I'm headed to the green, green jungle!

Not the real jungle but a place called, the "Jungle" with fake green everywhere and nothing organic or healthy to eat. This is where my four year old begged to have his birthday party. I resisted and wanted to do a charitable birthday party and be the greenest mom I could be. I lost. There’s something about a cute face that came from your womb begging you to have saturated fat, high fructose corn syrup soda, cupcakes and play putt putt golf while running around like a wild baboon, playing video games. I really did resist. So then I needed to figure out how to sprinkle some of my green mom qualities onto this, not to so green birthday party. We used recycled, make your own invitations and soy crayons from the best place ever, Stubby Pencil Studio. I’ll tell you more about this eco-friendly company later and how you’ll get to win some earth friendly art supplies! The birthday boy will wear his organic shirt from MamaOm, so everyone knows that we’re an earth lovin’ family. I wanted to get the kids the organic playdough from Wild Dill , but it's made fresh and it takes two weeks to ship, bad mom I didn't plan ahead. I'm not wrapping my sons gifts, he has to go on a dinosaur hunt to find them (guess his gift) and they're dinos (he has a little obsession)! I think my good intentions and green sprinkle here and there, should really count for something! Oh, and to end the day I’ll have a green margarita with some family members (that counts, right). I’ll need it after all the screaming, yelling and begging for more tokens. And did I mention the annoying parrot that squawks and won’t shut up? Yeah, that will drive me to have two green margaritas!

I wasn’t going to write all of this and flaunt how oh, so very ungreen I am going to be this weekend but then I thought, nah, readers need to see that I’m normal. I’ve written this a dozen times over but folks, being green isn’t a contest and we shouldn’t pass judgment. We all just have to do our very best and be some shade of green each day. Hopefully I won’t turn green from the not so organic margaritas either! I’d love for my kids to want earth friendly birthday parties and will continue to encourage it and when possible impress upon them the importance of having a charity party or doing something o’so green but I cannot force them. You might want to check out a post I wrote this winter about having a charitable birthday party for my daughter. I gathered some great ideas that I hoped to utilize this spring as well, no such luck. Nature Mom & Enviromom write good posts about having a green birthday party for your wee one but this Green & Clean Mom just didn't cut this year for this child. Oh, well if I’m going to go to the jungle with fake green grass and painted elephants and giraffes all over the walls it might as well be for the good of my sweet little boy turning four.

Give your little grasshopper a green birthday party!

When my daughter turned one I posted on having a charity birthday party. Recently, a reader asked me about having a eco-friendly birthday party for her one year old. In my home, birthdays are very special and I suppose it is like this for most moms and families. Whatever type of party you have you want to make sure that the child is not lost in the idea or concept you, as a parent, are trying to embrace. This does not mean that we need to cut down half of the Amazon rainforest to celebrate our child's birth or help burn more fossil fuels to make the plastic party favors. We can still have a birthday bash and not forget who the birthday is all about!

For a one year old who most likely doesn't need anymore toys and who probably has no idea what this birthday hoopla is all about, having a Echoage party is perfect! Echoage sends out evites that you choose, to all of your guests inviting them to your sweet peas party. Each guest is asked to donate to the Echoage website with a specific link for your party. The money is then divided three ways, 15% going to Echoage for administrative costs, 42.5% of the money going toward one gift from all of the party guests and the remainder 42.5% goes towards a charity that you select. The wonderful thing is, your birthday cutie still gets one special gift, a party and a charity in their honor, has been helped. No trees are cut down for the invitations or stamps and there isn't wasted wrapping paper on uneeded gifts. This can work for any age and all ages can become involved in choosing a charity.

If you decided to do a Echoage party, there would still be plates, napkins, cups and decorations. Maybe you would want party favors for the other children? Oh, and let's not forget about cake and ice cream!

The needed utensils: Try using what you have or borrowing plates, silverware and cups from friends and realities. Fill the dishwasher to save water and energy and use a biodegradable earth friendly soap. If you have to use throw aways then try to find biodegradable dinnerware. It will not be cheap but it's a better option.

Party Favors: Ditch the plastic toys, stickers and stuff that children just lose. It ends up in the trash and most of it is not biodegradable! Try Progressive Kids, they have party boxes that are recyclable and teach an environmental lesson. If your party has a wilderness theme, takes place at a park, pond, camp ground, beach or even a pool...the party boxes are sure to be a perfect fit. Another idea would be party bags from a company that promotes fair trade, Ethical Party Bags. If children are older you could wrap organic candy in newspaper or give each child a pack of seeds to plant.

Cake and Ice Cream: If going traditional is your thing then there are tons of great healthy reciepes out there for making a yummy birthday cake. If you don't bake, check your local bakeries for organic or natural options. Maybe go the untraditional route with a all natural brownie treat from, Fairy Tale Brownies. The grocery stores have lots of natural and organic ice cream options but there's always the homemade choice! Kids have tons of fun making the ice cream and this is a wonderful party activity!

Invitations: If a evite isn't for you, try having your child design and make their own. Reuse things in your home like buttons, ribbons, old postcards, stamps and cards. That will add a personal touch to the invitation. There is, however, a great company that makes earth friendly, handmade invitations, and if your budget calls for it, you might go that route.

Having a birthday party is always fun and if you can do it while making sure the child is enjoying themselves, learning a lesson, and helping the planet, then you really are a "green" mom! The ideas are endless once you start to brainstorm and do some research. Add a theme or a cause and there are even more ideas. If your child has a passion try to let that guide you in the party planning and involve them, it makes it more meaningful. A great resource I invite you to check out for all green parenting topics, besides this one, would be Kiwi Magazine. Happy low impact party planning!