Blog
Hosting a Green Baby Shower
Janelle Sorensen
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
A baby shower is a celebration of life and it should be as clean, safe, and healthy as possible. Make your theme green and natural to help create a healthy world for healthy babies.
Invitations
Send out e-vites (www.evite.com) to all of your guests. Using email invitations is a great way to quickly get the word out and track RSVPs and it’s also better for the environment (no paper, no waste, no fuel emissions from sending invites out, etc). Evite has dozens of baby shower invitations to choose from, or you can design your own. Make sure to enter the URL for “Giving Green and Responsibly at a Baby Shower” into the message of the evite, so guests who are unfamiliar with the issue can learn what it is and what that means for them. Also be sure to enter the URLs for any stores mom-to-be has registered at.
Gifts
Make it easy for your guests to find the perfect green gift by having the mom-to-be register at on-line stores such as Our Green House or Better for Babies. You can also use MyRegistry.com, which creates registries for multiple stores in one location. Not all the products currently available are green, so enter “organic” in the search box and click on the “baby and kids” link in the left sidebar.
Games
Some hostesses like to organize games and activities during the shower. If you are planning something make sure your guest of honor is comfortable with the idea (guests may get a good chuckle out of games like “Guess Her Girth,” but it can really be humiliating for mom). Also, choose something that creates little or no waste and provide green prizes like natural personal care products or soy candles. Here are some activities that could work with small or large groups:
- Guess Who - Instruct guests to bring a baby photo of themselves to the shower. Place all photos on a bulletin board or use magnets and put them on the fridge, and have guests try to match each baby photo to the guest they belong to. The winner is the person with most correct guesses.
- I Remember - Have guests share special memories from their childhood, or of their own children. These may be written and kept, or shared out loud.
- Onesie Painting - Supply organic baby t-shirts or onesies (plain white works best) and non-toxic paints or natural dyes for your guests. Have them decorate a shirt any way they want as a keepsake for baby to wear.
- Write a Letter to Baby - Have guests write a letter to the baby and save them in a scrapbook or decorative box for baby to read later in life.
- Advice - Have guests write their best baby advice and suggestions for the mother-to-be to keep and read after baby is born.
Food
Make your nosh as nutritious and safe as possible by using local, organically grown ingredients. Use the following sites to find the healthiest food in your region Eat Well Guide, Local Harvest, and the Natural Food Coop Directory.
If organics aren’t an option for you, check out “Fresh Choices: Easy Recipes for Pure Food When You Can’t Buy 100% Organic” . Find additional recipe ideas at OrganicAuthority.com.
Serve it all up on your good china to really make the day feel special (and reduce an enormous amount of waste). Or go second best by using environmentally friendly disposables if washing a lot of dishes is unrealistic. Check out the Biodegradable Store, Cereplast, Earthshell, Green Feet, or Royal Chinet.
Décor
Keep the natural theme apparent by using potted plants as decorations. Your guests can take them home with them for a cheerful reminder of the special day. You can also go with traditional flowers by ordering through OrganicBoutique.com or try ecobusinesslinks.com/organic_flowers.htm if you’d like to find something local.
Artfully arranged twigs, rocks and shells are another beautiful option. Even crystal bowls filled with seasonal fruit (a la Martha Stewart) can make a lovely, natural decoration.
Remember, before you decorate, clean the house using non-toxic cleansers, vacuum with a HEPA filter, and open the windows for some fresh air. It will significantly improve your indoor air quality, which is always better for baby.
For more information and ideas:
Visit Wee Generation who partnered with Healthy Child and Seventh Generation to help throw Sheryl Crow’s eco-baby shower.
Baby Showers Go Green
Tiny Foot Prints Baby Shower Kit
Posted by boat parts on 03/20/2011 at 02:09 AM
Regardless of culture, location or budget, one of the most glorious celebrations in the world is a baby shower and the chance to welcome a new bouncing baby to the family. The new bundle of joy brings with him or her the opportunity for everyone in the circle of family and friends to anticipate new life, renewal and hope.
Posted by Hiehos on 02/25/2011 at 01:55 PM
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Posted by Recycled Rita on 02/21/2011 at 01:57 PM
What adorable ideas! Thanks for the inspiration. Making a baby shower more natural by using potted plants for decoration would be a perfect complement to recycled glass countertops and other environmentally friendly innovations that can be part of a home.
Posted by Jason on 02/07/2011 at 12:32 PM
My wife just recently hosted a ‘green’ baby shower. There are many things listed here that she ended up doing, but some I had to save for future references. Everyone that came to the shower thought it was such a great idea and had a blast. We took many photos with our digital camera so we can remember what a great day this was.
Posted by Baby Shower Wording on 07/11/2010 at 02:52 PM
I, too, recommend e-vites, but only for the peripheral guests; you do want to use proper snail mail cards for the VIP guests! Actually, I always like to encourage invitees to reply by email - easier to keep track that way, of who’s coming, and who isn’t.
Posted by sweetmilky on 07/05/2010 at 10:46 PM
I Remember - Have guests share special memories from their childhood, or of their own children. These may be written and kept, or shared out loud.
Onesie Painting - Supply organic baby t-shirts or onesies (plain white works best) and non-toxic paints or natural dyes for your guests. Have them decorate a shirt any way they want as a keepsake for baby to wear.
Posted by baby shower on 08/30/2009 at 04:20 PM
Yes. E-invites work perfectly and reduce the usage of paper. But moms can go for invitations card which are created from recycled.
Posted by baby contest on 08/27/2009 at 01:02 PM
I would ask the guests to bring the gifts in reusable shopping bags, instead of wrapping them up with paper. If you feel like getting a shopping bag is too much trouble for them, your can just ask your friends not to wrap them at all.
Posted by Arinn Wardell on 08/02/2009 at 12:34 PM
Please give me some suggestions on green favors for a baby shower.
thanks!
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Posted by Sandra on 07/25/2011 at 10:21 AM
These are some great baby shower ideas!