Earth Day Party Ideas

It's the 40th anniversary of Earth day this year!  Not to be confused with Arbor Day, which is the last Friday of April every year...Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment.  So obviously, when planning a party, you want to be as Eco-friendly as possible.  This is difficult to do with kids and food because immediately you want to use paper plates!  So that one's up to you, but you could purchase recyclable paper plates.

Ok, decorations!  Ideally it would great to have the party outside...weather permitting.  Your color theme could be either blue and green or green and brown...whether you're going in the direction of an Earth theme or a Go Green theme.

Set up a picnic table or blankets on the ground for seating.  Throw some pillows down and voila...a fun kids friendly environment.  

If you have to go indoors, then this party is a great inspiration with paper lanterns, brown paper gift bags and fruit crates.

This party decor is a little more adult like, but still very inspiring!  Love the rocks and butterflies!

Centerpieces are easy...some palettes of grass, some plants, flowers, garden tools, ect.

I especially like these potted plants with windmill flowers stuck in them.

I love these little topiaries as place settings...I'm a sucker for topiaries!

I also love these large banana leaves as place mats!  How cute?

So as far as decorating, here is a list of some things you can gather to make a great tablescape: grass, potted plants, river rocks, moss, a globe of the Earth, paper maps as place mats, beeswax candles, garden tools, flowers, ect.

So there are a few ideas for activities for the kids.  The most obvious one is to plant some flowers or trees.  Also, you can go on a nature walk and collect different types of nature species and come back and glue them on a collage.  Make sure you take a bucket and a magnifying glass! You could grab some reusable bags and go clean up the neighborhood.  Teaching your kids about recycling is also a great activity for this day!  You could also visit a zoo and talk about the animal that inhabit the Earth.  You could visit a farm.  And then end the evening star gazing and talking about the Earth's place in the solar system.

If you are looking for a quick lesson plan for your kids, the government's Environmental Protection Agency has this great free and printable workbook!  Kids can color and learn at the same time!

The Happy Earth Day Activity Book

Food!  Most people probably try to go organic on this day or eat foods of the Earth...fruits and veggies.  Those are good choices...anything that does not involved using electricity and cooking is more environmentally friendly.  Try making sandwiches, a fruit and veggie tray and drink some fruit juice.  You can also make homemade fruit juice Popsicles.  Since the Earth is made up of mostly water, ice water is always a good choice for this holiday!  For dessert...Dirt Cake...a combination of chocolate pudding and whipped cream with crushed Oreos layered in a sanitized pot with artificial flowers and sometimes gummy worms!

But check out these cookies!  How cute are they?

And another cute one...Earth rice crispie treats!

Whatever you do on this holiday, have fun with it and give the Earth a little love!  Hug a tree! :)