Throwing a party
September 7th, 2006 by Mollie
My husband turns 30 today and I am throwing him a birthday party this Saturday to celebrate his life. He has spent all of his life (minus 4 months) living in the midwest (Illinois and Michigan) and we thought that it would be perfect to close out this chapter of his life and welcome the next by having a party.
Since I am throwing the party I wanted to make it as environmentally and socially friendly as possible. The one major complication with accomplishing this has been time. The party is Saturday and we are moving 2,000 miles across the country on Monday. I hate disposable anything and I can’t justify throwing stuff away for the sake of “conveinence”. However, as much as I fought disposables that seemed to be part of the solution to having this party in the midst of our immediately chaotic life.
Plates: I found 100% recycled paper, unbleached, compostbale plates made by the Whole Foods brand Green Mission. The Seventh Generation ones that I was able to find in a grocery store were kind of flimsy and the Green Mission ones were much sturdier.
Silverware: I am going to use my mother-in-laws silverware and I found a partially used box of disposable silverware if I need any additional eating untensils.
Napkins: Seventh Generation 100% recycled paper napkins.
Cups: I have not figured out what I am going to do about cups…any suggestions? If I find a good solution I will let you know.
Food: I am buying vegetables for the party from Erehwon Farm. I sent Tim an e-mail asking him what would be available this Friday and made my menu based on that. My very good friend Meredith is coming out for the party and we are going to drive out to the farm on Friday afternoon, harvest our vegetables and do a little work.
Drinks: I will have NO bottled water. I am going to fill a couple of pitchers with ice, water, and lemons. Metropolis Coffee Company’s Decaf Fair Trade Organic Coffee and Equal Exchange’s Fair Trade Organic Breakfast Blend will be served with dessert.
House: I am going to clean the house with environmentally friendly products and recycle everything possible.
While I am going to do what I can to have a sustainable party it is important to remember that that is not the point. I am not going to spend my evening eagle-eyeing whether everyone is recycling their soda cans. What I am going to spend my evening doing is having fun, relaxing, and celebrating the life of this truely amazing and wonderful man.
Happy Birthday Kendall!!!!
September 8th, 2006 at 4:12 am
a BIG happy birthday to Kendall!
And a shout out to his enviro-friendly wife!
September 8th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Mols…it sounds like you are going to have a rockin’ party for the Kendall man. I am so happy for you guys as you are moving toward moving…it will be a rennisance in your life!!! I love you and miss you more than I can say!!!!! Keep on writing information that challenges us and makes us better people!!!
September 9th, 2006 at 8:49 am
One party-thrower and her socially conscious party…
Mollie over at One Change outlines the choices she recently made to make a birthday party for her husband as socially conscious and environmentally responsible as possible. Some of her choices are more obvious, like 100% recycled and compostable paper…
September 13th, 2006 at 6:35 am
Miss Mollie I believe you can count the party a success! Even without your “eagle eye” the recycling bin was put to good use and I would guess at least 80% of recyclable goods ended up in the appropriate bin. Also, it should be noted that all of the guests seemed to be having an exceptionally good time, myself included. Thank you for dancing with me in the kitchen, it was the highlight of my evening.
September 13th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Now that I’ve read your post, it seems like throwing a party in a sustainable way is actually easy. Thanks so much for writing about this.