Green Paige

The holiday season is a magical time of year when families and friends come together to share memories and celebrate traditions.  One of our most established customs is the giving and receiving of presents.  If you didn’t plan ahead and make your own gifts this year, celebrate by giving gifts that are environmentally-friendly.  Here are some ideas for green gifts and sustainable stocking stuffers that even a green Grinch or a last-minute shopper would approve of.

• Organic Wine - For that special grown-up person in your life, slip a bottle of organic wine from Jack Rabbit Hill in their holiday stocking. 
• Musical Instruments - Ten Thousand Villages features a large selection of natural and earth-friendly gifts including wooden musical instruments, ornaments, toys, games and much more.  Buying gifts from fair trade retailers  means that your purchases will not only make wonderful presents but you will be helping to improve the lives of thousands of artisans in America, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. 
• Jewelry - For one-of-a-kind, quillwork jewelry made by handcrafters from Latin America and Native American reservations, visit The Field Guide to Sustainable Gifts at Trees Water People. 
• Toys Powered By Imagination - Sprig Toys manufactures an exciting line of battery-free, eco-friendly, paint-free, kid-powered adventure vehicles and guides for preschoolers.  ImagiPlay has been creating wooden activity toys and animal playsets for over a decade.  They use materials and manufacturing processes that minimize the environmental impact on our planet to create healthy toys free of toxins.  Green Toys features award-winning products with a new take on classic toys like children’s cookware, tea sets, sand toys and gardening kits.  Made in the USA, they are created from 100 percent recycled milk jugs and contain no BPA or phthalates.
• Baby Toys - Sophie The Giraffe is a soft, visually-stimulating teething toy made with natural rubber and non-toxic paint.  It has been loved by generations of kids for 47 years. Cute and cuddly stuffed animals by miYim are produced from ultra-soft, organic cotton which eliminates the threat of toxic chemicals and carcinogenic pesticides in your baby’s snuggly toy.  Maya Organic features a line of handcrafted toys including rattles, danglers, shape sorters and stackers made from replenishable hale wood and natural, non-toxic, vegetable dyes.  Visit Healthy Toys, a consumer action guide to toxic chemicals in toys, to research possible toy purchases.
• Green Games and Kits - For older kids, board games like Earthopoly, Eyes of The Jungle and Harvest Time make wonderful holiday gifts.  Send your kids on a globetrotting adventure to the exotic island of Madagascar with the Xeko Mission card game.  With the Power House Kit, kids can learn to construct a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse and desalination system.    
• Green Tales - Stop by your local independant book store  for some last-minute holiday shopping.  Picture books like “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss, “My Bag and Me” by Karen Farmer and “First Forest” by John Gile make great stocking stuffers.   For older kids, the “Why Should I” series helps them explore the issues of water, energy and wildlife conservation.  Two great resources for living sustainably that will make wonderful gifts for the adults on your shopping list are “Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags, and Gifts from Everyday Materials” by Danny Seo  and “Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions For The Whole Family” by Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell.  “Nature’s Art Box” by Laura C. Martin features 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere. This book makes a great gift for families inspired to make homemade holiday gifts from items found in their own backyard.
• Alternative Transportation - Introduce your children to kid-powered vehicles with the eco-friendly, wooden tricycle made from natural materials by Plan Toys.  All of their products are manufactured utilizing processes that are designed to reduce waste and save energy.   Radio Flyer, known for its red wagons, also makes a green version called the Earth Wagon.  This wagon is made from 100 percent recycled post-consumer HDPE plastic. Over 230 milk jugs are diverted from landfills to make each Earth Wagon.   Comet Skateboards has not only reinvented the wheel but the board too.  They use sustainably harvested bamboo with non-toxic resins to make the hip pin-striping that adorns their boards.  Their manufacturing plant uses a 10KW solar panel array to fuel the process.

This green Grinch, has one last thing to say.  Even if it comes without ribbons.  It comes without tags.  It comes without packages, boxes or bags. Don’t puzzle ’till your puzzler is sore. Celebrate the holidays like never before.  Because Christmas, I believe, doesn’t come from a store.  Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

 Black Friday, the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the December holiday season since the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924.  Black Friday brings to mind throngs of shoppers crowding the roadways and stores spending money they don’t have for gifts that their friends and family don’t need.  This year, start a new tradition.  Give gifts that give back to you, your loved ones and your community.  Here are six ideas for turning the Black Friday tradition into a green holiday season.

1. Give Your Support - Buying goods and services from local businesses is a great way to strengthen community and reduce the environmental impact of transporting goods cross country.  Some cities feature coupon books highlighting local businesses that make great stocking-stuffers.  Visit the Business Alliance For Local Living Economies (BALLE) to view a map of local business networks throughout the US.
2. Give Peace of Mind - Items that help people consume less and live healthier lives definitely qualify as gifts that give back.  Safe, reusable water bottles made from either stainless steel or glass also make wonderful stocking-stuffers.  Fill a gift basket full of compact fluorescent bulbs.  Wrap gifts in reusable shopping or lunch bags made from recycled billboards, soda bottles or tires.  For more ideas, visit Green Logic Earth Friendly Goods .
3. Give a Fair Share - Surprise your loved ones this year with a vegetable, fruit or flower share from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. You will not only be supporting local economies but you will be giving the gift of healthy food.  Visit Local Harvest  for a list of CSA farms near you.
4. Give of Yourself - Your time is probably the most valuable gift you can give. Volunteer for a local organization in the name of a loved one. If your grandmother loves to read, volunteer at your public or school library. If your brother is a pet lover, volunteer at a local animal shelter or rescue. If your mother loves flowers, volunteer at a community garden.  Visit the United Way to locate volunteer opportunities in your county.
5. Give Credit - Instead of using your credit cards this holiday season, give carbon credits.  Purchasing carbon credits doesn’t mitigate the effects of global warming by itself but it does support carbon dioxide reduction programs by funneling your money into projects like wind power development.  The Choice Bundle, offered by Renewable Choice Energy, is a carbon credit package you can purchase as a gift for your family and friends.  It will offset the environmental impact of an entire family’s carbon usage for one month.  This year, save a lump of coal by putting carbon credits in your family’s Christmas stockings.
6. Give Again - Give a gift that keeps giving and giving.  Host a regifting party.  Contact the United Way to locate a nonprofit agency that serves your community.  Ask this agency for a wish list of items they need to support the services they provide.  Send the wish list to your guests and ask them to bring their new or gently used regifted items to the party.  Send the items to the agency of your choice. 

In 1992 Buy Nothing Day was created as an alternative to Black Friday, an opportunity for people to take a time-out to examine the issue of over-consumption.  This year, take Buy Nothing Day to a new level and institute a green holiday season where money is saved, zero waste is created and the gifts you give continue to give back long after the Christmas trees have turned to mulch.

Every year, I try to find ways to make our holiday celebrations a little bit more sustainable.  Here are my tips for natural holiday decorations:

1. Support a local business.  Take the family to a Christmas tree farm and purchase either a live tree or cut one yourself.  Visit the National Christmas Tree Associate to locate a farm near you.
2. Use LED lights.  They might not be natural but they are energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly.  Visit your city website to see if they have a program in place that encourages residents to recycle old, traditional holiday lights and receive discounts on LED light strands.
3. Decorate your tree with homemade cookie ornaments and strings of popcorn and cranberries that can be strung outside after the holidays to feed the birds.
4. When decking the halls, go au natural with items found near your home like herbs, pinecones, acorns, gourds, apples, wood, smooth stones, nuts and evergreen boughs.
5. Make your own fragrant holiday centerpieces from mixed evergreens, eucalyptus and fresh flowers.
6. Celebrate Hanukkah naturally with beeswax candles, a recycled glass menorah, fair trade chocolate coins and a sustainable wooden dreidel.  Visit the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life  for inspirational ideas.
7. Use organically grown fruits and corn to represent mazao and vibunzi during Kwanzaa.  Create your own kinara from found wood and adorn it with natural beeswax candles.  For more ideas, visit the Official Kwanzaa Website.
8. Make a yule log to celebrate the Winter Solstice.  Collect a piece of found wood and embellish it with tiny pinecones; dried berries; nuts; cuttings of mistletoe, holly and ivy; feathers and cinnamon sticks.  Tie a ribbon around it and use it as a holiday decoration until you burn it during your solstice celebration.

Leave a comment and share your ideas for creating natural holiday decorations. 

I remember the day when our neighborhood market closed its doors.  I felt that an important part of my childhood was disappearing along with the home-made snickerdoodles-one free to each customer.  We have all heard that corporate globalization is causing the decline of locally-owned businesses and family farms but what can we do about it here in our own community?  If you ask someone from The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), their answer would probably be to buy local.

BALLE is  an umbrella organization of more than 55 smaller networks.  It serves to inform, educate and support local, independent business alliances.  These smaller independent business networks offer opportunities for local businesses to connect.  Their goal is to support community-based businesses, encourage local purchasing by customers and businesses, advocate programs and policies that strengthen independent businesses and promote social equity and environmental responsibility.

Buy Local Week is December 1st -7th.  This year with our economy the weakest it’s been in years, the Local First movement is encouraging people to buy their goods from local, independently-owned businesses.  Why?

1. Buying goods and services from local businesses is a great way to strengthen community.

2. It reduces the environmental impact of transporting items cross country. 

3. Buying local gives us an opportunity to be part of a cooperative movement to create an alternative to corporate globalization and bring economic power back to our communities through a sustainable local economy.

4. Locally-made foods and crafts make great gifts because they are unique and often come with a story attached.  I still own the doll that I received as a Christmas present when I was 6 years old.  It was hand-crafted by our neighbor to resemble me right down to the dimple under my left eye. My daughter loves to hear the tale of how this doll was made.  These are the kinds of stories that you don’t get with items made on assembly lines by machines, sold in big box stores.

This week, communities throughout North America will be celebrating Buy Local Week with events, contests and poster campaigns.  To locate a locally-owned business in your area, visit BALLE.  They list networks of independently-owned businesses across the nation. 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  It’s time to polish up the good silver and and break out the family china.  Here are some natural cleaning solutions that will make polishing those precious metal heirlooms a breeze: 

• Brass - Mix 1 tbl sp. of cream of tartar with enough lemon juice to make a paste.  Apply the paste to the surface of your brass item.  Let stand for 5 minutes and then wash with warm water.  Dry it off with a soft cloth. 

         Cream of tartar also cleans porcelain.  Sprinkle it on a damp cloth and

         rub onto a porcelain surface.  Rinse then dry.

• Silver - This year, polish the good silver with toothpaste.  Rub the surface of your silver with plain, white toothpaste.  Clean with warm water and a soft cloth.  This works for gold items as well.

• Stainless Steel - To give your stainless steel a thorough cleaning, mix 3 tbl sp. of baking soda with enough water to form a paste.  Apply the paste to the surface of the item you are cleaning with a scouring pad.  Rinse after cleaning.  To polish, rub club soda or olive oil over surface then dry with soft cloth.

• Copper - Mix 1/2 c. of either vinegar or lemon juice with a tsp. of salt.  Rub the mixture over copper surface with a soft cloth.  Rinse then dry.

• Pewter - Dissolve 1 tsp. salt in 1 c. of white vinegar.  Add enough flour to make a paste.  Apply to the surface of the item you are polishing.  Let the mixture set for 15 to 60 minutes.  Rinse with warm water and then dry with soft cloth.

Post a comment and share your own recipes for home made cleaning solutions.

1. Precycle.   Make sure the food and other items that you purchase for your holiday feast are packaged in recyclable containers.   If you can’t recycle or compost it, don’t buy it.

2. Waste not. Set your table with reusable plates, utensils and napkins.  If that’s not possible, use post-consumer products that are recycled or compostable.

3. Clean house.  Coronato recommends using a solution of two parts vinegar to one part water and the juice of one lemon to clean kitchen surfaces.  Polish silverware with a paste made from baking soda and vinegar for a shine that will make your table sparkle.

4. Go natural.  Send your kids on a treasure hunt to collect rocks, leaves, pinecones, nuts and various other items from nature to use as decorations for your holiday table.

5. Feed the birds.  Spread chunky peanut butter or vegetable shortening over a pine cone.  Roll the pine cone in sunflower seeds and bits of fruit.  Hang the bird feeder outside so everyone can enjoy a Thanksgiving feast inside and out.

6. Simmer up some aromatherapy.  Create a non-toxic potpourri by combining sliced orange and lemon with cloves, cinnamon sticks and a bay leaf in a crock-pot. Cover with apple cider or water and let it simmer up the aroma of Fall.

7. Unplug your holiday.  Institute a ban on electronic devices for the day and have an old fashioned Thanksgiving with games, music and a family walk to the park.

8. Express your appreciation.  Start a new tradition by designating one of your plates as a peace plate.  The person who sits at the setting with the peace plate is the guest of honor. During the meal, each person at the table must state one thing that they admire about this person.  Each holiday, rotate the peace plate to another guest of honor.

9. Give thanks.

“Our family lights a gratitude candle during every meal and then we take turns expressing our thanks for the wonderful people and experiences in our lives.  It helps us refocus,” says Coronato.  “I have noticed that my 3-year old son thanks the universe for his brother but he never says anything about his toys.  It’s a reminder to me of what’s really important, family.”

Helen Coronato  is the author of, “Eco-Friendly Families“-a family guide to greener living with activities that engage and inspire toddler to teens. 

 I am thankful for many things in my life-my family, my friends, living in a great community.  I am also thankful for resources like Helen Coronato’s new book, “Eco-Friendly Families“-a family guide to greener living with activities that engage and inspire toddler to teens.  It makes my job as our family’s environmental coach and eco-cheerleader a lot easier.

Coronato was motivated to write this step-by-step approach to green living after the birth of her first child.

“I realized that I needed to live a healthier and more sustainable life not only for myself but for him.  In order to do this, I had to unlearn a lifetime of bad habits,” she recalls.

“All the books I found at that time gave the impression that if you couldn’t do everything they suggested then you might as well do nothing. I didn’t agree. I knew very few parents out there could afford to throw everything out and begin again with new, green products so I decided to write “Eco-Friendly Families” to help other families make big changes incrementally and affordably.”

“Eco-Friendly Families” guides us on a journey from over-consumption to sustainability by helping us to set goals that are attainable.

“In my book, you will find a 12-month calendar that can be used as a map.  Each month has four suggestions to help you get started living more sustainably including hands-on activities and every chapter ends with a checklist so that you don’t miss a thing,” points out Coronato.

Another feature that makes this guide accessible for busy families is the 5-Minute Makeover - activities designed to be easy, affordable and environmentally-friendly.

An example of a Five-Minute Makeover would be to remake your beds with extra blankets and lower the thermostat to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone will sleep comfortably while using less energy.

“As a mom, I know that we are constantly looking for ways to entertain and engage our children.  The activities in my book are designed to encourage kids to make environmentally-friendly choices while using their imaginations,” says Coronato.

For the Thanksgiving holiday, she recommends gathering the family together to craft a thank-you chain;

• Using strips of wrapping paper saved from previous holidays, ask each member of your family to write down the name of someone or something they are thankful for.
• Glue the strips together and then link to form a chain.
• Decorate your home with the chain. 
• Not only will your thank-you chain add a festive touch to your home but it will remind your family of everyone and everything they are thankful for throughout the holiday season.

“We have to live in this world and make decisions and choices based on what is available to us at this moment,” explains Coronato. “Just because we can’t afford solar panels or a hybrid car doesn’t mean we can’t make the most responsible and environmentally-friendly decisions possible. The generation who grew up during The Great Depression knew how to live simply, frugally and sustainably because they had to. We must teach our children to think before they consume to live healthier and more sustainable lives because we have to.”

“Eco-Friendly Families” is available where books are sold.

 Turn your black and orange Halloween party into a green celebration with these 7 easy tips for a zero waste event:

1. Invitations - Print invitations on recycled paper or email them using an event planning website like Evite.

2. Use Reusables - Use reusable plates, silverware, cups and napkins whenever you can but if that’s not practical, purchase Eco-Cycle’s Zero Waste Event Kit.  It provides you with compostable tableware and cutlery, educational signage to use throughout your party and a compost collection container.

3. Decorate Sustainably-  Adorn you party pad with items that can be used over and over again like banners and posters.  Natural items like pumpkins carved into Jack-O-Lanterns, Indian corn, chestnuts, cornstalks, apples, gourds and seeds make great decorations. 

4. Treats and Treasures - Instead of a goody bag filled with candy, let your guests craft their own souvenirs.  The Kids Fun and Games website has wonderful ideas for Halloween crafts for all ages.

5. Food - Visit Green Halloween  for some creepy, crawly recipes like Wasabi Eyeballs, Spicy Bruised Bugs  and Stuffed Intestines. 

6. Costumes - Have a costume contest.  Give prizes to all the contestants that design creative costumes from other people’s waste. Check out Haute Trash and be inspired by beautifully crafted fashion made from everyday trash like inner tubes, plastic bags and cassette tape.

7. Games - Rethink traditional party games. 

• Pumpkin Hunt -  Hide small pumpkins all around your yard.  Give kids a decorated basket and task them to find the pumpkins. 

• Jack-O-Lantern Toss -  Set up several Jack-O-Lanterns in your yard.  Give each child three bean bags and see how many they can toss into the mouth of a Jack-O-Lantern.

•   Spooky Hoops - Make scarecrows or ghosts by stuffing old clothes full of straw, newspaper, or old pillow stuffing.  Ask kids to see how many times they can throw a hula hoop over a scarecrow from a specified distance. 

Have some cool ideas for greening your Halloween party?  Send me a comment. 

This weekend we are planning on visiting an organic farm to pick out just the right pumpkins for our Jack-O-Lanterns, pies, soups, enchiladas, and lasagnas.  Pumpkins are a versatile squash that not only make great seasonal decorations but can become good eats after Halloween is over.  Here are a few of my favorite harvest time recipes:

Spicy Pumpkin Bisque - This soup has become a favorite in our family and amongst our friends.  It yields 4 servings but can be easily doubled.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (for a mild soup use 1/4 tsp.)
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups pumpkin puree (roast your pumpkins first for a smokey flavor)
4 cups organic chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon agave or honey
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup dry sherry

Optional:  grated nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft and transparent.
2. Add the pumpkin, stock, chili pepper, ground pepper, allspice, agave and sherry.  Bring to a boil and cover. 
3. Simmer the soup for 30 minutes. Place the mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Return the soup to the pot, add the sour cream and simmer until heated.
5. Garnish with the nutmeg and serve.

Pumpkin Enchiladas - This dish is a wonderful combination of autumn flavors.  It takes a bit of time to prepare but it’s worth the effort.  I have also included my own garam masala recipe if you don’t have access to a grocery store that regularly carries it.

Yields 10 servings.

Ingredients:

1 pumpkin ( 1 1/2 lbs. - peeled, seeded and cut into chunks)

1 cup cream cheese

2 Tbl. sp. brown sugar (you can also use succanat)

1 Tbl. sp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. garam masala 

1 medium white onion (chopped)

10 corn tortillas 

2 915-oz) cans enchilada sauce

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese (shredded)

1 cup green olives stuffed with jalapeno peppers

Garam Masala Ingredients:

1 Tbl sp. cumin

1 Tbl sp. coriander

1 1/2 tsp. cardamon

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp.. black pepper

3/4 tsp. cloves

Instructions:

1. Mix together ingredients for garam masala. 
2. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat 13 x 9 inch glass baking with olive oil; set aside.
3. Add squash to boiling water and cook until tender - 12 minutes.
4. Drain squash and transfer to a large bowl.  Mash well.  Add cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon and garam masala.  Blend with hand mixer until smooth.  Adjust seasonings to taste.
5. Mix in onions.
6. Pour 1 can of the enchilada sauce into the baking dish until the bottom is coved.  Take the other can of sauce and pour into a shallow bowl.
7. To assemble:  Dip a tortilla into the enchilada sauce until it’s covered.  Place 1/2 cup of the squash mixture along the center of the tortilla.  Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and roll up tightly.  Arrange the enchilada in the baking dish with the seam side down.  Repeat this step until all 10 enchiladas are in the baking dish.
8. Cut olives into slices. 
9. Top the enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce, shredded cheese and olives.
10. Bake until heated through - 10 to 20 minutes depending on  your oven. 

Pumpkin Lasagna - This is a fun and colorful dish that my daughter loves to help me make. 

Yields 8 servings.  

Ingredients:

¼ C. all-purpose flour

2 ½ cup evaporated milk

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

10 oz dry lasagna noddles (I use the kind of noodles that you don’t have to precook.  They work best for me.)

2 1/4 cups cooked pureed pumpkin

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

¾ cup cranraisins

2 Tbl sp. peacans

1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make a cheese sauce by placing flour in a small saucepan then gradually whisk in milk and garlic. 
3. Warm over low heat, stirring constantlyuntil sauce thickens - 3 or 4 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
5. Spread ¼ cup of cheese sauce over bottom of a 9 x 13 inch glass pan and cover with one layer of lasagna noodles; top with 1/3 of squash and ½ cup of cheese sauce.  Sprinkle with ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup of cranraisins.  Repeat this step.
6. Top with remaining squash and cranraisins.  Cover with last  lasagna noodles, pressing sheets firmly down.  Top with remaining cheese sauce; sprinkle with nuts and remaining mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake until lasagna bubbles around edges and is browned on top - 30 minutes.  Slice into 8 pieces and serve.

If you have some favorite pumpkin recipes that you would like to share, please post a comment.

The holiday season for us kicks-off in early October with a series of birthday celebrations.  Knowing how crazy things can get when you are trying to plan a birthday party, last year I decided to start compiling ideas for eco-friendly parties that can be used for any celebration.  Here are a few of my ideas:

• Reading Rainbow Party  -Plan the fantasy party of your child’s dreams with a little help from a locally-owned, independent bookstore.  Most stores will help you design craft activities and a storytime in the theme of your child’s choice.  Instead of goody bags filled with plastic toys, allow each child to pick out their own paperback book to take home as a memento.  You can include a gift wish list with your invitation that features book titles of your child’s choosing.  Parents and kids will have a wonderful adventure in this story-lovers paradise while supporting a local business.  The American Booksellers Association’s  membership directory can help you locate an independent book store in your area.

• Where The Wild Things Party -   If your kids are wild about animals, invite a local animal rescue association to your next party.   Call and find out if they have a trained handler on staff who will bring their live animals to your party so that the kids can learn first-hand about wildlife conservation and the environment.  Staff members should be able to help you put together a list of gift suggestions for items like bowls and bandages that can be purchased in the name of the birthday child then donated to the animal rescue association.  Generally, the fee to have the animals and their trained handlers come to your party goes towards the care and rehabilitation of those animals.  To locate an animal rescue association in your area, visit AnimalShelter.org or RescueDirectory.com.

• The Secret Garden Party -  Indulge your child’s desire to dig in the dirt, splash in puddles and chase leaves in the wind.  Create an Earth-friendly party at a community garden, botanical center or in your own backyard.   Most botanical gardens offer party packages that include a tour of the children’s garden and an age-appropriate planting activity.  You can create your own by giving each child their own flower or herb to plant in a decorative container.  This will  serve as their party souvenir.  If weather permits, utilize picnic tables for enjoying birthday cake and other party treats.  If you are celebrating at a botanical garden, ask the staff to put together a suggestion list of items like binoculars or field guides that can be purchased in the name of the birthday girl or boy and then given to the gardens for educational use.

• Arts And Crafts Party - Contact a local art museum or art teacher to  help you craft a party that will let your child’s creative energy flow.  Ask the museum if your guests can get a guided tour of the museum then create a scavenger hunt sheet to help kids locate various works of art.   Some museums even offer a fun, age-appropriate art activity that allows them to make their own take-home gift or you can create one yourself.  Let museum staff help you put together a wish list of materials that can be purchased in the birthday child’s name and then contributed to the museum for future programs.  The USA Museum Database can assist you in locating a museum in your area.

• Get Cooking Party - Encourage your kids to play with their food.  Create an organic cooking party with your birthday boy or girl.  Take them shopping at a Farmer’s Market or natural food store for the ingredients and then let them and their guests decorate their own birthday cupcakes with organic frosting and fresh, local fruit.  For summertime parties,  help your pint-sized guests whip up an organic ice cream bar.  For souvenirs, put together a small booklet with copies of the recipes you made and pictures of the birthday child and guests as they create their birthday party treats.  As a gift suggestion for this party theme ask guests to make donations to your local food bank. 

• More Ideas - If you are still feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of planning an environmentally-friendly birthday party, visit Birthdays Without Pressure.  Created by parents who believe that children’s parties are getting too extravagant, this resource gives parents alternative ideas for designing birthday celebrations that are fun and sustainable.  This site includes a birthday pressure quiz, resources for parent educators and an opportunity to share experiences that will help you create your own green party.

If you have more ideas for eco-friendly celebrations, please post a comment.  Look for my “7 Tips For Creating A Zero Waste Halloween Party” later this week.