Birthday Parties

We just celebrated T's 1st birthday two weeks ago. The party was great and T had a blast (I hope our guests did too). However, during the planning process I was pretty disappointed with myself and how much waste this party would create. While planning the party I was torn between throwing him an over the top first birthday party and trying to maintain my green philosophies. I really wanted T to have a party with all the bells and whistles. Since T was born we have called him our little monkey so we settled on a monkey theme party. My initial vision for the party was a bit outrageous. Thankfully, by the time the party day arrived we had definitely scaled back quite a bit. When shopping for party decor I decided to try to coordinate colors with themes I may do for next year. I figured if I had left over items I could re-use them the following year. My husband thought I was going a little too far when I washed down the plastic tablecloths so that I could store them and re-use them. He insisted that bacteria would grown and encouraged me to throw them away. I listened, but now wish that I would have held on to the tablecloths. I decided not to put goodie bags together for the kiddos. Instead, I purchased inflatable monkey's to hang around the yard as decor. I then used those monkey's as favors for the kids. Fellow greenie, Jackie, designed T's party invites. I decided to send a photo invite in hopes that guests would keep the picture of T. I have also decided to send a party photo of T as the thank you cards with a note written on the back of the photo. I did keep all the ribbons, bows, and gift bags that T's gifts came in. I will reuse all the bows, ribbons, and packaging for future gift giving or for scrapbooking. Some of the decorations were recycled for a family friend's party. The left over decorations that I won't be able to use next year I will freecycle for someone else to use. While I love the idea of using reusable plates, utensils, and drinkware I cringe at the thought of having to wash everything. T's party was far from being a green party. I hope that next year I can be at least a little more green. I would love to hear your green party ideas! Please comment on this post if you have a suggestion.

(Photo above is of the monkey cupcakes served at T's party)