St. Patrick's Day Party: Going Green

Hosting a St. Patrick's Day Party is a great opportunity to go green by throwing an environmentally-friendly party. More and more people are aware of the benefits of going green, realizing the impact on our environment even small changes can make. Now, there are many more consumer options available to help people make green choices from biodegradable products, to locally grown food, to more convenient recycling centers. With St. Patrick's Day quickly approaching, now is the best time to celebrate being green by throwing a St. Patrick's Day party that is environmentally friendly, as well as memorable for guests.

1. Prepare the table the green way.
If possible, use real plates, cups, glasses, and serving utensils instead of paper or plastic for your St. Patrick's Day party. For a large party, consider renting plates and utensils from a catering business or local cafe. If not, compare biodegradable and recyclable products to find one that fits the budget of the party. To dress the table, choose a table cloth that can be washed and reused in lieu of a disposable plastic or latex one. Although the clean up will take a bit longer when real utensils and a table cloth are used, these small changes will cut down on the items in landfills, as well as the items that need to be recycled. Not to mention, using real plates, cups, glasses, and serving utensils will definitely add to the elegance of your St. Patrick's Day party making the event feel even more special.

2. Use real plants for decorations.
St. Patrick's Day is all about green. Green house plants provide an excellent option for adding foliage and color to a St. Patrick's Day party. Instead of buying centerpieces or decorations that will be thrown away, buy an indoor four-leafed clover (oxalis tetraphylla) or two. Not only can an indoor four-leafed clover be used as a decoration for the St. Patrick's Day party, but also it is easy to care for and will help the environment. Not too happy about having a plant, give it away as a prize at the end of the party.

3. Make your own decorations and recycle them when finished.
Around the holidays, consumers are bombarded with decorations of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Fortunately, decorating for St. Patrick's Day is a snap since the main focus is on the color green. Use recycled paper or biodegradable crepe paper to make green confetti, shamrocks, leprechauns, etc. These homemade decorations can be either reused for next year, or recycled after the party.

4. Send invitations through email or social networking sites.
Take advantage of email or social networking sites to invite friends to your St. Patrick's Day party. Some social networking sites, such as Facebook, even have an option of creating an event page that can be sent to friends who are invited. This option includes an option for invitees to RSVP on the event page. Both options email and social networking sites, will save not only time, money, and paper, but also postage -- which equals extra fuel consumption when delivered.

5. Recycle after the party.
If plastic, glass, or paper will be used during your St. Patrick's Day party, set up some labeled bins beforehand to be placed near the trash can. Instead of guests simply throwing away their trash, bins labeled, plastic, glass, and paper will give them an opportunity to recycle. Also it will help the host with clean up when it comes time to sort the recycling.

Each of these suggestions are simple and easy ways that your St. Patrick's Day party can be more green impacting the environment long after the party is over. Go green this year as you are celebrating the green!