In my search for ideas for eco friendly games and party favors for my son's upcoming birthday party, I found this great blog post on the website ecochildsplay.com.

I love this mom's ideas and thought I would share her great ideas on our blog.

In our family, summer time is a full of birthday party celebrations. If your experiences are like mine, your children have attended some extravagant birthday parties that leave a heavy footprint on the Earth. Large blowup, bouncing jump rooms, corporate character disposable dinnerware, paper hats that don’t even last until the end of the party, dollar store junk for party favors, balloons and excessive decorations, etc. seem to be the norm in children’s birthday parties. For my children’s birthdays, I am always looking for ways to lighten our impact during these grand occasions, while giving them the special celebration they desire. Below are a few suggestions for lightening the impact of your child’s birthday celebration.

1. Use digital invites: By creating your own digital invitations, you can email them to your friends and family and reduce the amount of paper involved in the celebration. You may need to print a few invitations to mail for those families not connected to the web, but this will still lighten the impact. A homemade invite also becomes a keepsake to document the day, and you won’t be supporting the corporate characters targeted at children. You will also save time and money by creating your own digital birthday invitations.

2. Pick a natural location for the party: By hosting your party in a natural location, such as a beach or park, you will be combating nature deficit disorder and eliminating the need for jumping rooms, extravagant decorations, etc. Every year, we have our party on a neighbor’s beach. The river provides the entertainment and increases our attendance of distant friends who look forward to a day of river fun in the mountain sun! Also, if the party is located away from your home, you are less likely to go overboard with party favors, decorations, etc., as you will have to pack it in and pack it out of the location.

3. Use reusable plates, napkins, utensils, cups, etc.: I am always amazed at how much garbage is created from even a small birthday party. By using reusable plates, utensils, etc., you are lightening your party’s impact greatly, as well as teaching your children an important lesson about disposables. The clean up after the party will be greater if you use reusables; however, the benefits to the planet certainly outweigh a little of your time. If you must use disposable products, look for paper products that are made with recycled, post-consumer materials and corn plastic utensils that are compostable.

4. Provide natural, eco-friendly party favors: One of the things I dread about my daughter attending her friends’ birthday parties is dollar store, plastic junk and candy she receives as party favors. If you feel compelled to give out party favors, look for items that will not be easily tossed into the landfill and won’t break within a day. Crystals, polished rocks, geodes, etc. make wonderful party favors children’s cherish, and these natural items will contribute to children dramatic play at home. Several natural toy stores also carry party favors. These toys may be more expensive, but when placed in the larger picture of sustainability and climate change, the cost is irrelevant. Better yet, forego the party favors all together.

5. Serve a vegan, chocolate cake: Whether you make your own cake or buy one, think about the ingredients used in the cake and how you could improve this aspect of the birthday tradition. We are lucky to live near a bakery that makes the best vegan, chocolate cake filled with raspberry sauce. They will even make the cake with our own garden grown, organic raspberries. There are many great recipes available online for vegan cakes.

6. Make gifts optional: If your kids are like mine, they already have too many toys! The birthday party can be another contributor to this problem, and if you are like me and detest plastic toys, your child will inevitably receive annoying toys that you do not like. By making gifts optional, you will prevent families frohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifm feeling compelled to buy anything just to attend the party, and your child will not receive a gross amount of junk. Children already receive many gifts from their families, so eliminating a few toys from their friends will not impact the joy of their birthday. You could also request used toys and books or no gifts at all.

There are many ways you can lighten the impact of your child’s birthday, as well as teach them a valuable lesson in sustainability, conservation, etc. You can still have themed birthday parties without all of the commercial products associated with them, by asking families to wear homemade costumes, make your own decorations, etc. Keep it simple, and everyone will enjoy the celebration more, while doing a little bit to save the Earth from climate change.

Alice Walker Designs has put out an eco-friendly lunch tote that I think is great. It's stylish and durable and allows you to pack a lunch that will leave no waste behind. The lunch box is insulated to help keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. It includes full size cutlery (fork, knife and spoon) and a cloth reusable napkin which all attach securely to one side of the inside of the lunch tote. The tote also includes three food containers with leak proof lids sizes small, medium and large. these containers could easily hold 1-2 adult meals or 2-3 kid meals inside. A stainless steel water bottle is  provided with an insulated bottle holder and strap/ carabiner if you wanted to take it somewhere separately, for instance on a walk or hike.

 The lunch tote is lead free and vinyl free and comes with a removable shoulder strap that is great for parents who are carrying arm loads of "stuff" everywhere. It allows one to sling the lunch box strap around the shoulder or across the chest for easy carrying. 

Chic, cute, and hip all describe the look and design of this lunch tote. The tote I received has a bright green interior on one side with a zebra print on the other. The water bottle is zebra print and the cloth napkin has a bright green and white polka dot design. The outside can be monogrammed in your / your child's initials for a customized look. The outside front of the lunch tote also has a small plastic window for you to include your address or phone number in case you leave it somewhere, which if you are anything like me, happens on a regular basis : ). 

I highly recommend this product for adults use in taking their lunch to work,  and kids to use for school lunches. It's purpose and design are appropriate for use by all ages and it's style and function make it a great buy for oneself or as a nice gift idea for a child or friend/family member. 

This eco-tote makes packing lunch and caring for the Earth fun! 

For more information on the Eco-Tote, please visit their website on the link above. 

I thought about posting a "Buy Nothing Day" post on Black Friday, which some people do in protest of our culture's consumerism which is symbolized in the biggest shopping day of the year (the day after Thanksgiving). But than I thought twice about it because I know these are very tough financial times for many people and maybe Black Friday  deals offer some people the only chance to afford Christmas gifts  this year.

 However, when I heard about the Walmart stampede and security guard's death on Long Island last Friday I was so saddened. Tens of people must have walked over this person without looking back to have something like this happen. Is a good deal really worth a life? Is our culture's pull toward consumerism so strong that we would trample a fellow human being to get a great deal on a TV, or a Barbie?

Starting our nations holiday season with a death like this should be a national embarrassment and  gives me even more reason to celebrate "Buy Nothing Day" every Friday after Thanksgiving.

Due to the economic down turn this year as well as just wanting to focus on family and friends and not gifts this year, our extended family has decided to fore go all gift giving this year. What used to be hours of opening gifts until near boredom and wasting reams of wrapping paper, we will spend this Christmas decorating cookies and filling out cards about what we are most thankful for and then read each others aloud. This was the perfect year to begin this (what I hope to be) tradition with the economy being so bad, it hasn't been hard to convince anyone to eliminate gift giving this year. And I think after the enjoyment and stress free Christmas we have this year with the focus being not on gifts but on one another, no one will want to go back to the "traditional" Christmas. 

The primary purpose of a Buy Nothing Day (in addition to having a terrific neighborly time out in the street) is to see what we can do as activists to urge and provide people with a period of respite, a pause for reflection from the incessant rigors of the consumption economy, which is the main thing that dominates the media and perhaps a few too many of our daily life choices and aspirations.

If you are looking for a free stocking stuffer that supports green lifestyle, I have coupons for Farm Fresh to You that offers $10 off your first home delivery of organic produce. I can send you some if you like and you can use them as you wish...in stockings, attached to gifts, in green gift baskets, whatever...

 I have tons of these, so I can send as many as you think you will use.

Just email me with your address and how many you would like at: fondushka@yahoo.com

Happy Holidays!

I need some green gift giving ideas that would be under $15 for a family gift exchange at Christmas. I was thinking a reusable bag and fill it with green, eco-friendly things totaling $15 or under.

I came across this through a mothers group and I wanted to share. We all have different expectations and goals around celebrations in our families, and I know I personally struggle with materialism and celebrations and how to best balance those. I found PROJECT BIRTHDAY that is a non-profit that does bday parties for homeless kiddos in shelters. Great idea, and they have various ways to help out. 

While browsing today on Esty I came across this site.  We have talked recently about giving green gifts and to me this is a great example.  I've been trying to stay away from things Made in China, well this is made by a sweet little girl with Autism.  I hope you'll take a moment to check out her site.   

I found this site today while browsing the internet for something unrelated. It's a bit unseasonal I know, but I think the concept can be applied to any occasion (i.e. Hanukkah, Easter, anniversaries, birthdays, etc)

Some of the alternative gift ideas that I really like are the collective family recipe book, making a book on tape for someone and collecting quotes that make you think of someone.

As green -minded people try to lighten their carbon foot print by consuming less "stuff", this is a good way to gift give during the holidays or special occasions that will have less of a negative impact on the environment but will be just as meaningful if not more so than a store bought gift. Many of the gift ideas not only have a neutral impact  in the environment but some ideas listed also pass along the gift to the recipient as well as others in need.

 Some other websites concerned with American consumerism are:

http://www.newdream.org/kids/

 http://www.xmasresistance.org/

What other alternative gift giving ideas do you have or have you used in the past? 

As usual , I am drooling over items on ETSY and came across this seller who is making purses out of used ( I am assuming used) men's ties. I love to see products made of recycled materials. The other day I found a seller who made earrings out of old bottle caps. I love that.

I've been trying to think of an alternative to gifts for David and Brian's birthday.  Something like what Emily did last year with the book exchange for Noah's party.  Does anyone have ideas?  Or website suggestions?

 Thanks!

This Valentines Day I want to give fun little gifts to my husband and kids, while still keeping with my values.  I'm finally starting to get that shopping this way takes a little planning.  I've been doing a little screen shopping...

I think I'll order some chocolate on-line from Endangered Species Chocolate.  They even have cute Valentines for the kids to hand out.  Do they do that in pre-school?  I'll have to ask! 

Does anyone have ideas for fun Valentine gifts for the kids?  I was thinking of checking out www.etsy.com, but thought I'd see if any of you had ideas for not-made-in-China fun little gifts.

 Thanks!

Anyone want to join me? This year I am not buying ANY gift wrap, bags, bows or ribbons. I think it is just a complete waste of paper and it kills me that it all gets tossed. Some gift wrap can't even be recycled because of tiny metal specs or sparkly patterns.

So all gifts I give this holiday will be given in various "non-wrapping paper" ways. I have a bunch of Christmas bags leftover from last year that I can re-use. I will also be using some scrapbook paper that I already have, the comic section of the newspaper or a big piece of cloth that I can fold(and maybe tuck these directions in so the gift receiver can do the same). "Santa" is even wrapping the kids stocking stuffers in decorated brown lunch bags, leftover from my "pre-green" days.

Lets make less waste this year, who's with me? 

I found this product on etsy and thought I would post it on the blog since I love products that are made from recycled material. It's just a reminder of all the beautiful things we can make (ok, some of us can make...not me because I am creatively challenged) by taking some old stuff  that would have probably ended  up in a landfill and turning it into something new and beautiful and maybe even functional.

 Here's some resources for green giving this holiday season:

www.justgive.org  - You can give gifts to charities in friends and family members names.

www.esty.com - An easy way to shop for great hand made goods. (I think of it like a craft fair online!)

Another way to support local crafts people (and traveling artisans) is to shop the craft fairs.  My favorite one is coming up this weekend at the Finley Community Center.  Click here for details. 

Here's an article that was recently in the Press Democrat on shopping green AND local.

If you want to shop for fair trade locally there's Kindred in downtown Santa Rosa.

www.fairtradefederation.com - A portal to many great on-line fair trade stores.

This holiday season I keep reminding myself of the green shopping law, as described in the book It's Easy Being Green,
"Buy not, buy less, buy green" 

Greenfeet is a  website that I came across while reading a magazine article  in a waiting room today . It looks like they carry many interesting "eco products". It was begun by a stay at home mom  who has 7 employees (including her husband : ) and a projected gross revenue for 2008 of 3.5 million dollars. The article focuses on how to run a green business.....

Greenfeet makes it easier to leave smaller, "greener" footprints. Hey, nobody's perfect - including us. We recognize that there are often obstacles in the path of green footprints. They range from awareness and knowledge to economics and availability. It's our mission to help everyone overcome these obstacles. Welcome to Greenfeet! We truly want your experience to be fun and educational. We are dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about our products, so you are 100% confident in your purchase. Our first responsibility is to provide high-quality, truly natural products that you can trust. If you don't trust us, then you won't buy from us again and, quite frankly, we don't like that any more than you do. We continually strive to:

• Live by the philosophy that our customers are like family, treating each one with respect and honesty.
• Treat our employees with respect, loyalty and fairness. Their commitment is key to Greenfeet's success.
• Be socially and environmentally active in our local community, and conduct business in an ethical and responsible manner.

Not sure if you know of this site

http://www.toysmadeinamerica.com/

San Francisco Green Festival

Show Hours
Friday – 2pm – 8pm
Saturday – 10am – 8pm
Sunday – 11am – 6pm

A friend told me about this site: forsmallhands.com

They are located in Santa Rosa. They are Montessori based.

I like their garden products and wood toys that they have. 

My friend Jen introduced me to the website etsy.  Everything sold is made by hand.
Items range from pottery, to jewelry, to clothing, to kid's toys, to ......you name it!
It's a great way to support "grass-roots" creativity and avoid the "made in china" stuff.
Any creative green mommies out there can also use etsy.com to sell whatever it is you make to earn a little cash on the side. Everything I have purchased from etsy has been beautiful and the service/delivery is great.

I found this site to create an alternative gift registry

I think it's a great idea for weddings or new babies (anyone, anyone?).  I set one up for Christmas.  As I think of things the boys would like I've been adding them, then when relatives ask what they want I'll have a list.  I'm not sure if I'll just use it to remind myself or actually tell people about the site, but either way I think it will be helpful to maybe eliminate some of the toys I'd rather not have in the house, and gently guide people in a more green direction.   

Tomorrow at Finley Community Center, the Santa Rosa Park and Rec Dept is hosting a Kids Stuff Flea Market.

There will be community members selling their used children's books, toys, games and clothes.It is a great way to recycle items, conserve resources and save money too.

Date: Saturday , Sept 29th (tomorrow) from 10-2 pm

Address: 2060 W College Ave in Santa Rosa