Visit your local Farmer's Market

Using items from your garden or from the local farmers market will make feeding your guests and decorating your party a breeze - and will be more eco-friendly, too.

Celebrate the changing of the seasons with a gathering of friends and family.

Contact us for assistance in planning your next event.

Time to enjoy Greener Outdoor Parties.

It may seem that the occasional use of disposable picnic supplies is a harmless habit, but when one considers how many picnics and outdoor parties are being held each day around the world, it becomes clear that we must all take steps to make our events easier on the environment by using reusable or biodegradable dining supplies.
The best option for outdoor dining would be the use of reusable dishes and utensils. It's both environmentally friendly, and certainly more convenient to eat off a sturdy plate. Packing the reusable dishes is easy with the use of baskets with handles, and the cloth napkins can be used as your packing material, keeping dishes and glassware from getting chipped during transport. Roll up your silverware in another napkin, and place your fabric tablecloth on top to keep everything safe and secure. Another bonus of using reusable supplies at your outdoor event is that it turns a regular picnic into a party in the out of doors.
When the use of reusable supplies is not available or practical, there are many biodegradable picnic supplies now available. There are dishes made of sugarcane pulp, clear drinking glasses made of corn, and eating utensils made from potato. Each of these supplies are biodegradable and available at many party supply stores, as well as on line at companies such as Excellent Packaging (www.ExcellentPackaging.com), or Tree Cycle (www.Treecycle.com). The cost of biodegradable products is a bit more than the mass produced products that we've seen for years, but it is certainly worth the few extra cents when we consider the impact on the environment.
When planning your next outdoor party or event, please skip the plastic rolls of table covers, and consider purchasing rolls of butcher wrap, or use your own fabric table cloths or an old sheet.

There are many other outdoor entertaining hints to consider:
* Hold your event during the day to avoid the need for electricity.
* Use candles in canning jars should you need outdoor lighting.
* Use recycled items for your centerpieces and decorations
* Use items from nature, such as rocks and pine cones, for your place cards.
* Avoid the use of latex or mylar balloons or supplies.
* Use only paper supplies if additional decorations are needed
* Place your event under the trees to take advantage of the shade on sunny days.
* Use a large glass water containers with glasses rather than providing individual water bottles.
* Recycle all supplies at the end of your event
* Compost your leftover food
* Leave the party location cleaner than how you found it. Never leave trash behind.

Enjoy the coming warm weather with plenty of outdoor entertaining - and be kind to the earth at the same time. Think Green when planning your next party or event.

Spring is here and it's time to THINK GREEN!

Party planning is wonderful fun. It is a chance to be creative and festive. It is time to allow your imagination soar with ideas of delicious food and beautiful surrounds. Let yourself enjoy these moments of creativity, but then, as you start to write down your ideas, and begin to shop for supplies, take a moment to compare traditional party planning ideas with Eco-friendly and Greener party planning suggestions.

I've mentioned before, in earlier posts, that many years ago it was common that a special party or wedding required little more than serving a special dessert. Outdoor events were held in daylight hours, or lit with lanterns and campfires. No streamers, confetti or plastic party favors were required. Over the past few decades, though, a move has been made from hosting environmentally friendly, yet marvelous parties, to a trend where excessive decorations were widely used. It common now to browse the party supply stores where you can stock up on every imaginable form of decoration. While this does create a festive atmosphere for the party, it also creates a huge amount of waste at the end of the event.

I'd like to request that you stop a moment, think over your theme and budget, and see if there are any changes you can make to your planning that may be kinder to the environment. Stop to ask yourself if you really need the mylar confetti and latex balloons. Would your Luau be just as fun if you used Real Pineapples as your centerpieces, rather than the plastic versions available at the discount supply store? Can you cover your tables in fabrics your already have, possibly covered with gunny sack toppers? Candles as your centerpieces will provide lighting, and will not need to be tossed away at the end of the event the way a paper palm-tree centerpiece would be. Skip the streamers, balloons and confetti. Embrace the use of reusable dishware, table linens, centerpieces and other decorations.

Events Extraordinaire specializes in Eco-friendly or Greener Party and Wedding planning. Give us a call if you would like assistance planning your next party, or just need suggestions. We are always happy to help.

Have fun planning your next party - and Think Green.

Green or Eco Friendly Events are our specialty.
We can help make your green event spectacular while being gentle to the environment.
www.sonora-events.com

Let Nature Be Your Guide

Embrace the season and bring nature's bounty to your decorating theme. Use live plants inside pumpkins, or fill baskets or bowls with apples, nuts, pinecones or other produce. Choose a theme such as pumpkins and repeat the theme in your artwork and details.

Let nature be your guide and bring the outdoors in. It's creative and more eco friendly. Contact your wedding planner for additional seasonal decorating ideas.

USE WHAT YOU HAVE...

It's a simple statement, and I've said it before, but it is worth repeating. When it comes to making your wedding or event special, remember it is the special little touches that set your event apart from the others. But that said, remember that your "touches" can be Greener or Eco Friendly, and still have a large impact.

Look around your house, your neighborhood, or a local second-hand store to see if you can find anything that will add interest and uniqueness to your event. Highlight that old seashell collection, or collection of antique wedding pictures. Gather baskets of pinecones, acorns or other nuts, pieces of old lace, ribbons and buttons, assorted colored glass vases or jars, monogramed items, etc... Place these items around your cake or desserts, near your guest book, at the bar, or on a special display table. Sprinkling these items around your dinner buffet also adds a personal touch to the event.

Making the move to Eco-Friendly isn't difficult. All it takes is a bit of imagination, and maybe a hint or two from your event planner. Call for additional ideas and make your day spectacular and earth friendly.

Daytime Events Save Electricity

Host your event during day light hours, and save electricity. Take advantage of nature's lighting, thereby saving energy and money. During the warmer months of the year, it is also suggested that events be held under large trees, which provide shade and assist in keeping guests cooler. Providing hand held fans or umbrellas can also assist in keeping guests comfortable. Contact your wedding or event planner for additional suggestions for being kind to the environment while creating the festive and memorable event you've been imagining.

A Greener Birthday Party

Long ago, a birthday celebration included a special dessert served at the end of dinner. Then, at some point in time, parties became larger and more complicated, with lots of special supplies in addition to the special meals. And before we became aware that our party planning choices were making a negative impact on the environment, we would decide to have a party and head to the party supply store. We would stock up on plastic table cloths, paper streamers, latex balloons, mylar confetti, paper plates, styro cups, plastic forks, disposable centerpieces, and glitter covered invitations. Everything in the aisles were coordinated, and it was hard not to get carried away by all of the wonderful brightly colored, and festive decorations. These well-stocked aisles made party decorating easy and fun.
Then something changed, and we took a look at how our simply party planning choices were impacting the environment. In times of old, washing extra dessert plates was the only extra thing required for a special occasion meal, and there was little or no additional trash to be added to the trash pile. But if you stop and look at the amount of trash that is created for a current day, traditional birthday party, you would likely be amazed. And while it is possible to think that this is only One Party....you must consider that this is One Party for you TODAY, and that you and your family have a dozen parties per year, and each family you know has a dozen parties per year, and when you multiply that times millions of families per year...well, it is a staggering thought to imagine how much trash has been created for This One Party.
So as the time arrives that you begin the planning of your next birthday, or special occasion party, you will want to make the party festive and fun, and yet be gentle to the environment. It is possible to do both, but you may note that you are spending less time at the party supply store, and a little more time looking through your closets, pulling out older linens and finding new uses for your own possessions.
Here are some suggestions for being kinder to Mother Earth while planning your next party.

1. Use fabric linens. Use linens you already own, borrow from a friend, or make them from sheets or fabric scraps. Make a "topper" for the table if you note stains on the tablecloths. You can rent linens if you cannot locate a sufficient number to cover your tables. Remember you can mix different patterns of white under cloths, and add matching toppers, such as a colored square.
2. Use washable dish ware, glass ware and eating utensils. Mix and match dishes and glasses, or rent them if you must have matching sets.
3. If you must use disposable products, use eco-friendly products such as: corn-based beverage containers, sugarcane pulp paper plates, recycled paper napkins, and potato pulp eating utensils. All of these items may be placed in your compost pile, and will add to next year's garden.
4. Live plants or candles make beautiful centerpieces. Give plants to guests as a favor, or plant in your yard as a reminder of your special party.
5. Skip the balloons, confetti and plastic decorations.
6. Use cupcakes and skip extra plates, and forks.
7. Have a day-time party, and avoid the need for extra lighting. If hosting an evening event, use candles placed in canning jars, and hung from branches in trees for outdoor lighting. Tin cans, with holes punched in the sides also make wonderful luminaries when hung from trees. Use solar lighting when possible, also.
8. Simplify. Take a hint from our ancestors and skip the streamers and fanfare, and make the special dessert the highlight of the event.

Plan your party, and remember that we can have a fun and festive day while still being environmentally conscience.

Eco Friendly Favors

Things to consider when designing your wedding or special event favor, or memento.

1. Can you eat it?
2. Do you want to save it, or will it be thrown away?
3. Is it useful? Can it be used for more than one purpose?
4. Is it made from, or packaged in environmentally friendly material?

After considering these questions, you can begin to design the event memento that will remind others of your special day, and will allow you to feel good about sharing with the guests.

While the old-style favor that was made of plastic, and wrapped in nylon tulle, may have shouted out, "Festive!", it's no longer the favor of choice. The traditional favor would have been saved in a drawer for years, but would undoubtedly find its way to the trash, eventually. Millions of weddings, with millions of favors, creating a great deal of non-biodegradable waste in our landfills.

Work to create a memento that is either edible (cookie or candy), reusable (containers), recyclable (glass), useful (fan for cooling at the wedding, or a note pad for later).

Check with your wedding planner for eco-friendly or Greener event favors and mementos. Let your special day be remembered by you and your guests in a eco-friendly way.

Live Plants are a Great Green Choice

Choosing live plants as your special occasion center piece is a great way to go Green. This grapevine topiary made a lovely focal point, and will be the start of someone's grape garden.

By making small changes to traditional wedding and special occasion decorating plans, you can make a positive impact on the environment.

Talk with your wedding planner for additional Greener or Eco Friendly wedding plans, and greener decorating ideas.

25 Tips for a Greener or Eco-Friendly Wedding

Your wedding or event planner can assist you in making your day special, yet gentle to the environment.

Consider using some of these tips:

1. Simplify. Your wedding will be memorable and enjoyable for everyone
2. Have a Daytime wedding, reducing the need for lighting, thereby savingelectricity.
3. If lighting is necessary, use soy candles. Hang canning jars with candles and reuse the jars later.
4. Have wedding & reception at the same location to save on gasoline usage.
5. Encourage guests to carpool, or use public transportation, where available. Discourage use of Stretch limos, and use horse drawn carriages or Hybrid vehicles where available.
6. Use re-cycled paper for invitations, programs & favors.
7. To save paper, create a wedding website and encourage electronic responses.
8. Send electronic Save The Date messages when possible. 
9. To assist guests to stay cool in hot weather, provide hand held fans.
10. Provide umbrellas for sun protection on sunny days, or put up cloth tents.
11. Wear vintage clothing, or clothing made from nature friendly fabrics such as Hemp or Bamboo.
12. Purchase antique wedding sets, or recycle jewelry into new pieces.
13. Toss wild birdseed rather than rice or confetti after the ceremony.
14. Use flower seed embedded paper for a favor. May be left whole or cut into shapes.
15. Give trees, or easy to grow plants as a favor
16. Use environmentally friendly dinnerware and utensils. Products made from corn & wheat are available for disposable utensils, or use washable products.
17. Use home grown flowers or live plants.
18. Use recycled containers for flower arrangements, or use items from nature, such as pine cones for decorating.
19. Don’t use Mylar confetti, it is difficult to remove. If you must use confetti, use paper confetti.
20. Use items from natures, such as leaves, or rocks for place cards. Write guests’ names on the item, or in the case of a pine cone, add a tiny tag with guest’s name.
21. Use fabric linens, and if possible, line dry the laundry. Use colors that don’t require Bleaching.
22. Recycle all recyclables after the wedding reception
23. Serve organic and locally grown food.
24. Compost leftover food from plates.
25. Use safe cleaning products, and leave the wedding & reception site in better condition that it was found. Leave no trash behind.