Children’s Birthday Party: So much joy, how much waste?

Recently we celebrated my 5-years old kid’s birthday. Before planning it I started thinking how much we use just for a few hours of celebration.
Balloons, decorations, disposable plates, cups. Things are bought, used briefly and thrown away. Of course we shouldn’t stop celebrating. We all want our little ones to feel special, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

This article is not about a picture-perfect zero-waste party (I don’t believe in zero-waste anyway). Most of us have busy lives, a budget, and a kid who has already decided on the theme.

The idea is an invitation to pause and ask ourselves: Can we create just as much joy with a little less waste?

Small things that actually work

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast on which I found out about a woman who founded https://nocrapparties.org/ The website has some tips, blog posts on how to make children parties more sustainable. I was listening and even though I liked some of the ideas, I couldn’t see how I can implement some of them (e.g. asking invitees to bring second-hand gifts or no gift at all). But I thought of things that I could change and feel comfortable with. Here is what I did:

Decorated from what I had at home. I had a lot of balloons left from last year and decided use them. Made sure the balloons cannot be let into the air (who doesn’t know, it is extremely harmful for the environment and wild life). That was the only decoration at the party.

Chose the paper plates without plastic coating. The child never asked why these plates do not go with the theme and are plain and I think no one really pays attention.

Piñata didn’t contain plastic. Piñata is always fun for kids and it is an extra activity especially if the party doesn’t include any animators to entertain kids. I considered buying a ready-made one but quickly realized that almost all of them are full of tiny plastic items. So, I bought just a Piñata box, bat and a mask and filled it with some candies and non-plastic items. Children didn’t complaint (at least not to me 🙂 )

Thank you gifts for the invitees. It is something we always do in Cyprus, give a small bag with a gift to guests who came to the party. I tried to pay more attention this time and chose gift sets from a local business for girls, things that they can use, wear and all that without plastic. Boys got a game and a themed puzzle with pencils to put together and color it after. They were put in paper bags.

I still had one-used themed table clothes since the birthday was in a park, I never asked parents to give second-hand toys which would be totally fine by the way if you take into consideration how fast kids lose interest in toys.

Three questions for before the next party

What if for the next party we could ask ourselves three questions below?

• What will we use once and throw away? Is there an easy alternative?
• What do we buy “just in case” that nobody ends up using?
• Will this gift still matter in six months?

No child remembers the plates. They remember the people, the cake, and the feeling of being the centre of the day. That part doesn’t need to change at all.

So if the memories are what we want to leave behind, what is the one thing you would change at your next party?

Lusine