How To Host An Eco-Friendly Celebration For Someone Special
If someone you cherish has a big day coming up – whether it’s an anniversary, a birthday, or a
milestone such as a graduation or the start of a new job – then you’re probably keen to celebrate their life and achievements with a big party.
However, at the same time, you may be wondering how you can host some fun-filled festivities without making a negative impact on the environment.
These days, it’s never been so important to focus on ways to be more eco-friendly, from avoiding single-use plastics to buying our food from ethical providers. Even planning a party can be decidedly planet-friendly; all it takes is a little research and some ingenuity, and
you can host a magical celebration for your loved one without any environmental guilt.
Keen to get started on your eco-friendly party planning?
Read on for some top tips on how to throw the perfect ‘green’ celebration!
Source Planet-Friendly Decorations
We all know that you can’t have a proper party without decorations. Unfortunately, traditional
decorations can also be harmful to the environment, as they are often made of plastic, are not
recyclable, or are too delicate to be used more than once, which means they have to be thrown
away.
Happily, there are plenty of ways to make eco-friendly decorations that will look beautiful and cost
you no guilt. For instance, you can create your own streamers and hanging pom-poms out of
coloured paper, and use pretty pieces of fabric purchased from your local charity shops to drape
around the venue to create a festive atmosphere.
If you want to use plenty of cut flowers for your décor, they can also come with shocking
environmental side effects due to their high carbon footprint, particularly if they are imported from
afar. As a result, if you are eager to decorate your party setting with plenty of gorgeous, colourful
flowers and plants, then it’s a good idea to do your research and try and source locally grown
blooms that required little or no pesticides to nurture.
Of course, if you’re a keen gardener yourself and you have some stunning flowers in your backyard,
then the best thing you can do is harvest some of your own lovingly tended blossoms for the
festivities.
Shower Your Loved One With Eco-Friendly Presents
Giving one another gifts is one of the ways that we show each other we care. However, so many of
the gift ideas we are bombarded with in magazines, shops, and on the Internet are far from
environmentally friendly.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of businesses that are seeking to address this problem and
create gorgeous meaningful eco friendly gifts that we can give to our nearest and dearest without
any qualms.
Among them, you will find planet-friendly hampers packed with organic, sustainable, all-natural
products so your special someone can enjoy an eco-friendly pampering. Plastic-free and
biodegradable into the bargain, these gifts are the perfect presents for an eco-conscious loved one.
Choose Your Party Fare With Care
A surprising amount of the food that we eat comes with a very high carbon footprint, as well as a
range of other negative side effects, such as deforestation, high water usage, and, of course, the use
of chemicals such as pesticides.
If you want to make sure that your party menu is as environmentally friendly as possible then it’s
important to dedicate some time and effort to sourcing local, sustainably produced ingredients for
your party dishes.
You may be surprised how much delicious, healthy, and planet-friendly fare is being grown in your
local area – from free range eggs from backyard hens, to fragrant honey produced by bees kept by
one of your neighbours.
You can also expect by preparing different healthy and sustainable recipes – as recommended by
none other than WWF – but if you’re worried that you might struggle if you have to prepare too
many dishes, don’t be afraid to turn the party into a pot-luck. Ask each of your guests to bring a
particular dish – such as an appetiser, a main, or a dessert – and be sure to stress the importance of
using zero-waste packaging and ethically sourced ingredients.
When it comes to providing drinks, you can also make your party more environmentally friendly by
making as many of the party beverages yourself as possible. This will prevent you from having to buy
in a lot of unhealthy beverages that have a large carbon footprint or are contained in plastic
packaging. You can prepare well in advance by collecting jars of assorted shapes and sizes and
carefully washing them out to use as drinking vessels. Your guests are sure to appreciate the quirky
eco-friendly cups, particularly if you add some extra flair with the help of decorative ribbon and
name tags.
Opt For Reusable Dishware
At the vast majority of parties, you will find an abundance of disposable party cups, cutlery and
plates that are then thrown away and end up in landfill.
As a result, your best bet is probably to use regular crockery and cutlery – if you don’t have enough,
again, don’t hesitate to ask your party guests and friends and family if you can borrow theirs.
Then, at the end of the day, all you need to do is wash it and give it back! Nothing will have gone to
waste and your guests may actually enjoy the novelty of eating their party food off ‘proper’ plates!
Select Party Favours That Are Big On Fun But Low On Waste
There’s nothing like a cute and thoughtful party favour at the end of a celebration to serve as a
sweet reminder of the celebrations. If you want to make sure that your own party favours are as
planet-friendly as possible, there are plenty of options for you to choose from – for instance, why
not opt for bee-friendly seed bombs, home-baked cookies, cuttings from your garden, or gift cards
which they can redeem at local environmentally friendly businesses and attractions?
Final Thoughts
Planning a fun and kind party on the environment may seem like a tall order, but it’s not very tricky
at all. With the help of some research, time, effort, and businesses that specialise in planet-friendly
products, you can throw your loved one a magical celebration that both they – and the Earth – will
appreciate!