Increasingly in recent years, people have begun making the decision to go green. No, they aren’t coloring their skin or wearing nothing but green, but they are making healthier choices for themselves, the environment, and their children. This has lead to an interest in green or eco-friendly baby showers and the baby shower industry has quickly followed suit.
A green baby shower is one that takes into account how much waste a party can create with paper plates, wrapping paper, gift bags, etc. The eco-conscious hostess takes into account all of the things that could be eliminated for the sake of the environment, while still throwing a wonderful party. Where items can't be left out, sourcing products made from recycled materials will go a long way to helping.
Decorating for a green baby shower is one of the easiest things that you can do and it can also be the hardest. Obviously, you are going to stay clear of some very traditional party elements like balloons, streamers and confetti and go with more natural, eco-friendly choices like floral arrangements and potted plants. Some larger items can be hired for the day.
One of the best settings for a green baby shower is outdoors. A garden, backyard, or even a park are great locations. This will provide you with most of your decorations and you may need to do little else with the space.
If you want to add a bit more panache, spruce up the area with natural elements like flowers, colored stones, or water fountains. Bamboo and palm fronds can decorate the space as well. Candles can also provide ambiance to the space or for centerpieces you could fill a jar with limes or lemons.
Invitations can be the tricky part of throwing a green shower, especially if you want a hard-copy paper invitation. You can use the telephone and phone all the guests or you can email them an 'e-invite'. If you really want a paper invitation there are still alternatives.
One of these can be invitations made from recycled paper. There are many companies offering these and they are not very expensive when it comes to invitations. The invitation that I feel is an absolute treasure are invitations made with seed paper. When guests receive their invitations, they can take it and plant it. Wildflowers (or whatever type of seed you have in the paper) will bloom from the seed and the recycled paper that is around the seed will serve as mulch for the new flowers.
It is important to state on the invitations that the baby shower is a green shower. Ask guests to purchase eco-friendly and/or organic baby gifts and to not use wrapping paper, or to use recycled paper for wrapping. If guests know what to expect, they can add to the green experience.
Ideally gifts should also be eco-friendly, which often implies a smaller carbon footprint. Fortunately the number of eco-friendly products available is constantly increasing due to demand. Try to avoid a lot of unnecessary packaging. If you can't, use recycled paper/packaging or best of all reusable containers (particularly good if giving sweets). Just a note, glass is a better long term option than plastic.
For gifts to give guests as favors or prizes, a great idea would be practical household items. Or maybe as a big prize, a gift certificate to an eco-friendly spa or shop (if you have the budget). If your guests are gardeners, accessories or plants for the garden are a nice choice. Other ideas include organic body washes or lotions, and stationary made with seed paper so people can send lovely letters to friends and family in an eco-friendly way. Another great prize idea is gourmet organic tea, fair trade coffee, or organic chocolate.
If you have opted for an outdoor baby shower, then a Picnic approach to food will make the most sense. A word to the wise 'wherever possible, keep it simple!'
Go with a salad bar for a green shower and fill it with all sorts of green and even organic goodies from a mouth-watering Watermelon Stroller and Fruit Tray to various tasty salads. You could also alter the Chicken Caesar Wraps to be a Vegetarian Caesar Wrap (minus the chicken) and offer those as your main course. There are many different dishes that you could offer that are both decorative and delicious.
Another idea is to go with the 'green' theme and serve green colored foods. Green vegies: most salads, cucumber, green bell pepper, many healthy items like Celery, Brocolli, Kale, Spinach, even Peas. Many vegies are great eaten raw with a tasty dip. Dips e.g. avacado. Green fruits e.g. Kiwi fruit, and perhaps for drinks a tasty cordial made using Limes.
If the mom-to-be and many of the guests are also Vegetarian or Vegan, consider going with a vegan-only menu. This can be easier than trying to have multiple menus. In addition to health and ethical issues, animals raised for food tend to have a big envoronmental impact and carbon footprint (particularly beef).
One point to make about your green food is to serve it on real dishes or if that simply isn't practical, then at least paper plates made from recycled materials. Avoid 'throw-away' plastic plates and cuttlery if possible.
Games can be similar to any baby shower and the key is to keep them green. Try to avoid playing any games that will result in something being thrown away, unless it can be recycled. If the games require paper, use a recycled paper. Consider games like Baby Food by Mary Rudolph, using organic baby foods, Name Game contributed by Becca or Memory contributed by Rachelle.