My friend Sarah threw herself a birthday dinner party last Saturday and I was in charge of the table decorations. It was nothing too fancy, but I'm pretty proud of the results. I tried to make it as eco-friendly as I could, but it was difficult on a budget. Here's what I ended up doing:
- Blue butcher paper "table cloth" made the three rented tables into one long "Italian-style" dinner table. The paper was recycled afterwards.
- Bronze candle sticks and glass dishes from the thrift store for the center pieces. Buying from the thrift store cuts down on price and eliminates the need to purchase new things for a one-time use.
- Candles in the candlesticks and tea lights in the dishes provided light at night. If I had more money I would have bought soy candles because they are better for the environment.
- Rice in the candle dishes added some extra interest and tied together the bronze colors of the candle sticks. The rice was still edible after the candle burned down.
- Flowers in every other glass dish added color and tied together the candlestick color. And they are compost-able.
- Christmas lights added another light source at night, and these strands are used for all of our parties, so they were not purchased new either.
The only new things purchased were the flowers, rice, candles, and paper. We used plates, silverware, serving dishes, and serving utensils from Sarah's house and mine. There was a lot of beer and wine consumed, but it was all in aluminum and glass containers, which are the easiest to recycle.
The party was a smashing success!
2 comments:
You did a great job on the table...that last photo tells the whole story (And happy birthday Sarah!)
I'm very impressed with your green ingenuity! I'll have to do a better job myself for future parties.
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