The Green Party

Soon my niece is having a very “green” very pink, ballet birthday party, complete with a real, live ballerina to give the girls lessons, eco corn made plates, cups and utensils, a vegan cake and an all organic menu. It’s a new day….

If you cringe as silly Made in China cartoon paper plates are dumped into the rubbish bin one, by wasteful one, as sugar filled children show you exactly how quickly a small persons  glycemic index can spike before the cranky crash as the whining hits a feverish crescendo worthy of Callas -

this is for you -

I must give credit where it is due: my sister actually found this green party supply store called, enigmatically, Green Party Supplies. It honestly has all the basics and extras that you will need for a child or adult fete.

Another great party supply place is Paper Mart.  I have been going to them for favour bags for at least a decade.  For my wedding I used their burlap bags for coffee beans (Cuban and Panamanian coffee, with a small bottle of Irish whiskey, was our favour). And just this past weekend, I used their velvet bags for another favour.  Though the velvet bags aren’t technically “green” – they are something that any girl would keep forever for jewelry. 

Lucky Crow also makes lovely, organic (more for girl’s, methinks), favor bags:

Though I don’t like to see children drink from straws – I know that there are few birthday parties that don’t have those toxic plastic garbage dump fillers by the hand full -

These straws, available from Plum Party, are 100% biodegradable and non-toxic, as they are made of corn. Yup. Corn.

And for my two British readers – how lucky are you to be able to order pre-filled eco-favour bags from Little Cherry?

Not a party without balloons? Get Jr. biodegradable ones, and explain how the other kinds can hurt wildlife.  (Seriously, I lived in Florida, and saw first hand how insidious a seemingly benign birthday balloon can be. Poor birds and turtles.)

And what sort of gifts to place in the “green” favor bags? I’m a massive fan of art supplies.  They are perfect for boy’s and girl’s, and they aren’t tossed aside, usually in pieces, like cheap, plastic Made in China things.  A great source for green art supplies is Stubby Pencil Studio.  I LOVE their soy crayon rocks, and can’t think of a theme they couldn’t be worked into.

Green birthday parties are the perfect opportunity to teach your child about the less toxic and more responsible life you have chosen to live as a family.  And honestly, aren’t you making all these changes so that his every birthday is in a world that is better for him, not worse? 

I almost forgot the most important thing! Candles!  Soy birthday candles can be had for a mere $2.95.

Make a wish!