My birthday is coming up and I’ve begun planning. Keeping my new zero waste lifestyle in mind, I’ve got some ideas to revamp the normal festivities.

Here Are Some Ideas:

• Facebook Events and E-Invitations. I already set this up. Obviously, this saves both paper waste and money. I used Facebook’s event feature to inform my friends and family on Facebook. Not everyone uses Facebook, however, and I sent my other friends digital invitations through punchbowl.com (which also has an app). I was very impressed with the variety of free choices they had.

• Re-thinking Gifting. I put in my invitations that their “presence is my present” and that they should feel free to leave gifting behind. However, not everyone feels comfortable with this. So I added that if they felt more comfortable getting me a gift that they should check out my well-curated Amazon wish list. It doesn’t hurt to add that you’re interested in zero waste or minimalism.

• Wrapping Paper. My husband will wrap his gift for me in cloth to introduce the idea. But he’ll only bring it out if others choose to bring gifts. I will save as much wrapping paper as I can.

• Decorations. We will keep decorations minimal. We have a “Happy Birthday” streamer we use every birthday and balloons at the door to guide guests. The party will be outside in our garden in June. No decorations necessary.

The streamer has seen a lot of re-use!

It was raining on the day of my son’s birthday party, but this is the general idea.

• Food.  This is easy, we grill or we roast over our firepit and use our home’s dishes. No disposables necessary. We’ll make my awesome vegan chocolate cake and make Ba-Nice Cream on the spot to order. Guests love to choose vanilla, chocolate, berry, or green tea flavors.

• Activities. We’ll have a home-made costume contest, outdoor games, musical instruments and so on that don’t rely on single use mentality. I might have prizes or guest gifts that support zero waste living – such as cute hankies or cloth napkins. I haven’t decided yet.

How About You?

This is the plan so far. I would love to hear if you have any tips on zero waste parties. There’s still time to make changes! Let me know what you would do in the comments below.

A Year Later…

The electronic invitations via Facebook and Punchbowl worked out well. I’d do this again.

The presents, not so much. It was actually a little awkward as some people brought things and some people didn’t (they took me at my word). One person felt bad about it and came with a present on another day. Not what I was going for as a hostess! Maybe this year I will ask for consumables, like flowers, that I can also use as decorations. Wine would be a good idea if I weren’t pregnant, or chocolate. Though this is sounding a little on the romantic side, so maybe I would be more careful with the list. 🙂

Maybe this year, since I am pregnant and I should also know the gender, I might ask for baby things and provide an Amazon registry well in advance of the party.

I need to layout all the plates and cups in handy reach and maybe use a washable marker to help with re-use of dishes. I could definitely up my game on the presentation of the spread.

No one seemed to want to bother with the Ba-Nice cream. I’m not sure if they didn’t want to put me out or if it wasn’t appealing.

Until next time, keep that talk walking!