Alternative Birthday Party Ideas

Growing up, my birthdays consisted of parents, grandparents, godparents, a cake, candles, and, since it was summer, endless games of kick the can, ghost in the graveyard, and flashlight tag. Nowadays, it seems kids have multiple parties with family, friends, and neighbors and the gifts and waste grow with each event. As important as it is to honor your child's emergence into the world, it is just as fun to plan for parties that have less waste and may even give back to the environment or community, thus helping create a cleaner future for birthdays to come.

Label the party a no-waste or "eco" event: Get your kids and family involved in thinking of creative ways to use what you already have on hand for decorations and dishes. Encourage family members and friends to give "gently loved gifts" or presents with no packaging and creative wrapping. Forgo paper plates in favor of reusable dishware, label recycling and garbage containers so everyone can find them and separate items accordingly, and buy in bulk rather than individually wrapped items.

Choose a kid-friendly theme and tie it to a good cause: If your daughter loves animals, you could bake critter cookies and decorate for the party with collages of animal pictures cut from magazines. Do some research together to find a local organization, such as a humane society, that's in keeping with your theme. Then encourage guests to bring a gift-leashes, cat toys, pet food-that your daughter can proudly donate to the shelter.

Have the party at a local farm, nature center, or city park: Engage the children in a treasure hunt to learn more about nature. Hire a guide through a local park district, check into a Plant a Tree program, or go apple picking.

Rather than gifts, ask for donations to adopt an animal: Choose to omit gift-giving all together and instead ask guests to make donations that your daughter can use to adopt an animal through the World Wildlife Federation's birthday program. That could even net her a cool plush version of the adopted species, which might help take the sting out of the absence of presents. Follow up with the party guests after to let them know what animal was adopted.

It may be difficult to spark your child's interest in an idea other than receiving mountains of beautifully wrapped gifts. But combining green values with themes children love can generate a meaningful and fun birthday.

Footnotes/Endnotes

ON THE WEB!

World Wildlife Adopt an Animal, worldwildlife.org

Oxfam,
oxfamamericaunwrapped.com