Hosting a Low-Waste Birthday Party

This was my first birthday since I've very consciously been trying to cut down my waste and so planning a party had to be very intentional and thought out. I decided to host a slumber party, because slumber parties were always so much fun and this is my first year "adulting" and who says adults can't celebrate in the low-key but fun ways we did when we were only celebrating single-digit birthdays??

1. Venue

If you're able to host at your own house or apartment, you have a lot of control over what comes in and can be better about watching your waste.  I purposefully pay a bit more for where I live because I wanted a space to host people and be able to save money by not always needing to go out to restaurants and events to hang out. I have a table that expands and some extra chairs, but even so, I was limited by my apartment size with how many people I could invite and host. This was even more important given it was a slumber party...everyone needed somewhere to sleep! We fit everyone between my bed, a sofa bed, and an air mattress one of my friends had.  Make sure to communicate and clear any visitors with your roommate if you have one!

2. Food

Let's start with snacks...for snacks I stuck to options I could find in bulk bins.

Popcorn. We made kettle corn on the stove and plain popcorn in the Instant Pot. Yes, popping your own popcorn is a bit more labor intensive than sticking a bag in the microwave or buying already popped popcorn, but it's also fun and your friends can help shake the pot.

Gummies. I bought vegan gummy fish from Whole Foods in the bulk bins, but they also have a lot of gummy options that are not vegan, so you can get your sugar fix quite easily without buying bags of candy!

Chocolate Peanut Balls. These were pretty much non-branded peanut M&Ms. Also found them in the bulk section!

Pretzels. This was a good find. Here in San Francisco we have a grocery co-op that has a HUGE bulk section and I spotted some pretzels and thought that they would be a good option to provide a salty snack to balance out all the sweets.

I also gave my attendees the option of coming to my place for dinner, since I hosted the party on the Friday and had attendees who live outside of the city who would need somewhere to hang after work and before we kicked off any birthday festivities. As it turned out, almost everyone opted into dinner, so what I thought was going to only be me and a couple other, I suddenly was hosting seven people for a meal! Cooking dinner for everyone was not part of my plan and I wanted to have a relaxing evening too, so I decided that pizza was a low-waste option.

I typically avoid pizza in SF because I don't trust it to compare to my NJ pizza, but I couldn't think of a better, more cost effective, take out option. I went into a pizza place not far from where I live a few days before to scope it out and place my order. I have two friends who are allergic to dairy who were attending my party, so I got a small pizza with vegan cheese and peppers, plus a large plain cheese pie. I requested that they didn't send any plates or utensils or anything with it, but the delivery as a whole ended up being majorly wrong.

Adding in this part to say that even if you plan the best you can, sometimes waste happens. When the pizzas were delivered, our large pie was wrong. Not only was it wrong and the pizza place had to send a new one, both pizzas came with numerous (like 5?!!) of the little plastic table things to keep the box from hitting the top. On top of that, they sent a whole bag that was filled with disposable plates and little plastic containers of parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. I had asked for them to refrain from sending all of those when I placed my order (in person, mind you!), but they still did. You can't hold yourself responsible for the waste imparted on you by others, but you can avoid it as best as you can AND make sure you dispose of it as responsibly as possible.

At the end of the day though, pizza was able to be served on reusable plates and I had my typical cloth napkins so we didn't have waste on that front. In addition, the cardboard pizza boxes can be recycled if they're not oily, so we were able to do that too!

To balance out all the "junk food," I served a big salad with dinner too, made with a fresh head of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and some sunflower and pumpkin seeds, as well as dried raspberries I had bought from bulk bins.  I made a dairy-free ranch and balsamic vinaigrette to go with it.

Probably the most important when it comes to food…the cake! I have a go-to cake for my birthday from a bakery back East and was so sad to not have the ability to get it this year. However, I had been thinking how the gluten free chocolate cake I make tastes similarly, so just made that cake (I made 1.5 of the recipe for 3 layers), and found a vegan chocolate fudge icing recipe to use!  I typically buy my chocolate chips from the bulk section, but being zero-waste is not worth endangering someone's life. Even though the bulk chocolate chips I buy are dairy free, I worried about possible contamination and therefore bought the chocolate chips for the frosting and topping of the cake packaged from the allergen-cognizant brand Enjoy Life. This way I could feel confident that all my friends could enjoy my cake without any concern about their personal safety.

The next morning we went to a nearby brunch place that I shared with my guests beforehand to confirm that it worked with all dietary restrictions. Don't underestimate how much inclusivity matters.

3. Activities

Turns out we're not eight year olds with lots of energy anymore, we're actually in our 20s working full time jobs. I honestly thought I would have had to plan more activities, but we ended up just watching one movie. A friend was able to track down some movies from our youth that were not available to stream from a library (woohoo sharing economy!) and the cords to attach my computer that has a CD slot to my TV. We all piled onto my couch and watched Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen until people were struggling to keep their eyes open at midnight...

Other ideas I had for if we needed more things to do, were face masks made from ingredients in my kitchen and I have some board games and such.  Painting nails was another option that could be low-waste!

4. Make it Special

I love matching pajamas. Pajamas are super functional and can be really fun too, so I asked my friends if they would be down with getting some for the party. We voted on low-cost options from Old Navy, because we get a discount there as employees. I chose an option that was made from 100% cotton, because the end of life of the pants is a lot more sustainable than any synthetic fiber blends. For less than $10 per person, we were able to elevate the party with a fun detail that everyone can continue to use and won't just be tossed aside after they get home.

5. Gifts

I told my friends that gifts were highly unnecessary, but if they felt they wanted to, to please keep in mind my zero-waste goals. There are a few ways to go about this...

Ask. If you're giving the gift, ask the person what they need. For example, if you know the person could really use the item (like I'm on the hunt for a kitchen scale and a cupcake tin, ideally both could be found second-hand), then buying them it would mean that the gift wouldn't go to waste.

Electronic Gift Cards. My parents have done this before for me and one of my friends for this birthday did too! My parents sent me an electronic gift card for Whole Foods, which is a super usable gift considering we all need to eat AND they have a bulk bin section and lots of produce.

Zero-Waste Brands. The other e-gift card I got was to Lush! Lush is a cosmetics company that you can find in most malls and they are good about being mainly package free, but for their items that do come in packaging, they take that packaging back once you finish. They also take some strong stands on social issues, so overall, it's a pretty good company to trust. One of my other friends bought me a package free lotion bar and a package free make-up primer bar that both smell AMAZING and are zero-waste. Be cautious though, some of their items (mainly their shampoo bars) do have sodium lauryl sulfate in them, an additive that makes the product foam. Though the foaming may make you feel cleaner, SLS is a harsh chemical that can be a skin irritant!

Experiences. One of my friends told me that she'll buy me dinner next time we hang out, which is a great example of how you can give someone an experience! Event tickets also fall into this category!

6. Crew Love

This birthday party was probably the best I've ever had. I surrounded myself with really great people who are inclusive, kind, thoughtful, and fun. I did not provide any alcohol even though social norms may suggest that that's needed at any sort of "adult" party, and everyone kept telling me how much fun they had just hanging out with each other.

Though my friends were good at introducing each other as they arrived and including everyone in conversation, I did take time to go around and introduce each attendee to the group, provide context as to how we knew each other, and give a fun fact about that person. This was awesome because each introduction led to more conversation which led to better connections and comfort with each other (especially important if you're about to share a bed with someone you've never met before!).

What else was nice was one of my friends shared a tradition in her family where the birthday person shares reflections on the year prior and hopes for the upcoming year, and then everyone goes around and says what they love about the person celebrating the birthday. This was really wholesome and so so so kind. I'm so lucky to have the crew I have out in San Francisco who made the kick-off to my birthday week so great.

I hope 23 is just as awesome as the party that celebrated it! Here's to this next year!