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Fresh Look - a birthday party done right
September 18, 2007

Posted by CindyW in : Fresh Look , trackback

Well, another weekend, another kid’s birthday party. Told you I went to birthday parties at least once a month, if not twice. Two weeks ago, I walked away from a birthday party, disappointed and depressed about all the plastic crap in the party. But this weekend, for a much welcome change, I went to the best toddler party ever (well, it’s all relative, we are talking about toddlers here)! Both of my kids (5 and 2&1/2) said this was the “funnest party”. Here are some reasons:

  1. It was in our neighborhood. No need to drive. We took our alternative vehicles - scooter, tricycle and legs.
  2. The host specifically requested for “NO presents”, because the occasion was meant for having fun together, not getting more stuff. Least you think, “oh, the poor deprived boy”, he has received awesome presents from his parents and grand parents
  3. The birthday was in the backyard on a typical end-of-summer sunny, warm and beautiful day
  4. Kids played kids’ games – wheel barrel competition, three-legged race, tag… Remember those? In additional to work out their sugar high, these games actually taught kids to work together in a fun way
  5. Theme of the party – bugs. Bug-finding magnifiers were provided to encourage kids to find insects in the backyard. What kids don’t like bugs?
  6. Kids participated in pizza making. Well, it was no more than putting on a few slices of pepperoni and sprinkling cheese. But the pizzas sure tasted better to them
  7. Warm homemade chocolate cake served on real plates, topped with Straus mint-chocolate chip ice-cream!
  8. Kids got to pick and eat all the berries, tomatoes, and grapes grown in the backyard. I had more than a handful myself. Yum!
  9. Instead of buying individual birthday cards, they made an incredibly creative book together for the occasion. Spills and messes were all forgiven in the backyard with a hose
  10. No goody bags (I believe the original reason for giving out goody bags is to appease the little birthday attendees since the birthday boy or girl usually gets a ton of presents at the party. This time around, no presents and no goody bags). Whew!
  11. Parents happily watched the kids while having a glass of champagne mimosa :)

Hey, I will go to that kind of birthday parties any day - fun, creative, green, and inexpensive. Sam and Anna, thanks for the “funnest” birthday party!

CindyW at Organicpicks

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Copyright 2007 Organicpicks

Comments»

1. Annette - September 19, 2007

Cindy, I love this post. I write for a birthday party blog and would love to include your ideas there with a link back to you. Would that be ok?

2. Minh - September 19, 2007

You might want to check out Birthday Without Pressure at

http://www.birthdayswithoutpressure.org/

You might find some good camaraderie and support there.

3. Eco-friendly Kids Birthday Party Ideas - January 22, 2008

All these are great options to help the environment. The events that encouraged kids to work together was a great idea. The creative book idea is cool too! Another good idea is to use cloth table covers instead of plastic. There are so many options when you actually take the time to think about it.