Keep It Small and Cozy
Remember, this isn’t a wedding. Keep the guest list small. Younger children especially only need a couple of friends to feel like they’re having a real party. Try this rule: Invite only as many children as your child’s age. If your child is three, host just three young guests at his celebration -- he’ll still have a ball!
Make a Different Gift Request
Instead of new presents, request that guests bring one of their own toys or books to give to your child. It’ll give new legs to an old item, and your child will be just as happy. Or you can request that guests bring a contribution to a worthy cause, such as goods for a local homeless shelter or dog food and leashes for an animal shelter.
Use What You Have
Rather than buying all new items, look around the house and see what decorations you can make with items you have lying around. Kids can pitch in on their own party planning by drawing and cutting out pictures of animals, stars or flowers (on recycled paper) and putting them on the table or walls.
Rethink the Favors
Send kids home with something a little greener,
like homemade cookies or a packet of seeds they can plant at home. You can also
hold a craft project at the party and send kids home with something they made
-- a macaroni necklace, hand-drawn T-shirt (scatter fabric markers and white
T-shirts in a variety of sizes across a table) or popsicle-stick picture frame
are fun items, depending on the age of the guests.
Marisa Belger’s work has appeared in Travel + Leisure Family, Natural Health, Prevention
and TODAYShow.com, where she wrote a column about eco-friendly living. She was an editor at Lime.com and collaborated with author Josh Dorfman on his bestselling books, The Lazy Environmentalist
and The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget. She is the managing editor of and frequent contributor to
Green Goes Simple.