How to host your own eco-friendly baby shower

Hosting a baby shower is a great way to create lasting memories, so why not opt for an eco-friendly celebration? Play your part in making sure baby grows up in a healthy and happier world.

Choosing a sustainable theme

Go for something that will compliment eco-friendly decorations and tableware, such as compostable plates and bowls. Some ideas that work well include going ‘hoopla’ with Hawaiian, natural ‘Nordic’, or even a wild ‘safari’ theme.

Eco-friendly invitations

Let your guests know your intention to minimise your footprint when holding the baby shower. The invitations you send out can help set the tone. Use this as an opportunity to eschew traditional paper-based cards and envelopes by designing your own e-invites online.

Make some suggestions of how guests can help by inviting them to give virtual presents, such as vouchers or a donation, or compiling a list of potential baby products to choose from, such as eco-friendly baby spoons.

Don’t forget about the wrapping paper. There’s nothing wrong with requesting recyclable paper or paper alternatives.

Natural decorations

Foliage and flowers work well in any season. There’s always an option that helps to capture the magic of the season in which they are gathered and arranged.

• Holly, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks evoke Christmas
• Daffodils and tulips look lovely in spring.
• Roses and heavy blooms are perfect for summer
• Items with a rustic harvest theme, such as corn dollies and sunflowers, echo autumn.

If you want to keep it ‘traditional’, go with blue blooms if you know baby is a boy, or pink petals for a girl.

Sourcing and serving nibbles

Food and tableware will be an essential part of proceedings. However, nobody wants to get bogged down with lots of catering beforehand or lots of clearing up afterwards.

Remember also: mothers-to-be are restricted in what they can eat. Finger foods works well, whether that’s cheese and pineapple on sticks, little sandwiches or sausage rolls.

Think about sourcing your food from local producers who you may find at your local market, farm shop, or associated with an independent delicatessen. You could then opt to serve the food with sustainable alternatives to paper plates, such as biodegradable palm leaf plates and platters.

Party favours and games with an eco-theme

Activities for your baby shower are a fun opportunity to weave eco-friendly ideas into proceedings. Some examples include:

• blindfolded ‘nappy changing’ (using a reusable nappy of course)
• a paper-free ‘guess the name’ game
• creating a ‘baby bucket list’ of sustainable things to achieve in the first year
• sharing memories of the mother-to-be and recording them in an eco-friendly keepsake.

Before your guests leave, offer them some memorable eco-friendly party favours, such as a packet of seeds, a candle, or a voucher for a sustainable cause.

Minimising waste

Avoid piles of leftover food by giving guests a ‘doggy bag’ of goodies to take with them. Alternatively, to help ease the post-party pressure on the host, freeze leftovers so they can be eaten another day.

When thanking guests after the event, send them a virtual e-thank you card, to avoid generating packaging waste or using non-recyclable materials.

Ready to start planning?

Have a quick look at our eco-friendly party supplies. We use plastic-free packaging in most of our products, while our packaging can be recycled or home composted.

Our online store contains our complete range of high-quality biodegradable and compostable tableware for all catering needs, including plates, bowls, serving platters, cutlery and drinking straws.