How to Throw An Eco Friendly Birthday!

Stay up to date on the latest posts. Subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

** Editors Note: I originally had this posted as a page so I’m reposting here and made a few changes!

It’s coming up on a year since we celebrated Mr. Tristar’s Earth Day First Birthday! It went well. I owe my sister a huge THANKS for sticking behind the scene’s and getting er’ done!  You want to talk domesticated this girl is like lightening when it comes to a party.  Had she not have been there we probably would not have pulled it off as successfully.

Throwing an environmentally friendly party for your little one may sound difficult- but quite honestly, it’s not. Really. I enjoyed putting the extra effort into everything. I think it adds a little more of the downhome warm fuzzy’s aspect. There just wasn’t a minute that went by while planning for this that I felt inconvenienced. The joy and happiness I felt during the planning and the party was worth every extra minute. Rememeber, the key is to have fun and relax…enjoy all the moments because they go fast!

Alright, I’ll get down right to it…

We used Echoage for the invitations! “Where children celebrate giving” Rather than your guest buy a plastic toy gift for your child they donate a comfortable amount to a cause. In our case, we chose the Earth Corps., campaign. Echoage receives 15% for the work and the rest of is split in half- 50% going to the charity and the other 50% to the child!! We received our Echoage check nt to long after his birthday and Tristan contributed 51.00 dollars to the Earth Corps. charity- www.earthcorps.org

This happened to work out perfect for us because we were celebrating a first birthday. I honestly, think this was a one time shot…but I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Explain to your child the concept and go from there. SO, if you can’t Echoage your child’s party you can also consider using Evite,  Pinng, or Hallmark (my favorite is Hallmark) We used Hallmark for the Thank You cards. Should you decide to use traditional paper invitations, consider, purchasing cardstock made out of recycled paper.

Having the party outdoors is a benefit because the children can enjoy being in nature…or perhaps even going to a botanical garden or outdoor center of sorts…get the kids unplugged for the day. Now for the fun part, the treats and goodies. We made a cake from scratch using the recipe “First Birthday” cake out the book Homemade Baby Food- Pure & Simple- By Connie Lindardakis. It was a hit.. You can also use these beeswax candles to top the cake with.

I also made a pinata using a paper bag and newspaper. It was so much fun filling the bag up with goodies. With having a few older kids at the party and a pinata being tradition in my family I did buy some candy. For the candy, I bought organic lolipops, organic apple bars, organic raisin packs and organic chocolate balls that were wrapped in Earth print foil! You can make the goodies too- it all depends on the time you have.

For the treat bags I re-used produce bags and filled them with seed kits (strawberry, daisy, & tomato), an all metal kiddie shovel and added a pair of socks all found in the dollar section at Target. I didn’t hear any kids whining because their favorite character wasn’t featured on the front, nor did they scream and shout about the goodies not being cheap plastic! I really wanted to sew up some treat bags but didn’t have the time to.

For your eco-friendly party supply needs, visit: One Mom and A Party I found out about this awesome site after the party.

When it came to the spread- we served foods that were local and organic.  You can certainly serve finger foods- where there is no need for utensils. We purchased the plates and utensils from Branch Home- 100% biodegradable. I wish I had more time to write about these products because they’re so amazing. www.branch.com also check out www.greenpartygoods.com

The napkins made by Stewo, I had found by luck, at Michael’s of all places in the dollar bin!!! Mom’s love the dollar bin, don’t we?!? These napkins were perfect because they were environmentally friendly and the colors were primary themed. Totally made from recycled materials.  We also had several cloth towels available. Specifically, in the bathroom were I had all the  guests place there towels into a basket after using one for easy clean-up after- plus your guest feels special using their own towel. A trick from my Grandma Zona.

To make it a little more earth friendly, in the invitation, I asked guests to bring a cell phone that needed to be recycled so that we could send them off to a a cell phone recycling company who donates the proceeds to an environmental fund. My dad brought the most phones. We ended up sending the phones to the soliders!

As far as the games, we didn’t actually get to any besides the pinata. But, you can make homemade bubbles or playdoh- We asked the kiddies to bring a t-shirt (used) to hand paint on. There are so many activities that can be done for low cost- just playing outdoor games, like freeze tag or Red Rover- whatever is age appropriate- duck, duck goose, ring and the rosy…games that bring everyone in. Even musical chairs is a classic and fun for all ages!! You don’t have to get the bounce house like The Smith family down the street did…go back to basics!!!

Your eco-wee one will have just as much fun without all the glitz and glamour. It’s not about how much money you spend anyway! It’s about the time you spent and where your heart is. I was receiving a lot of flack for the pinata but hey, for a first birthday, it really isn’t necessary to hire the clowns and bring in the circus!!!!!