Nature-friendly Birthday Bash Ideas

If you love birthdays and celebrations or just love throwing house parties or get-together events then this post is definitely for you. 

It doesn't matter what the size of the birthday party is , be it a small gathering at home or a large function in a party hall , celebrations tend to have a huge impact on the environment. Especially given the level of waste that they generate in just one night.

So here are some ways in which you can have a more eco-friendly birthday party with minimum waste.

Look at the picture below (Photo by Tania Miron on Unsplash) - Can you spot the things that are actually harmful to the planet!!!!! I am sure you can spot a few there!!

1. Balloons - 

Balloons are the number one cause of waste and pollution. Balloon waste is often found on the coastal areas, as they tend to blow really far away and harm wildlife and animals in the farthest of lands. Cows, sheep , dogs, whales, turtles have all been harmed because of balloons.

We fill them up for a couple of hours and these animals have to bear the brunt of it. The balloon is often consumed by these animals unknowingly and it blocks their digestive tracts, leading to choking and suffocation.

 

There are some balloons which are declared as bio-degradable latex balloons. Well, have you ever wondered how many years these so called "bio-degradable"things actually take to break down. They take up to 4 years to disintegrate and before they do, they tend to harm a lot of animals and create a lot of waste and litter.

Animals are found choked, tied up in balloon fragments, they are sometimes not able to eat or even move. 

Also, balloons come in different shapes and sizes , so don't be fooled by the exterior. If they require you to fill them up then please don't use them.

A good alternative to this is to keep the decoration simple, and fill it up with lots of photos which reflect memories, or handmade cut-outs which are huge to write "Happy Birthday" like in the image shown below(Photo by Christina Hernández on Unsplash). Be creative and decorate it with some fairy lights as well!!!!

2. Plastic Water Bottles/Coke Bottles:

In a lot of parties I have noticed a growing trend of keep Bisleri plastic water bottles. On average a person ends up consuming 4-5 of these mini-bottles which will never be recycled on just one day. 

Even when I attend weddings or functions, I have noticed this same trend. 

Similarly, if you are serving a lot of coke then you must be throwing away a large bag of bottles filled with empty coke bottles. 

Some other options you can try instead are - make a fruit punch, or juices from natural elements or you can even use Mojito syrup bottles. They are super duper easy. If you love making your own fruit punches or Mock-tails then even better.

Mojito Syrup is sold a variety of flavors - Mint, Strawberry, Green apple etc. You just have to add the syrup to some chilled water with mint and it is ready to be served. What I love about Mojito syrup is that it is sold in glass bottles mostly, and one bottle can serve a large group of people.

A substitute of plastic bottles would be to serve fresh water at the bar counter in glasses, if you can serve coke in glasses, why not water. If the party is at home, then serve it in a jug and keep some glasses near it.

(Photo by David Pennington on Unsplash)

3. Confetti :

Confetti are small pieces of paper that are usually thrown over the bride and groom when they are getting married.

However, it is quite popular in birthday parties too.  For those who don't know what confetti is - you can refer to the image below  - Photo by Matheus Frade on Unsplash.

Plastic and glitter confetti has become very common these days. One should realize that the size of the confetti is so small that when it is part of a large bag of waste, it is extremely difficult to separate it and it just ends up in the oceans, rivers and in the landfills. It is not bio-degradable and is a momentary show so can be totally avoided.

Recently , a new sort of confetti has been becoming quite common, where people use leaves to make confetti. It is fairly easy, you just have to make holes using a puncher in the leaves, and collect it ina bag and can be reused.

Another better alternative to confetti would be using flower petals.

My personal suggestion would be to just skip this whole step. 

4. Gift Wrapping and Gifts:

If you are the one attending a birthday party and not hosting it, you are equally responsible for keeping this affair nature-friendly. So, what you gift is quite crucial. 

Some Eco-friendly gift ideas would be - 

A Bottle of Wine

A personalized Hand-made Diary

Photo Frames

Ceramic Cutlery

Ceramic Showpieces

Gift Cards

Ceramic/metal body Planter

Dream Catcher or Wind Chime

Organic soap sets

The next part is Gift Wrapping - most of the wrapping paper is not really wrapping paper - it is rather wrapping in plastic. Did you know most wrapping paper cannot be recycled at all. It is supposed to end up in landfills and stay on this planet forever!!!

Most of the wrapping paper is actually lined with plastic - it has a thin glossy plastic covering. 

Some really good alternatives are to tie up the present in Newspaper wrapping. You can add a ribbon or stickers on top, or even magazine cut -outs. I have tried this and it absolutely looks incredible and your host knows and understands what you stand for.

Another option could be wrapping the gift in a scarf , this would make the gift wrapping a part of the material too.

A lot of people also buy new gifting bags to gift things. It is okay to re-use some old bags which others may have gifted you things in, or branded paper bags which come along while shopping. 

So, these were some of the ways in which you can have a more nature loving birthday party!!!

Do give more suggestions in the comments section below.