An ecological children’s party allows everyone to have a happy birthday

So your son’s birthday is coming up. Well, now is your chance to nip their expectations in the bud and prevent their demands from getting out of hand, in what a few years from now could bear a striking resemblance to an episode of My Super Sweet 16. How about throwing a party with a purpose? An eco-friendly birthday party isn’t just about being eco-friendly. It will allow you to teach your children at an early age about how to grow green.

ECHOage, for example, takes a typical online invitation like Avoid to the next level. You choose an eco-friendly online invitation, choose a cause, and invite your friends. When guests RSVP, they simply make a secure online contribution, instead of a gift. ECHOage then pools all the money together. One portion is used to buy the birthday boy one, yes, a special gift. The rest goes to the charity of your choice. They learn the importance of giving, but they are also capable of receiving. You, not to mention landfills, won’t have to deal with that pile of post-party wrapping paper junk. Your guests will not have to spend gas, time and energy looking for a gift. Just like your child needs a bunch of potentially toxic new toys anyway. Oh, and it’s tax deductible. So everyone celebrates. However, they don’t bail you out completely. You still have a party to plan. Below are a few more ways to get the job done, what we like to call eco-efficiently.

If the weather permits, consider holding the party outdoors, in a park, in your backyard, or even on a farm. This will leave partygoers plenty of room to run wild and burn off their extra fuel.

Choose decorations like biodegradable crepe, rice paper lanterns, and garlands. Consider using, or should I say repurposing, cloth tablecloths. Opt for palm leaf plates, cups and cutlery made from PLA corn. But what are your guests going to wear? When it comes to food, easy-to-make, yet healthy items like organic fruit, home-baked French fries, and cheesy rice vegetable quesadillas are always appealing to guests as well as the harried host. However, at the end of the day, it’s still about the cake. We suggest you ditch the chemical-laden, processed sugar sheet cake. All natural bakeries are popping up everywhere with a range of birthday cakes that are completely animal-free for vegans or people with dairy allergies, made from the finest organic, unprocessed and non-hydrogenated ingredients, even gluten-free and nuts as a precaution for guests. Your child will blow out the beeswax candles, and guests won’t realize they were actually eating “alternative” cake.

However, you can’t send them home empty-handed. Last but not least are eco-friendly party favors and fabric goodie bags or boxes. Consider filling them with all-natural candy like organic lollipops and chocolate or crafts like organic playdough, beeswax crayons, or a wooden toy set. Eco-friendly jewelry and hair clips are always a big hit with little girls.

Not only will your green birthday party go off without a hitch, but cleanup will certainly be the easiest part of the process. Turn those dirty fingerprints into a distant memory with an all-natural detergent like soap nuts. Recycle or compost what you can and save what you can’t for another event. Throw the rest in your biodegradable garbage bags. Remember what happens on earth, it doesn’t have to stay on earth.