Enviro Girl’s middle son has a birthday this month and they’re in the middle of planning the “Spooktacular” event. He’s helpfully decided to combine a Halloween theme with his October birthday, giving his mom an opportunity to create — and consequently blog about — throwing an environmentally friendly Halloween/birthday party.
1. The invitations were nothing special — printed on paper made from recycled materials, mailed to the guests. He asked that guests wear their Halloween costumes and bring a donation of dog food for the local Humane Society. Enviro Girl explained to her son that he has so much, he’ll get birthday gifts from grandparents and his parents, and one grandmother will give him a gift of money to buy anything his heart desires. Instead of a barrage of plastic-packaged toys made in China out of plastic, how about inviting more buddies in exchange for no gifts? And if he wanted to exploit the occasion for a worthy cause, he could ask them to bring a donation to a local charity, like the food pantry or the library. Enviro Girl’s son decided on the Humane Society. They went to the website and got details on how to donate dog food and specified the brands requested on the invitations. Mr. B wants to make a game out of this event, weighing the dog food and then having his buddies guess how much they’re donating. Score 1 for the environment and for everyone’s budget — families don’t have to shell out for a birthday present, the Humane Society gets a desperately needed donation of food, the garbage will be less full of gift wrap and packaging. Cost: $7.00 for postage and paper.
2. The decorations are all made out of recycled materials. Egg shell cartons have been made into flying bats, old boxes are the gravestones, rats and more bat silhouettes are cut out of old paper and ghosts were made out of old sheets. Sources like Martha Stewart and Family Fun have tons of great decorating ideas, most of them requiring recycled or recyclable resources. Some dry ice in old jars, strategically placed spider webs, paper mache’ “ghoul head” pinatas and carved pumpkins add spookiness to the atmosphere. By making their own decorations, Enviro Girl’s son feels even more involved with his party. Enviro Girl loves that they hardly spend a dime on this party so far. Cost: $25.00 for paint, dry ice and miscellaneous supplies.
3. Food is another matter entirely. Enviro Girl is not crafty, so a local baker will make the cake. A few bags of candy, homemade pizza, apple slices, some bowls of pretzels, chips and puppy chow round out the food. “Swampwater Punch” in a giant punch bowl will keep the boys refreshed during the party. She’ll serve up the food on real plates with real silverware. The boys will drink the “Swampwater Punch” out of real punch glasses. No garbage, just one load of dishes through the dishwasher. Cost: $60.00 for the cake and food.
4. Games are the coup de grace of any kids’ party. Of course they’ll play the “Eyeball Toss” with peeled grapes. They’ll race to see who can eat bat wings the fastest (it’s really fruit leather). They’ll play “Zombie Soccer” with old shoes screwed onto dowels and a soccer ball. They’ll pin the fangs on the vampire, enjoy a spooky scavenger hunt in the woods and break the pinatas. Cost: $10.00 for dowels, craft supplies grapes and fruit leather.
5. Gift bags — there won’t be any because Enviro Girl believes in sending children home from a party with sticky hands, huge smiles and happy memories of a great time. She’s yet to hear any complaints from either guests or their parents. Cost: $0.
6. Mr. B will write his thank you notes on hand-crafted note cards, enclosing a photo of his friends at his party. Cost: $8.00 for postage and photo development.
Grand total: about $110, less than what Enviro Girl would pay to have the same party with fewer guests at Chuck E. Cheese or any other venue.
Landfill toll: nearly zero — the leftover food scraps will go into the trash or compost bin, the party supplies can be composted or recycled or saved for another year. The guests’ contributions of dog food will go to the Humane Society.
Mr. B’s memories of the event: priceless.
Tell the Eco Women how you throw an eco-friendly party. What tips, websites or resources have you found helpful?
These are brilliant ideas!
We had two kids’ birthday parties last month and spent even less money. There were no decorations at all, because my girls are older now and tend to want “big girl” sleepover parties. We bought cupcakes at a locally-owned bakery and for favors got bags of flavored popcorn from a locally-owned popcorn shop. Both of my girls already have their own personalized stationery, so the one girl who opted receive gifts wrote her thank you notes on that.
I really worked hard to make last summer’s graduation party greener than most. It was not completely green; we did use paper plates. But I insisted on real flatware, not plastic, and we used cloth napkins instead of paper. It really made a difference in the amount of garbage. Next time – if there is a next – I’m insisting on real plates.
Great ideas! I tend to make my events green (and cheap) by simply not having them, and just hanging out… but that’s never gone over well with the family who would like to shower gifts and throw a big spectacle every chance they can. I love, love, love the idea of bringing donations as gifts, and will definitely be pushing that idea at all future events!
Good Lord. Enviro_Girl is Mrs. Logistics. Eisenhower could have used her plan Normandy Invasion, Woulda took 6 months off WWII.