BE A GREENIE: PARTY GREEN
By: Genevieve Ticlo

Everybody knows a greenie likes to party, and what better way to do it than with an eco-friendly get-together? Not only will partying green save you money, but it will also help save the environment from unnecessary pollution and waste. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

1. THEME
Okay, so the “green” theme goes without saying, but how about taking it to the next level? Are you an animal lover? Try a pet-themed party. You can ask your local animal shelter to bring in abandoned pets and have your guests supply bowls, dog food, toys, and donations for your local animal shelter, instead of gifts. Love to travel? Celebrate a foreign culture and build your party around the idea of raising money for families of third-world countries. Total nature lover? Arrange for you and friends to plant a tree at a local park or clean a river. The list goes on. Use your creativity to come up with something that really reflects who you are and what you stand for.

2. INVITATIONS
Sending out paper invitations can be extremely wasteful. Some greener alternatives are recycled invites, made from scraps of old mail and newspapers you find around your house, seeded invitations, which grow flowers when watered, and paperless e-vites, which can be e-mailed to friends with absolutely no physical waste!

Greenie Link: Seeded Invitations can be found at Custom Paper and Botanical Paperworks.

3. DECORATIONS
The possibilities for eco-friendly decorations are endless. Practically anything can be recycled and used as a unique and chic ornament. By cutting old magazines or posters into diamonds and folding them over string, you can create a funky banner that’s totally you! Trade in traditional latex balloons for crazy Japanese paper balloons you can even fold yourself! When you use your imagination, the possibilities are endless.

Greenie Link: DIY instructions for a recycled paper banner can be found at Planet Green. Instructions on how to fold your own paper balloons can be found at Wonder How-To.

4. SUPPLIES
Whenever possible, try to use reusable utensils instead of the disposable kind, such as a cloth table cover instead of a plastic one. If you do use plastic, aluminum, or paper materials, set out recycle bins for your guests to throw out their wastes. It will be a friendly reminder to them, and will save you time on clean-up!

Greenie Link: Eco-friendly decorations, utensils, favors, and kits can be found at Little Star Creative Parties and Green Party Goods.

5. GOODIE BAGS
If you plan to give your guests something to take home with them, consider ditching the traditional, plastic favor bags and using cloth to wrap your trinkets instead. Depending on your theme, the goodies you send out could be anything. Just be sure to keep the earth in mind, and leave your guest the option to do the same.

Happy planning!