More and more people are making their lives more sustainable due to a growing awareness of the dangers of climate change. Like all other aspects of life, it is important to be sustainable when hosting parties of any kind, but with costume parties, you might find the task a little harder to accomplish. That’s not to say you have to give up your beloved nights of dressing up, just that you may need a little more planning to ensure it is entirely eco-friendly.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to achieve this. You’ll need the co-operation and help of your party guests, so it is a good idea to explain to those invited why you’re keen to focus on making the party fun and sustainable.
Do A Costume Swap
A great way to prevent the purchase of fast fashion or mass-produced, plastic-rich costumes is by hosting a costume swap before the party. You can invite the guests over for a pre-party event and ask them all to bring one or two costumes they’ve used in the past. It is a good idea to provide more than one costume yourself, so everyone has options to choose from.
You can then sort all the costumes provided by size and get everyone to choose a new option from the ones available. This can be a great and fun way to prevent people from making unnecessary purchases for your party and make the fun party atmosphere last even longer.
Serve Vegan Party Food
Vegan diets are a great option for anyone wanting to reduce their impact on the planet while championing animal welfare causes. Many people choose to be flexible with their vegan or vegetarian diets, believing that making gradual change is more sustainable in the long term than going all or nothing.
Whichever camp you fall into, a costume party can be a great chance to show skeptical friends the joys of vegan cooking. You could consider hiring caterers or whipping up the tasty vegan treats yourself before wowing your guests with your plant-based offerings.
Encourage The Use Of Sustainable Costumes
If everyone is not up for the idea of a costume swap, you could consider challenging guests to create costumes using the clothes in their own closets or that are made using sustainable materials. Choosing a costume from the items in your closet can also be a great way to save money, so encouraging guests to be eco-friendly can be a great thing for their wallets while being eco-friendly.
Send Out Text Message Invitations
Thanks to smartphones and social media, paper invites are largely seen as a thing of the past. You might use a paper invite for a wedding, but few other functions really require one. A great alternative that can ensure that all guests get all the info they need are text message invitations. You can learn more about crafting the perfect text invites from the experts at Greenvelope.
Text invitations are probably the simplest solution, particularly compared to things like social media, as it can be hard to keep track of which platforms each guest uses – but you can be sure they all have a phone number!
Take Charity Donations Instead Of Gifts
If your costume party is also a birthday party, guests may feel the need to bring gifts. This is a sweet thought, but you could consider asking them to donate to a favorite sustainability charity instead. Gifts can be great fun to receive but can also leave you with items you don’t really want or need yet feel necessary to keep around the house. A donation eliminates this risk and proves your commitment to sustainability.
Give Guests Leftovers
Leftover food is another common issue when throwing a party and one that has a relatively simple solution. Instead of throwing out the party leftovers, consider boxing them up to give to guests. You could use sustainable takeaway boxes or lend out some of your Tupperware for guests to return when they’re done.
Ask Guests To Carpool
Wherever your guests are coming from, it is a good idea to encourage carpooling. This can be a great way to reduce your party’s carbon footprint and encourage guests to nominate a designated driver. If no one wants to be the designated driver, you could encourage the use of ride-sharing services to reduce the number of cars on the road.
Invest In Reusable Party Decorations
Decorating for a party is another thing that can be hard to do sustainably. So many of the party décor options available are single-use plastics or made using methods that contribute to climate change. Making your own decorations or investing in reusable options can be a great choice.
If you make your own, you can use biodegradable materials like paper or eco-friendly glitter. If you buy reusable party decorations, you can lend them to friends when they host parties and use them again yourself in the future.
