Waste and kids birthday parties can go hand in hand, but they don’t have to. Last summer, I wrote an article for The Washington Post outlining ways to celebrate kids with loads of festivity, but just, you know, less waste. Now, I’d like to share how my family pulled this off for my son’s fourth birthday party. Here’s what we did:
Picking an activity or theme for a low-waste birthday party
I asked him what he wanted. His answer: a parade. OK! I then I looked to what we already had at home. For his last birthday party, I had DIYed some drums and shakers from yogurt tubs and bottles, so those became our parade instruments. I also happened to have a bag of kid-sized superhero capes and masks that a friend passed along to me (which she originally got from her Buy Nothing group – there’s no telling how many houses those capes have passed through). So, anyway, between the upcycled instruments and the capes, we had some fun parade props for the kids. Additionally, several years ago, as part of a Les Miserables-themed flash mob at a wedding (you know, the usual) my husband created a giant red flag from a shower curtain. So we busted that out as well and he waved it as our parade leader. Ultimately we told the families to assemble at a playground two blocks from our house and after about 45 minutes of staggered arrivals and playing on the equipment, we set out. The parade went better than I imagined!
I thought about planning some activities at our house, but ultimately didn’t. At four years old, my son and his friends are already super jazzed about simply being in someone else’s home and checking out a whole new set of toys. I’m glad I didn’t spend time on more activities.
Activity/theme takeaway: Start by looking at what you have and brainstorm from there with your child. If you’re hosting for particularly young children at your home, keep in mind that exploring another kid’s toy collection will often keep kids very entertained. Same goes for a trip to your local playground.
Picking a location for a low-waste kid’s birthday party
This was tricky. We were hesitant to do lots of pre and post party cleanup. We don’t have a backyard and worried our living room/dining room/playroom/kitchen space wasn’t big enough for potentially 15 kids and their parents. On the other hand, we weren’t so enthused about the expense and coordination and stuff-schlepping required for an off-site party.
But we do have a playground about two blocks from our house. So we opted to do something a little unusual: we invited people to meet up at the playground, which made sure the kids had some time to run around. Then, about 45 minutes after the stated start time, we distributed capes and instruments and everyone paraded to our house. It worked! Post-party cleanup was less than I feared, which may have been helped by the fact that half the party took place outside. As for the pre-party cleaning honestly, I was glad to be forced to do a deep get-our-house-ready-for guests clean!
Location takeaway: Our situation was a little unusual, but ultimately, playing to our neighborhood’s strengths and pushing ourselves to make our home guest-ready worked! We’ve also been to great parties where parents simply set up at a playground and the kids did their thing!
Decorations for a low-waste kids birthday party
My son’s party was after his actual birthday, so we already had a collection of greeting cards from family. He and I taped those to the wall. Shortly before his party, his artsy babysitter watched him for the night. I asked if she might be up for helping him with some coloring projects we could use as decorations. They both got really into it! He was excited to see his own art decorating the walls for his birthday.
Decorations takeaway: Again, work with what you have (birthday cards are great decoration!) and include your child in the process. If any of the adults in your child’s life enjoy arts and crafts, they might enjoy the group project.
What food to serve for a low-waste kid’s birthday party
My food goals were easy, substantial and healthy-ish finger foods. We opted not to serve lunch and noted on the invitation that we’d be serving snacks. Because we started at the playground, the portion of our party in which snacks were available was relatively short (maybe an hour). I stressed a bit about bringing snacks to the playground and ultimately brought a container of cookies, but no one ate them. The kids just wanted to play!
As for the food at our house, I went for a mix of easy fruit, veggies, crackers, cheese and graham crackers, and, of course, cupcakes. I skipped dips because they seemed messy and not such a good fit for 4-year-old finger food dining. For a party of 12 adults and 10 children, here’s what we set out and what people ate:
- A veggie tray of bell pepper spears (two bell peppers) and baby carrots (half a bag). People definitely took some and I was glad to have a veggie option, but plenty was left over at the end of the party. I selected these types of veggies because if it seemed like lots of germy hands were reaching into the dish, leftover carrots and pepper spears would be easy to cook.
- A dish of relatively thinly sliced apples (two apples, I think). There were some left and I believe this was the most popular thing we set out. I went for apple slices and not berries because they were sturdier, less messy and less expensive. I sliced the apples rather than setting them out whole, because I otherwise imagined kids taking one bite and then walking away.
- A dish of Kodiak graham crackers. There were some of these left at the end. I bought two boxes, but we didn’t even make it through a box.
- A dish of crackers. I bought three boxes of crackers, but only opened two of them. Of the two cracker types I opened, I only poured about half the box onto the dish I set out; we had plenty left over.
- A dish of cheese squares (I bought three butter-stick-sized trays). We set out maybe 1 and a half trays of cheese squares and had plenty left over.
- Mini cupcakes. My son and I made these the day before. Even with their tiny size, some kids only took a bite or licked off the frosting, so I’m glad we made them so small.
- Back-up bowl of fruit. Juuuuuuust in case, I set out a bowl of bananas and clementines — fruits with thick peels that wouldn’t need any special handling and would be there in case anyone was very hungry. No one took any, but they looked nice on the table!
People definitely ate the finger foods we set out, but the kids were largely focused on playing and the adults were mostly chatting, so, ultimately we had a lot left over. And although we didn’t officially serve “lunch,” the cheese, crackers, fruit and veggies made for a perfectly good lunch for us party hosts after everyone left!
Food takeaways:
Here’s what food to serve for a kid’s birthday party for about 10 kids and 10 adults with minimal waste
- Two bell peppers, sliced into spears. (If you’re nervous about having enough, slice three and keep one in the fridge)
- A bag of baby carrots (But only empty half of it at first and refill if needed.)
- A couple apples, sliced into relatively thin slices. (if you’re nervous about having enough, cut more, keep them in the fridge, and refill if need be).
- Two butter-stick-sized trays of cheese squares. Put one out and replenish if needed. Buy a third tray if you’re nervous (and commit to making the extras party of your meal planning for the next week).
- Two boxes of crackers. Only put some out at a time and replenish if needed. Buy a third box if you’re nervous, but leave it unopened.
- A box of graham cracker cookies. Put out half a box and then refill only if needed.
- Mini cupcakes- two per guest. Keep them small for the kids who will only take one bite. Have enough to give everyone two so that some people can take seconds and so the birthday kid is virtually guaranteed leftover cupcakes.
- Food insurance. If you’re worried about having enough, a bowl of bananas and clementines looks nice set out on the table and can feed extra hungry folks. An extra box or bag of your family’s go-to snacks in a cabinet can also help assuage worries of not enough food, without the risk of buying and setting out party food you’ll never end up eating.
To keep your waste down, make these two practices your mantra:
1) Don’t put it all out at once – it’s harder to repurpose food that has been out. Just refill as needed. You could even assign refilling to a close friend or family member who wants to help or who may be eager for a job if they don’t know many people at the party.
2) Have a plan you’re comfortable with for uneaten food. I thought I might cook the leftover carrots and veggies, for example (though we ended up eating them as is). All the crackers, cheese and cookies were already part of our regular grocery rotation at our home.
What drinks to serve at a low-waste kid’s birthday party
This was tricky. I wanted to avoid single-use disposable drinks, but also accommodate kids who weren’t ready for fragile glasses. Some sustainability experts suggest just asking parents to bring water bottles, but that felt a little odd to me and I worried that our invitation already had a number of special instructions. So, I gathered all of my son’s cups, including souvenir cups and sippy cups (without their tops) and set them on a cloth in the kitchen, underneath the cabinet where our usual drinking glass are. I posted a sign above them saying: “Adult cups inside! Kids cups below!” with an arrow pointing down. The sign also mentioned that milk and orange juice were in the fridge. Few people touched the cups, or even ventured far enough into our kitchen to notice them! For the adults, I also stocked some seltzers, whose highly recyclable aluminum cans I was more comfortable with than juice boxes. I had planned to just tell people the seltzers and milk and water were available in the kitchen, but that was easy to forget in the thick of the party. During the party, my husband came up with a brilliant solution–he grabbed as many cans of seltzers as he could in each hand and walked around offering them. It was an easy way to deliver drinks and also a great way to mix with our guests. I’m honestly not sure how this worked out for the kids–maybe some had water bottles, others weren’t really thirsty or eating enough to make them thirsty and maybe still others were getting the liquid they needed from the apples and veggies we set out. I hope none left thirsty!
Drinks takeaway. I don’t feel like I’ve really figured this one out yet, but cans of seltzer for adults is great, as is being ready to pour drinks for kids. If you want to go low waste, skip bottled water and juice boxes. Next time, I think I will put a sign near the food letting people know that drinks are in the kitchen.
How to do plates, silverware, cups and napkins at a low-waste kid’s birthday party
The previous year I borrowed these highly stackable plastic Ikea plates from a friend. The plates are great because they stack and store very easily, they have a lip to minimize spills and they’re small, which discourages taking too much food. Anticipating many future uses, I invested in our own set for this party. We put out enough for each person, but many were unused by the time the party ended. Because we only served finger foods, we didn’t need any silverware. I also set out our reusable napkins, and set up those reusable cups in the kitchen.
Serving items takeaway: If you do finger foods, your need for dishes and utensils will diminish dramatically. For the dishes you do use, go for small, reusable ones (possibly borrowed from a friend).
How to do gifts and goodie bags at a low-waste kids birthday party
It’s common in our area to say “no gifts” on invitations, a request that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. That would have been the simplest route, but I had also recently learned about the pre-loved gift exchange concept from Sonika Bhasin. I mentioned it in my WaPo article and was eager to try it myself. So, on the invitation, I invited people to participate in a totally optional gift exchange. The idea was that each kid brings two wrapped pre-loved toys or books that they’re done with, but are still age appropriate. Then, at the end of the party, each kid leaves with a gift and the birthday child opens what’s left. I still don’t know the parents terribly well and was a little worried about how it might be received so I did all I could to frame it as optional and to mention that we’d be seeding the box with a number of items so even if a guest didn’t bring something, they’d still definitely leave with something.
My worries about how the parents would feel about the request melted away when, in the days leading up to the party, a dad told me at preschool drop-off how much his family liked the idea. The concept was also a hot topic as parents chatted during the playground portion of the party. It turned out that people like both the reassurance that they wouldn’t leave with little plastic toys, and the project of talking with their children about letting go of toys they weren’t using any more. I ultimately liked this better than a straight no-gift policy because it became another dimension of the party–the kids enjoyed dropping off their items and choosing something at the end and the parents got an excuse to excise a toy from their home and an easy conversation starter. I loved that it also normalized giving used toys as gifts. Afterward, however, I did feel funny about how many of his friend’s toys my son now owned. To assuage that funny feeling in the future, I plan to make a donation to a local group in our area that helps children.
Gift and goodie bag takeaway: Noting “no gifts” on the invite is an easy way to prevent new toys from flooding your home. It’s also totally fine to skip goodie bags. But if you’d like to put a low-waste twist on gifts and goodie bags, do a pre-loved gift exchange, possibly accompanied by a donation to a beloved cause. This may happen on its own, but also consider urging parents to wrap the gifts using materials they already have.
How to do trash/compost/recycling/sorting at a low-waste kid’s birthday party
Trash/compost/recycling collecting and sorting. I worried people might be confused by our somewhat elaborate waste management system in our kitchen so I put up a sign in the kitchen directing people to where they could put used cloth napkins, dishes, food, recycling and straight up trash. It turned out, however, that that was unnecessary. Lots of kids didn’t even take plates, so most of the cleanup was in moving the serving dishes off our table and into the fridge. While there were definitely some stray apple slices and crumbs strewn about, it was much less than we anticipated and clean up was a breeze. I think I dumped a couple plates of half eaten food into the compost and that was it. So, no need to take out the trash!
Trash/compost/recycling/napkins takeaway. Ideally, you can set up separate collection areas and signs for compost, napkins, dishes, recycling and actual trash. But if you do a lot of finger foods and if the kids and parents are more focused on playing and chatting than eating, you may not have much to clean up in the end at all.
