Most of my in-laws live in town (my husband’s parents, two of his siblings, their kids and spouses) and every time they come over we go through a ton of paper plates, paper napkins, plastic cups, and plastic utensils. Although we have a great time together, I always feel guilty about all of the trash at the end of the night. Well, when my husband volunteered us to host Thanksgiving, it got me thinking about ways we could have a more eco-friendly party.
I know the term “eco-friendly” is tossed around a lot, but it basically just means anything that isn’t harmful to the environment. A few easy ways you can accomplish this are by buying reusable items, avoiding plastic, and choosing products that are recyclable or biodegradable (over time, can break down into the earth).
My first suggestion is to look for neutral-colored items so that they can be reused for different occasions. Clear and white are safe options because you can always brighten them up with accent colors and decor. If you buy a whole bunch of red, snowflakey items for Christmas, you’ll have a hard time repurposing them at your Easter dinner.
My second suggestion is to look for bargains. As you’re gearing up for your first eco-friendly party, there is an initial investment, but you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg. Everything I’m going to share is from Amazon and Walmart, but Dollar Tree also has a lot of great stuff.
And third, try to find things that are easily replaceable. When you have a large group of people moving around a lot at a party, things like glasses and plates sometimes break. Use items that are sold year-round so that you can replace them if your inventory gets low.
If you’re ready to get your eco-friendly party going, here are some of our awesome finds:
Plates
Our dinner plates are from Walmart and we got them for $.94 each! They only had 15 in stock when we were in the store so we’ll probably go back and grab a couple more.
Dessert plates are on our list for next time!
Glasses
Walmart sells these frosted glasses in packs of 8 for $7.94, so just under a dollar each. They’re stackable and very sturdy!
Silverware
We ordered 24 matching sets of silverware from Amazon and the pricing breaks down to about $.89 per utensil. The quality is honestly much better than I expected and I have no worries about rust or spots. My only complaint is that the company wraps every single individual piece in plastic so that creates a lot of trash.
The utensil caddy we use is from Walmart, but Amazon also has similar caddies.
Napkins
Our “cloth napkins” are actually flour sack towels that we found at Walmart. They’re really soft and are a nice, big size (28in x 29in). We were able to find them in packs of 5 and 10 in-store. You can just keep a little basket in your kitchen for people to drop them off when they’re dirty and then they can be tossed in the washing machine later on. 
Pans
We were in Walmart looking for disposable pans to bake my macaroni in when we found these reusable metal pans. They were basically the same price as the foil ones so it made more sense just to buy them. Amazon has similar pans, too. They’re the perfect size for party food and we’ve already gotten good use out of them.
Leftovers
I actually sent a message to everyone in my family telling them to bring their own Tupperware for Thanksgiving leftovers because we weren’t offering any foil or plastic wrap. Haha!
If you’re not comfortable giving your guests that instruction, you can definitely stock up on some reusable containers to send home with them.
I would love to purchase glass Tupperware when my children are a little older, but since they’re allowed to handle food now, we use these Rubbermaid containers. The set comes with a ton of different sizes and they stack really compactly. I can fit all of them in a tiny cabinet.
Recycling Bin
Some waste is inevitable, but you’d be surprised how many things can be recycled at a party (cans and bottles, decorations, food packaging). We keep a clearly marked recycling bin next to our trash can just in case our guests come across anything that can be spared from the landfill.
Change is Good
After so many gatherings, you get used to grabbing a paper plate and tossing it in the trash when you’re done. Switching to reusable products takes a small bit of retraining, but it is completely worth it. We’ll never have to spend money on another pack of paper plates again!
As far as dirty dishes go, I asked our guests to set the plates, glasses, and silverware in the sink. When the night ended, it took about 5 minutes to get it all loaded into the dishwasher and that was that.
My husband usually has to empty the garbage a couple of times when we have get-togethers. After Thanksgiving, though, he just kept saying how shocked he was that we still had lots of room in the first trash bag because we weren’t filling it with plates and cups.
Transitioning to a more eco-friendly party approach can be a small investment initially, but it pays for itself after a couple of gatherings. We have family over for meals multiple times a month and this is definitely more cost-effective than throwing away dozens of paper and plastic products each time. With so many holiday events going on, I truly hope you consider making the switch!
Do you do anything else when you host an eco-friendly party?
If you need some yummy recipes for your get together, try my easy pasta salad and super nacho fries!
Talk to you soon!
