Partying Green During the Holidays
Briana Bill, Go Green La Grange!
Parties and dinners are a great way to welcome in the holidays with family, friends and neighbors. With these festivities come lots of opportunities to party in an environmentally friendly way. You can reduce the footprint of your party over that of a traditional event while at the same time create an opportunity to educate your guests about the environment, help the broader community, and save money!
Keep Your Food Local
What’s a party without food? We’ve all heard keeping it local and  organic is the way to go where food is concerned. Many of us commit to our local farmers during spring, summer and fall by buying produce, but what can we do in the winter in our northern climate?
There’s a growing movement to support local farmers and other producers through the winter season. Here in Chicagoland, Churches' Center for Land and People (CCLP) has partnered with Faith In Place to sponsor indoor winter farmers markets. Held in places of worship of varying denominations, these markets offer consumers an opportunity to purchase cheese, meat, syrup, honey, yogurt, vinegars, dried fruits, milled flours, sauces and salsas, preserves, cider, fresh produce when available, and other products. My favorite part is the informal home cooked buffet brunch offered by some of the markets, yum!
Two Chicago-based venues also sponsor winter markets, the Chicago Botanic Garden and Chicago Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. For more information:
Beyond buying local, keep your food offerings as green as possible by:
- Buying only what you need
- Utilizing canned and frozen produce you prepared during farm market season (you’d have had to have planned ahead for this one!)
- Use leftovers by sending home (reusable) doggie bags with guests, making soup stock with turkey/ham carcasses and unused veggies, etc.
- Serving foods low on the food chain (vegetables, fruits, plant-based proteins)
- Working with caterers to ensure they can meet your need for eco-friendly foods and packaging
- Composting food scraps (stems, cores, bruised) in your backyard bin
Waste Not Want Not
We’ve all heard this saying. What better time to apply it than during the holidays! You can keep waste to a minimum by following some or all of these tips:
- Send invitations electronically, or make your own by raiding
 your kids’ craft supplies for attractive paper, fabric or other materials.
- Skip the paper and plastic plates, cups, mugs, serving dishes and service wear. Don’t have enough of the washable stuff? Hit the La Grange area thrift stores for an eclectic mix-and-match look or borrow from a neighbor or friend.
- Pay attention to packaging. Buy soda, condiments and other items in bulk when you can and favor products with minimal or recyclable packaging.
- Reuse decorations from previous years. Refresh your look with treasures from nature. Cranberries, acorns, seeds, stones and sprigs of evergreen can be attractively arranged with soy-based candles for center pieces and other decorations. (Spend an hour in the La Grange library’s periodical’s collection for ideas from home décor magazines.)
- Clearly label containers for recyclables, compostables, resusables, trash, etc. for guests who are helping to clean up.
Support Community Organizations
During the holidays, many guests like to bring a hostess or housewarming gift. Help your guests do the green thing by encouraging them to participate in a collection drive instead. Pick a theme – children’s coats, non-perishable food, pet supplies, etc., -- and invite your guests to bring a donation in lieu of gifts.
Educate
Now is not the time to be modest. Let your guests know of your efforts!
To spread the education around, we’d like to hear what you are planning to do to green your parties. Send us an email at info@gogreenlagrange.org.
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