My husband celebrated a big birthday recently that had an 0 at the end of it. He didn't want a big party or performance and didn't want to spend screeds of money (Who are we kidding here??? He might be the birthday boy but I'm the party organiser with the deep pockets so he was never going to spend much anyway!!)
Anyway - In the end we decided to go away for a week up to a cabin on the local mountain - Springbrook, where it was going to be at least 7 degrees cooler than the "close to 40 degrees" we are having in Brisbane at the moment, for his birthday and while were were there invite friends and family up for a lunch time gathering to celebrate.
The husband was keen to make it as eco friendly as possible so no balloons, streamers, paper plates or plastic cups - sounds like it might be a bit of a challenge but - Here's what we did...
We took up all our own crockery, glassware and cutlery - and even though it was a fair bit to lug up and back and a fair bit to wash up, it gave people time to bond over dishes and lowered our rubbish considerably. For 30 people for lunch, 3 people for a week, and 6 others overnight - we only generated one and a half bags of rubbish for the week, not including recyclables. I thought that was really quite good!
We tried to buy what we could in glass containers rather than plastic and since most of the food was real food it didn't come with much packaging and thus there was less waste. We did a make your own filled roll for the main meal and people bought their specialities along as well - so we had scotch eggs, pork pies, a yummy cheese ball, an awesome slice, antipasto platter, nibblies of all sorts!
We lived on the leftovers for the next few meals (this was planned!)
We used real serviettes instead of paper ones.
Green-ness: 5/5 for using things that can be washed and used again
Frugal-ness: 5/5 Turns out to be much cheaper if you already have the bits and pieces!
Time cost: A lot more time to pack, wash and repack all the gear - but it was good bonding time for those who shared in these activities.
Skill level: Lots of thinking of alternatives!
Fun-ness: Great fun to only have a bag and a half of rubbish - made us feel quite virtuous!
Anyway - In the end we decided to go away for a week up to a cabin on the local mountain - Springbrook, where it was going to be at least 7 degrees cooler than the "close to 40 degrees" we are having in Brisbane at the moment, for his birthday and while were were there invite friends and family up for a lunch time gathering to celebrate.
The husband was keen to make it as eco friendly as possible so no balloons, streamers, paper plates or plastic cups - sounds like it might be a bit of a challenge but - Here's what we did...
Since the cabin was very rustic in design, we simply did a few vases and jugs of branches and grasses for decoration. We let Mother Nature and the architect/builder set the scene!
We took up all our own crockery, glassware and cutlery - and even though it was a fair bit to lug up and back and a fair bit to wash up, it gave people time to bond over dishes and lowered our rubbish considerably. For 30 people for lunch, 3 people for a week, and 6 others overnight - we only generated one and a half bags of rubbish for the week, not including recyclables. I thought that was really quite good!
We tried to buy what we could in glass containers rather than plastic and since most of the food was real food it didn't come with much packaging and thus there was less waste. We did a make your own filled roll for the main meal and people bought their specialities along as well - so we had scotch eggs, pork pies, a yummy cheese ball, an awesome slice, antipasto platter, nibblies of all sorts!
We lived on the leftovers for the next few meals (this was planned!)
We used real serviettes instead of paper ones.
For presents, he asked for donations to be made to some of his favorite charities, and so received only a few pressies - mainly books, music and videos that he was expecting!
It wasnt the easiest or quickest party to organise but it was a lot of fun!!! There are lots of ways to have an eco party, Have a look here for decorating tips. Have a look here for all sorts of ideas for an eco friendly party! For kids eco friendly parties, going to the park, pool or some place other than home can make it special but for parties that may not involve a lot of littlies, have a look at these ideas...
Have fun!
Score card: Green-ness: 5/5 for using things that can be washed and used again
Frugal-ness: 5/5 Turns out to be much cheaper if you already have the bits and pieces!
Time cost: A lot more time to pack, wash and repack all the gear - but it was good bonding time for those who shared in these activities.
Skill level: Lots of thinking of alternatives!
Fun-ness: Great fun to only have a bag and a half of rubbish - made us feel quite virtuous!
Comments
Regarding the Matzoh: it's an unleavened bread, similar to a cracker. I used a Matzoh mix with oil and egg to make the balls.
http://www.manischewitz.com/sidesandmixesproducts.html
It was a wonderful week - we certainly enjoyed it and it was so much cooler than Brisbane... We even lit the fire on a couple of evenings! It was nice to get away and escape the heat, which is why we often go away for the husbands birthday!
Ah - the Matzoh balls, I will have to pop in for dinner one day and you can make them for me!!! Hope you are feeling better and I love your Hubby's red made at Christmas hat! - K xxx