Having garden parties is a lot of fun. In fact, we cannot think of anything more entertaining than firing up barbecues, enjoying drinks, dancing, and singing along to music all night.
However, with all the food waste, disposable utensils, and plastic decorations, you might want to know of ways to throw the ultimate eco-friendly party. Well, all you need is a bit of planning!
Whether your garden party is all about the food, gathering around a fire, or just enjoying a hot cup of tea with a few friends in a beautiful setting, we have plenty of ideas to help you throw an eco-friendly party!
1. Reconsider Your Party Décor
Sure, you want your garden party to be festive. But the days of using one-off plastic party décor items are long gone. Balloons, banners, and streamers are fun for a couple of hours, but they create a lot of waste. Still, if you feel your party isn't complete without lots of décor saying, "It's party time," you can opt for generic paper banners rather than customised ones. You can even save these banners and use them for your next party.
Paper is versatile, beautiful, and recyclable. But you can even get a bit creative with your materials. For instance, you can use rose petals as confetti and scatter them to decorate the tables. You can also fill mason jars with colourful candies or flowers to add colour to your party.
2. Send Digital Invitations
To host an eco-friendly party, simply invite your friends and family members through digital invites. You won't just save money, but you'll also consume less and produce less waste. It's truly a win-win situation.
Plus, when you send your virtual invitation, you can even brag a little and let your guests know that you are hosting an environmentally-friendly party. This will help them understand any unconventional choices you make.
3. Plan for Utilising Leftover Food
Food waste is quite real, and it generally starts with not knowing how many guests will turn up. Not having sufficient food for everyone is a host's worst nightmare. Thus, you might tend to overcook and over-prepare just to stay on the safe side.
The truth is, it's not that difficult to plan for portions. Just think of how many adults and kids are going to be there and plan accordingly. If your guests don't have a large appetite, make sure to have a contingency plan in place for utilising the leftovers. For instance, you can use them for lunches over the next few days.
Another excellent idea is to not dish out and display all the food at once and only refill serving dishes when needed. This way, you can leave the party food such as sandwiches and cupcakes in the fridge that can be easily frozen for your kid's school lunch if they don't get eaten at the garden party.
4. Avoid Disposable Plastic Cutlery
Plastic is nature's worst enemy, and using it for your garden party will just cause extreme damage to the environment. Your best option is to use the disposable bamboo cutlery set here or reusable bamboo cutlery set here by My Little Panda. The items in this set are made with bamboo, which is sustainable and eco-friendly. They are perfect for all kinds of food, including meat, vegetables, ice cream, etc.
You can even get your guests' names engraved in these cutlery items and ask them to take them with them when they leave.
5. Support a Local Vegetable Business
It is important to think about where your food is coming from when planning your eco-friendly garden party. The more locally you purchase your food, the less fuel it takes to get those products to your home.
And the more plant-based dishes you have on your menu, the more sustainable it is! Pay a visit to your local farmers' market or shop at a nearby grocery store to minimise CO2 emissions and try to create a vegetarian-based or vegan menu.
Last Few Words
Hosting an eco-friendly garden party might sound impossible but trust us, it really isn't! All you have to do is plan correctly and follow the tips above to make sure you aren't damaging the planet in any way.
At My Little Panda, we have a range of bamboo products that make for amazing alternatives to plastic here products. You can check them out or contact us through our live chat feature here to get an estimate of how much these will cost in bulk for your next garden party.