greenbaby

I’ve been reading up on throwing a green baby shower, and I thought I’d share a few tips.
First, and this one is hard for me, start with your invitations. I will admit, I am a snail mail person. I greatly prefer communicating with anybody via the good old US mail. There’s nothing like seeing that colorful, lovingly hand addressed envelope nestled amongst the bills. But I will admit that sending online invitations cuts down on paper waste generated by your party. What’s an old fashioned green mama to do? Usually I compromise by finding invitations printed on recycled paper — and there are some lovely ones out there. But for those of you who want to go as green as possible (and save some money to boot) visit a website like www.evite.com. The online invitations you’ll find there are free and easy to use. Not to mention, you need only check your inbox to see who’s already responded.
Next, food. A party staple. However, there are more than a few caveats that come with this topic if you want to have a green table. First, don’t overdo quantity. I’ve never been to a party (especially potluck) that does not leave huge amounts of wasted food on the table as the guests are leaving. Remember that most people really don’t eat that much at parties. And if you do run low on food towards the end, nobody is going to walk out. Second, think seasonally (more about this in an upcoming post). The latest trend in green living is eating seasonally and locally, and the two go hand in hand. For example, if I were to throw a baby shower now, in late October, I certainly would not have tomatoes, corn or spinach (summer crops) on the menu. My meal might lean more towards an apple and squash themed buffet. Not only are these foods seasonally appropriate, but I can find them locally right now.
When serving your food, definitely skip the paper plates and napkins. Be bold and use your regular dinnerware, or ask to borrow some from friends and neighbors if you don’t have enough yourself. This will cut back on a whole slew of paper-related waste.
Gifts are another area in which waste is all too common. First of all, think of a registry. That way your guests will have an easy time buying for you and you’ll get things you actually want. My trouble when I was pregnant was that I couldn’t find one store that had enough of the things I wanted to merit opening a registry. Looking back on it, I should have opened several small registries. If you’re looking for natural or organic items, skip the big box stores. You’ll find a few items you might like, but you’ll have much better luck with online boutiques. Find a few stores online that carry products you like, and don’t hesitate to open small registries with several of them. You can list the sites as examples of places for people to look for gifts on your invitations. Also indicate on your invitations that you would appreciate it if guests found some way of wrapping gifts with recycled or reusable materials. There are gift giving cloth bags that I’ve seen for sale, but why not just wrap the gift in a receiving blanket? Cute and functional!
These are just a few ideas to green up your own baby shower. Check in soon to read more about eating seasonally and locally.

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