Kids' birthday parties aren't always something that Mother appreciates — Mother Nature, that is. You might be trying to make small changes in your everyday life that reduce your carbon footprint, leading to an eco-friendly existence. But can this be the case when you need to throw a birthday party for your child and their friends? It's not as though an eco-friendly party has to be any different than a party where the environmental impact of the festivities isn't even a consideration. In fact, on a number of different levels, it can be better.

The Invitations

Individualised printed invitations are cute but unnecessary. Save paper by emailing an invitation to your child's chosen guests. It also solves the problem of one of your child's friends forgetting to hand the invitation to their parents. You could also just send a WhatsApp invitation when you have the phone number of the parents of your child's friends. It's also a heck of a lot easier than buying invitations and manually filling them out. Your child can join you at the computer when you send out the invitations so they can feel like they're participating.

The Venue

Take a look out your back window. There's your venue. Unless you want to one-up Beyoncé or Kim Kardashian, you don't need to rent out the ballroom of a luxury hotel. A backyard kids' birthday party will be perfect for your little one, although you should consider renting a small marquee just in case the weather doesn't want to cooperate. It's as local as it gets, and you can consider asking the other parents to carpool when it comes to dropping off guests and taking them home to save on petrol and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Food

Yes, you might be able to handle most of the snacks yourself. But what about the cake? An eco-friendly cake will be far superior to a mass-produced, prepackaged, colourful, additive-rich cake that you could find at the supermarket. Look for a cafe or bakery that offers birthday cakes made from organic, locally-sourced ingredients. It's going to be delicious and high-quality, as well as looking impeccable and having strong eco credentials. Make sure it's served on biodegradable paper plates with disposable cutlery that is also biodegradable (such as bamboo forks).

The Party Favours

You don't want to present each child with a small gift bag filled with plastic nonsense, so why not purchase a number of suitable children's books? It's unlikely to be thrown out, and even if this is its ultimate fate, you know it's not going to clog up landfill for countless years to come. 

Young children might not necessarily understand the relevance of the choices that make a party an eco-friendly event. But you certainly will, and after all, you're the one doing all the work!