natural sweeteners that don’t produce that blood-sugar spike).

- Repurpose cheap toys your kids get from McDonald’s or whatever into the goodie bags.

- Buy blank canvas bags and let the kids paint their names on them as well as sponge designs for an activity and a take-home gift.

- If the party is in the late fall/winter, you could have the kids make bird cookies to take home and feed to their local wild birds. (Again, a craft and a goodie.)

- Stock up on some recycled items (like egg cartons and cereal boxes), find some instructions online, and have the kids create a craft out of these items.

- Have all guests chip in for one large gift for your kid, such as a wooden play kitchen, a swingset, a wooden train table, or whatever your child is into.

I’m so glad I ran into this website! I have two kids’ birthdays coming up, plus others to attend, and I would really like to find ways to reduce waste, and break the cycle of “typical” birthday parties!

By: Kelli

Kelli — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:37:07 +0000

I make my own containers to put snacks in out of our old cardboard milk cartons. I cut the top off and wrap then with tissue or crepe paper. You can use stickers or print off pictures to match the theme of the party.

By: Akila Rao

Akila Rao — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:51:06 +0000

How was Emma’s 1st bday…am planning one too for my 1 yr old son in a month….any ideas?

By: Asli

Asli — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 22:55:39 +0000

I discovered your blog a couple of days ago, but finally got a chance today to go through it. I love love love your ideas on green birthday parties. Thank you!

By: erinn

erinn — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:26:19 +0000

can i write on the seeded invitation after I’ve made it from my junk mail?

By: Rawne

Rawne — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:03:55 +0000

I;m not totally “green” savy. But we have made tissue paper flowers. They are really neat and pretty easy. You can make them pretty big too. We used white paper and dipped it into a bit of watercolor. They looks like peonies.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:23:28 +0000

I just used this company for my daughter’s 8th birthday party. They are located in the greater toronto area in Canada. The girls made jewelery using glass beads made from recycled material and sterling silver wire. The jewelery was the children’s loot bag and because the jewelery was so beautiful and made from glass material the girls still wear it and treasure it as a keepsake. The company was very eco conscious, they spoke to the girls about recycling and reusing. I was very impressed.

By: disha

disha — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:50 +0000

we are having a simple, low key ice cream social (my husband is making the ice cream!) for my daughter’s second bday party. and i would like to find alternatives to balloons. i really like the paper ball decoration in the photo you feature (it’s aqua blue), do you know what this is called and where i can get them? thanks!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:11:04 +0000

I love the ideas for the Green B-day party! We will be celebrating Emma Jewell’s 1st bday next month. I am in search for a small eco friendly play set, with a slide for her bday, any ideas?

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:56:18 +0000

this is so timely as my oldest is turning 4 in two weeks. we are having a kitty cat themed party at our local park. invitations were made from recycled construction paper scraps. no paper products here – using reusuable plates, cups and cutlery from kids IKEA. the guests are asked to bring cat food to donate to the local animal shelter and the gift bags will be miniature plants (“cat nip”) so no “bags” required. we will be playing old fashion games like “cat, cat, dog” (duck, duck, goose) and pin the tail on the kitty. I love all your suggestions and will make sure we incorporate as many as we can to make it another green party! :)

By: Jeanie

Jeanie — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:56:44 +0000

I just discovered your site and love it. We did many birthdays at the beach, clean up is so easy there. We did a dino party and had kids-all under 5- dress up as cave people. Cake was homemade carrot cake with cream cheese icing and was loved by all. It was shaped like a harry(coconut) mamoth. Games were hit the bolder (paper bages stuffed with goodies) Goodies can be crayons, natural candy, etc) We had a race of huffalumps and woozels. It was very sweet.

By: Natividad Nieves

Natividad Nieves — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:52:45 +0000

How can I do a green party for my 21 birthday?

By: Tracey McBride

Tracey McBride — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:07:28 +0000

Oh my goodness…all these ideas are fantastic!! I am loving the plantable paper. We did this years ago at a “Garden Tea Party” for Katie’s birthday. I love how you think. Thank you so much for sharing.
Warmly,
Tracey

By: Miriam

Miriam — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:03:53 +0000

Great ideas! We’ve tried very hard not to fall into the extravagant party trap and have so far succeeded. A big thing in these parts is a craft project which can be fun and green though messy.