Zero waste kids birthday party

This weekend was my son’s 10th birthday! To celebrate, I threw (you guessed it) a zero waste birthday party! 😃

Here are some ways I avoided waste:

CAKE
Instead of buying a store-bought cake in a plastic container, I baked a cake with bulk ingredients that I purchased package-free. Decorations are chocolate candy rocks from Bulk Barn. Cake stand was purchased secondhand from The Salvation Army thrift store.

FOOD
Rather than serve packaged snacks like chips or pretzels, I opted for a waste-free veggie platter. Carrots were from our garden, and the cucumber and pepper are from Lufa Farms (locally grown and package-free). The tzatziki sauce was purchased using my own container at Marché Adonis.

I also served kale chips, which were a big hit! Check out my easy recipe here.

The main course was pizza from our favorite local pizza joint. The cardboard pizza boxes were put in our curbside compost bin after the party.

Everything was served on real plates with real silverware. To discourage food waste, I gave the kids small, 8″ plates so they were less likely to take more food than they could eat 😆

DRINKS
To keep things simple, I only offered water and organic milk. The milk was purchased package-free at Épicerie Loco (they have a milk dispenser where you can fill your own bottles).

Rather than use disposable cups, I pulled out a variety of cups/mugs and asked each child to pick a cup that would be theirs for the evening. This enabled us to keep track of whose cup was whose, thereby avoiding washing extra cups or mistakenly sharing germs 😛

PRESENTS
I told parents that no gifts were necessary, but if they insisted on giving something, I suggested experiences, food or something secondhand. One creative mom (Wendy Garrido) gifted a “dinner date” at my son’s favorite restaurant with her two daughters. How cute is that?! (She and I will be sitting at a nearby table so they can have some privacy 😉).

To wrap my presents to my son, I used pillowcases and reusable elastic bows. My son loved reaching in to find his surprises!

What are your favorite zero waste birthday party tips? Please share in the comments below!