I take my toddler to ride his bike at a small community centre near our house. One Monday morning, however, the place was a festering dump. Huge garbage bins were overflowing and there were big black bags that reeked of rotting, cooked food. My ever-curious child went straight towards the garbage bags. They were lying on their bellies and had been arranged in a row. Were they speed breakers, he asked, and could he ride his bike over them? I think when they were handing out noses up in heaven this little one was taking a nap.
The garbage truck came around and took the three bins and seven bags away. Turns out that a child had just celebrated her first birthday the previous night.
Sometimes, the delicate strands of social networks can make it difficult to resist peer pressure. Perhaps your family is used to large social gatherings and if there aren’t 100 people, it doesn’t feel like a real celebration. Or maybe you simply want an excuse to get out of your uniform of PJs and deliciously soft (but undeniably tatty) T-shirts.
How can you throw a fantastic party, have a great time, and still tread lightly on the environment?
This is the second in a series of articles on entertaining sustainably – read the first article here – without losing friends and alienating people (oh so permanently).
1. Plan the food – A limited but interesting menu can be exciting and sustainable. Some estimates say that making a single kilogram of rice involves 5000 litres of water. Can anything justify a single morsel of wasted food? Especially in this drought year that we seem to have imported from the centre of the sun.
And if you really want a talking point, I recommend getting green chilli ice cream for dessert (It exists, people! I have, ahem, tasted it).
2. Refuse gifts – Boxes, wrapping paper and small piles of bubble wrap can be avoided if you tell your guests not to bring gifts. For people who insist that they can’t come ‘empty handed’, offer the choice of things that can be enjoyed during the party. Perhaps you will get lucky and receive a rare bottle of pesto they bought in Genoa or deliciously fresh lemons from their terrace garden.
3. Plan an activity instead of an event – A Thanksgiving dinner I attended ended up as a Make-Your-Own-Sushi fest, thanks to some enthusiastic students. Rest assured, I will never forget the taste of fresh mango slices on a bed of seaweed. You don’t have to go that far, but a nature walk or a DIY workshop can be just as appealing (and probably much more fun) than a sit-down dinner.
Most urban spaces have slivers of nature in small nooks and crannies, perfect for short nature walks. Often, these are protected areas and you may even find a guidebook that tells you more about the city you call home.
Also, when you change the format, it becomes easier to refuse gifts. There are no social conventions that insist that you must bring a gift for a pottery workshop.
4. Smile and greet and be super hospitable towards your guests – What has that got to do with sustainability, you ask? Sixty desserts can make up for a super-busy host. But a kind and attentive host can also make up for the green chilli ice cream and seaweed mango.
Do you have any other innovative ideas for organising a super fun and sustainable party?
