Tips for having a Sustainable Party for 100+ people

Our beautiful cherubs are 3 weeks apart, with a guest list of over 100 people including 40+ kids we decided to do a joint party. We had it at the local park so we could put more effort into our sustainable ideas instead of preparing the house as well. 

Here is how we gave the party a shot, covering things like food, cutlery, party bags, bins and gifts etc. 

BINS

We labelled different bins/buckets – COMPOST, RECYCLE, SOFT PLASTICS, LANDFILL and USED PLATES & CUPS TO WASH

The guests got the system perfectly. The Compost was super handy and the recycle was clean and SO easy to sort after. Best of all the Rubbish bin was literally ONLY a handful at the end.

PARTY BAGS

One of our favourite things about kids parties is the party bags, especially when they are still tiny bubbas so we get to eat them.

We cut balloons, piñatas, lollipops, plates, cutlery, fun size juices/toys, wrapped lollies/chocolates we just couldn’t take away the party bags. So as an alternative we used a bag made out of recycled paper and attached a personalised party sticker to seal the bag.

And of course filled it with lots of yummy unwrapped treats like:

Fruchocs (go South Aussie), unwrapped assorted Starburst lollies, x2 boxes of smarties (as they are in cardboard boxes, which is a recyclable packaging), super hero tattoo for the boys and unicorn tattoo for the girls.

Did you know smarties boxes even come with a fun fact on them? Like elephants are one of the most intelligent animals on Earth. Check it out next time you eat them.

TOYS:

LOVE EARTH CALMING PLAYDOUGH:  x1 for each family. This was packaged with containers donated from some lovely ladies. Of course we always thoroughly cleane & sanitise before using them.

Under 1’s: Love Earth Lavender Sachet for the Mumma and Bubba.

FOOD:

• SAVORY: We decided to make it easy on ourselves and order pizzas from the local bakery Pannini Bros. I know pizza boxes can be compostable and even recyclable but sometimes it just best to avoid the mark if we can. 
• Instead we dropped some reusable trays with lids in to the bakery the day before. They were more than happy to cut them up for us and PLATE them on the trays we provided (saving us time). Overall we only had to get 2 pizza boxes for 8 pizzas. There were also other homemade goodies like sandwiches, mini quiches etc.
• SWEET: We made our fave homemade sweets/slices/biscuits.
• CAKE: We had delicious cupcakes made by my gorgeous sister without the cupcake covers, saving wastage with the cover, plates and cutlery.

We also had some guests bring food which they transported using a beeswax wrap or a container. Therefore no plastic wraps was used!

 CUTLERY

• PLATES: We used our normal melamine kids plates/picnic set plates. With finger food there we don't really think there is a need for everyone to have a plate. 
• CUPS: We raided the picnic baskets and brought any reusable hard plastic/melamine cups/wine cups we had at home.This was the trickiest to avoid single use (but hey Rome wasn’t built in a day). We did supply a few plastic cups but left a Whiteboard marker for people to label their cups. This was also the only thing provided that was single use plastic. However we didn’t go and buy any new ones, we dug up whatever we found stashed in the back of our cupboards at home.
• NAPKINS: We used Love Earth Products Eco-Antibacterial All-purpose wipes and napkins, which are both biodegradable. 

GIFTS:

• NO PRESSIES LABEL: For the past two years we have had parties with “no pressie” label on the invite. There are still some people who bring gifts and they are extremely appreciated. The gifts are not as extreme as past parties and usually something like a book, clothes, crafts.
• Guests also get creative, like this year we got some awesome plants or people brought a plate of food instead.
• As a gift to my daughter I decided to make her a party dress, as she didn't really need anything. It was such a nice feeling to give her something handmade.
• OUR FAVE TO RECEIVE: Handmade cards. We think this idea is this best as we love seeing our cherubs make cards for birthday peeps. They are always made with such love. It is also such a fun activity for them and it makes a perfect touch to any occasion.
• WRAPPING PAPER: Hands up to one of our guests who used newspaper – you are AWESOME!! For some reason people seem to be embarrassed to recycle this sort of stuff. To me people that reuse things like wrapping paper and bags are heroes.

We just love giving the kids big pieces of paper to go crazy on and then using it for wrapping gifts.

Overall we were really happy with the end result. We barely had a handful of  rubbish at the end and no part of the party was compromised. The bins took a tad more effort but the impact it can have on the environment is completely worth it. It’s not going to be perfect but there are little things we can do that make a big difference. We can still enjoy the day with a tiny mark and a big memory.

If you have any other ideas drop us a line, we love learning new ideas.