news
RSS Feeds
July 26, 2009
The green party: Celebrating kids' birthdays in sustainable style
Mary Frances Hill
For bchydro.com
It's a universal sight at children's birthday parties. On the table, a pile of paper plates, plastic utensils and Styrofoam cups.
Stashed in one corner, a mound of discarded wrapping paper and little goodie bags filled with plastic toys.
For the pre-school set, the scene is all fun and games. But to businesswoman and mother of three Suzanne Corrin, and a growing number of parents in Metro Vancouver, it's an environmental disaster.
"You can see the nightmare of hosting birthday parties in the leftovers," says Corrin, co-owner with Suzanne Bertani of Greenplanetparties.com.
The online business, based in Port Moody, B.C., offers options for parents who want to organize any celebration – from a wedding reception to a kids' party – that's as sustainable as it is fun.
"You have the white chlorine bleach plates, the petroleum-based cutlery, the toxic paints. When every child brings a gift, you see all the packaging and paper, and the toys are again packaged in tight plastic."
Corrin and Bertani's own disdain at the waste generated from kids' birthday parties inspired them to set up a resource for parents looking for alternatives.
Corrin was planning her daughter's birthday party when she found herself wondering why it was so hard to buy environmentally-friendly decorations and tableware.
"I ended up ordering them from the United States."
Just one year into the business it's become a full time job for the duo who have six kids between them.
"Let's face it," says Corrin. "Anyone with children recognizes a child's party can become such a huge obvious excessive thing."
The virtues of simplicity
It's as true as it ever was: when you give a small child a boxed toy, he's more likely to play with the box than the toy.
Corrin works on that belief when persuading parents to limit the number of gifts offered at a party. In other words, give credit to a child's imagination.
Once their children are old enough to understand the notion, parents can host "giving parties," in which the birthday boy or girl chooses a charity and asks friends to donate half of a small amount of money to that cause. It could be anything from B.C. Children's Hospital, the SPCA, or the World Wildlife Federation.
The remaining half goes to the birthday child, who can buy whatever he or she chooses.
"There's a humongous sense of pride [among children] to see what they can do with these donations. It can inspire a huge teaching moment for our children."
Those omnipresent dollar-stores may seem a one-stop shop for party organizers. Corrin's advice: pass them by.
In place of goodie bags, which are usually full of dollar-store plastic tchotchkes, she recommends giving every child a stainless-steel cup or thermos stuffed with baked goods and a thank-you note. It'll last longer and will be a constant reminder in the child's household of the good time they had.
Fabric and re-usable heirlooms: the decor that keeps on giving
It's never too late to break out the sentiment, and create new traditions.
Corrin recalls that at her son's recent birthday party, her mother-in-law brought out a retro memento that was as green and useful as it was heartwarming.
"She pulled out a tablecloth that had cowboys all over it. It was a family heirloom that she'd used for her son's birthday, and here we were, decades later, using it for our son's party.
"Imagine buying or making for your son or daughter a happy birthday table runner or table cloth with their name on it, and then pulling it out when they're 35."
Edu-tainment, in shades of green
It's simple to instill a sense of wonder, stimulate and educate children at a party, says Corrin.
She recommends visiting a public farm (North Vancouver's Maplewood Farm is a popular choice), an aviary or a hobbyist beekeeper's place for an alternative to the home celebrations.
"These are teachable moments. it's not banging on your drum, chanting 'be green! be green!'
"It's not shoving it down their throats. It's just about teaching by example."
Quick tips for greening a kids birthday party
Those cheap and cheerful SpongeBob SquarePants paper plates beckon you from the dollar store shelves. Before you reach for the less pricey, disposable items bound for the landfill, try some more environmentally responsible options.
- Rather than buying paper invitation cards, use E-vites, or buy seeded-paper cards, which can bloom into wildflowers when they're planted.
- Get the kids involved. Ask them to make their own decorations, and help bake the goodies to stuff in stainless-steel cups that could replace plastic goodie-bags.
- Instead of balloons – which are treated with ammonia, tetramethyl thiuram disulfide and zinc oxide – let kids make pom-poms out of recycled newspapers.
- Add compassion to the fun. Take the party time to visit a dog shelter and bring dog blankets, food or brushes.
- Many stores in Metro Vancouver sell palm-sized plants or potted trees. Use them as decorations or in each guest's goodie-pack.
- A birthday picnic at a local park with a forested area can inspire a constructive party: Have a go at making dreamcatchers with twigs and yarn remnants; craft fairy wands with long twigs and fabric scraps, old sewing notions, sequins and pipe cleaners.
Mary Frances Hill is a Vancouver-based freelance writer.
Source: BC Hydro
