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5 Conscientious Holiday Party Planning Ideas
At The Body Shop, we are ardent believers in establishing business practices that embody our five core values. With the holiday season almost at our doorstep, it’s time to pull out your decorations, the invite list, and old family recipes in preparation for entertaining. With so many looming expectations and visitors, some people might find crafting a conscientious approach to be a little overwhelming. So we’ve compiled a list of creative tips and products to make your holiday soiree globally responsible and enjoyable– for you as well as your guests.
- Eco-invites – I love getting creatively designed invitations in the mail.
It’s an easy way to get people excited for your event, and to help tie in the theme you’ve decided on. People often opt to send e-mailed invitations in order to create less paper waste, but now there’s an eco-friendly way to have both. Check out these invitations by the folks over at The Stationery Scoop blog, printed on 100% recycled paper with wildflower seeds pressed within the fibers. That way, when your guests are finished enjoying the invite, they can plant it and enjoy the flowers!
- Plum Crazy – Though red and green are generally associated with the Christmas holidays, and Thanksgiving is typically represented by the warm reds and oranges of fall, who says you can’t branch out? Over at Head of the Table, Kim has laid out a rich plum color scheme for a holiday table that’s both festive and sophisticated, using nature’s bounty as inspiration. Organic eggplants, plums, and Calla Lillies all make inspired centerpieces for this spread.
- Green Table Gear – If your dish collection is anything like mine, you’re lucky to be able to scrounge up four plates when your parents come to visit. Without enough flatware to accommodate a large party, most people turn to paper or plastic plates, which are used only once and then thrown away to sit in landfills. Consider the option presented by the green brains over at Treehugger: an eco-party pack. The packs include plates, bowls, cups, food pots, utensils, napkins, and even balloons that are all fairly traded and completely biodegradable. The packs come in different sizes to accommodate even your biggest party with the smallest environmental impact.
- Compassionate Place Cards - If you’re looking for a creative way to display your place cards, try reusing or recycling. This post over at Beau Coup shows you how to get creative with what you’ve got on hand. After popping the top on all those bottles of wine you and your guests will drink, save the corks, cut a slit in them and viola! Instant place card holder. They also show you how to use seashells and pinecones for a seasonal touch.
- Worldly Wine – These days, fairly traded products are abundantly available on the marketplace, so when you’re making a purchase for your gathering, why not do a little research? If you plan on serving wine, why not grab a bottle of the readily available Neu Direction, which, according to The Luxist, was voted the Best Fairtrade Red Wine in 2008 by The London Independent. Knowing that you purchased a fairly traded product is a feeling that will go straight to your head.
The holidays are a perfect time for planning compassionate parties that bring family and friends together. And when you choose to incorporate goodwill toward all in your holiday plans, well, that’s finding what the season is truly about.
