Throw a green party

ninemsn.com.au gives us some great advice on  how to throw a green party.

Celebrate Christmas in style — without trashing the Earth. Here are 10 easy tips to ensure your party is fun and also eco-friendly.

1. Call or email your guests, rather than send invitation cards.

2. Instead of bringing presents, ask guests to donate to a charity of your choice.

3. Skip paper plates and napkins and plastic glasses or cutlery. Never buy anything made from styrofoam, as it’s non-biodegradable and endangers wildlife.

4. Hiring plates, cups and glasses is a more eco-friendly option. Or, check out local markets and garage sales for retro and vintage platters in different sizes and shapes for a funky, mismatched look. Experiment with hollowed-out fruit and vegetable rinds as serving dishes, eg: a capsicum or coconut half or trimmed purple cabbage leaves for holding dips, a watermelon or pineapple ‘bowl’ for fruit cubes or a colourful salad. Try using banana and lotus leaves as glossy place-mats, and invest in some hard-wearing, organic cotton, bamboo or hemp cloth napkins and placemats.

5. Count heads and plan quantities carefully; that way, there’s little food wasted. Write a shopping list with the exact quantities of ingredients you need. Buy nuts and grains from the bulk bins to save money and cut down on packaging, which means fewer greenhouse gases. Take your own shopping bags so you don’t have to use plastic ones. Use locally grown or organic ingredients wherever possible. Serve organic and biodynamic wine and beer. Lighten up on the amount of alcohol by offering red or white wine spritzers with a few fresh berries or peach slices as an edible garnish. Have plenty of tasty and beautiful non-alcoholic options handy, such as chilled hibiscus tea, ginger beer and apple cider.

6. When it comes to decorating, think homemade and simple: it’s hard to beat candles, flowers and bowls of appealing natural objects, such as seashells, for creating a relaxing mood. For a more traditional festive touch, fill bowls with bunches of fragrant cinnamon sticks and burn exotic essential oils such as frankincense and orange.

7. Invest in a gas-fired barbecue if you plan to entertain outdoors a lot. Traditional charcoal-fuelled barbecues pollute the air and increase charring on food, which is a carcinogenic risk. Tip: Marinating meat in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil and rosemary has been shown to reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which are potentially carcinogenic. Better yet, kebabs made with firm tofu cubes and grilled vegetables don’t form HCAs at all.

8. Encourage guests to enjoy the outdoors by burning citronella-based soy or beeswax (not oil-based paraffin) candles to repel mosquitoes. If you need extra outdoor lighting, use solar lights or put up string lights with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) rather than conventional bulbs — they’re prettier, too.

9. Place easily identifiable recycling containers at your party so guests can pop cans and bottles straight into them. If you don’t have a compost heap, find a food waste drop site near you. Ask your local council or visit www.recyclingnearyou.com.au.

10. Donate any leftovers to a local shelter or soup kitchen, or to neighbours, or send doggy bags home with your friends.

Source: ninemsn.com.au   how to throw a green party.