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The end of the birthday party blowout?
Filed under: Going Green, Toys, Birthdays, Extreme Childhood
My son attended a birthday party where guests were asked to bring an unwrapped toy to donate to the fire fighter's toy drive rather than a present for the birthday girl. She had plenty of toys already and liked helping those less fortunate. Halfway through the party we all traipsed down the block to the firehouse to donate the toys. I thought it was a fantastic idea.Apparently, my son's friend was quite the trendsetter. Parents are eschewing the traditional excess of the child's birthday party, simplifying and greening the events. "We're not saying children shouldn't celebrate," said Alison Smith, whose company, ECHOage, helps parents organize less wasteful, more philanthropic parties. "It's just about making it more meaningful."
If you ask me, there's another advantage to donating gifts instead of keeping them: you avoid having to deal with toys that don't match what you think is appropriate for your kids -- the toy guns, the Barbies, and, yes, the toys that make way too much noise.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-11-2008 @ 5:04PM
Jenni said...Wow! What a fabulous idea! I am writing this one down for when it's time to start having "friends" birthday parties.
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7-11-2008 @ 7:14PM
Jennifer said...For my 7 year old this year, we did a "wheels" party at the local school, where everyone brings their bike or skateboard and rides around with each other. We asked people to donate to an organization that provides sporting equipment to kids and we got a great response. The people that still wanted to bring gifts did, but there were fewer and my daugther felt good about it. She wants to try find a "theme" every year to link her party and a cause. Sounds good to me!
8-11-2008 @ 11:45AM
World Habitat said...Bravo to another kid with a conscious story! I started a business because of my own kids ideals: World Habitat, we are an ECO FRIENDLY/RESPONSIBLE company for little kids and big people, we give a portion of proceeds to help save the environment.
http://www.worldhabitatonline.com
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