Four Eco-Friendly Holiday Party Ideas

I have been thinking about ways to make my holiday parties more eco-friendly. Here are some ideas that I thought up!

1. Sending an electronic invitation can save you time, money and be easy on the environment.  I love using evites.com. They a lot of cute themes and even the option to customize the look of the invite.  Evites allow your guests to easily RSVP and leave comments for you to see. Some electronic  invite websites also give you the option to assign guests things to bring or to sign up for food items to bring.  My favorite feature of the site is how the site will tally up how many maybe's, yes and no's you have for attendance. It saves so much time when trying to figure out how much I need to buy of everything.

evite.com

2. Stay away from cans and multiple bottles by serving your party beverages in pretty pitchers and classy beverage dispensers. You could serve ice water in a beverage dispenser and float lemon and orange slices in it instead of setting out cases of plastic water bottles. This will also save you time on your party clean up! I really want a pretty glass dispenser like the one below. It's a good idea to have plenty of non-alcholoic beverages available at your party so you and your guets don't get in trouble! You can serve warm apple cider directly from the stove top or put cider in a crock pot to keep it warm.

Credit: Classic Hostess

3.Bring out your fancy stuff! Do you have tablecloths and fine china that are collecting dust in the closet? Break them out instead of purchasing disposable plates and tablecloths.  Running a load of laundry or dishes uses up a lot fewer resources than a couple of packages of disposable party supplies.  Are you lacking in fancy table linens and dishes? During the holiday season Target and Wal-Mart sell simple white dishes in large qualities. It’s a little investment but then you won’t need to buy paper again! If you don’t have a tablecloth, do you have a pretty sheet or large piece of fabric you could use? I used a Wal-Mart brown sheet as a tablecloth at my friend Holly's baby shower. It was a twin sized sheet and worked out great!

4.Giving your guests a favor when leaving the party is a nice touch.  Useful favors are the best favors. Cute reusable shopping bags are everywhere these days! Present them to your guests rolled up and tied with ribbon.  White Elephant gifts are a good way to reuse unwanted junk and can provide the entertainment for your party!

Credit: Greenfeet.com