Finished a piece for Little Steps Asia on how to throw a sustainable kid’s birthday party in Hong Kong, including some of my personal favourites.
Keep it sustainable and economical
Get it catered!
Making sure everyone is fed and happy is essential to host a great party. @CookingwithAlix is run by a French Mum who offers catering, meal planning and cooking classes (adults and kids) for simple, healthy meals. It couldn’t get more sustainable with homemade organic ingredients and biodegradable packaging / or containers Alix brings and takes them back to wash.
Her menu is extensive and also offers tailored-made menus. Popular party foods include bite size quiches, cauliflower and truffle mac & cheese, savoury madeleines, homemade cocktail brioche buns, fresh croissants, pain au chocolat and all types of French tarts (that double up as a beautiful rustic cake).
Reusable utensils
A big culprit of waste at birthday parties is plastic utensils and disposable tableware. Ecoparties offers the option to rent decor and utensils. They bring all the tableware (according to the theme and décor) to set up and return in a couple of hours to pack and pick up. Founder Louise is attentive, and creative and has built a wonderful repertoire of decorations and sets that she reuses for parties, keeping things in the circular economy.
Gifting
Rent large toys and items for the birthday party instead of purchasing them and create a party playground for the kids. Gift a Happy Baton subscription and leave it to the toys rotation experts to curate age-appropriate toys – it’s a win-win situation of rotating age toys for children 0-6 years old, and it creates less clutter in the home.
We are huge fans of Rebooked and always end up purchasing way too many books. They are a fantastic resource to buy secondhand books in pristine condition, making the bookstore a perfect place to shop for gifts or party favours. The non-profit enterprise was started by teen Bailey Cherry and offers an extensive selection of books from ages 0 to young adult fiction.
Retykle is a one-stop shop for pre-loved designer children’s wear, toys and nursery in excellent condition, some new with tags. Keeping items in the circular economy, Retykle stocks newborn sizes up to 14 years of age. Consider shopping for gifts on Retykle or purchase a gift voucher.
Little Nature Wanderlust provides sensory kits with different themes for rental. Their sensory kits rental for parties begins at HK$1200. Custom-made sensory kits for party themes can also be commissioned. The Little Nature Wanderlust team arrives 30 minutes before the party to set up and returns 3 hours later to pack and clean up. It’s hassle-free and great entertainment for the tykes.
Party Favours
If you’re making your own piñata for the party, consider buying the candies at Livezero or Slowood, bulk stores with zero packaging. Both stores has a good range of snacks from dried fruits, nuts and vegan chocolate you can purchase for the party’s self-serving snacks corner, or to include in party favour bags.
