Throwing an eco-friendly party for teens can be a lot of fun if they are interested in green issues and want to show their friends what it is all about.
Themes
Since teens are more mature, you don’t necessarily have to go the animal route and pick a favorite creature, or study various species from different parts of the world. Instead, you can focus on recycle, the danger plastic poses to the environment, solar power, reducing one’s carbon footprint, and more.
Activities
* Recycling – You can have them help sort their trash at the party. You can discuss what items can and can’t be recycled from that trash. Your local sanitation department will usually provide cards with the rules, so you can copy them and post them near the bins you set out.
* Cleaning up the park or trail – If you have a park or local beauty spot, give the teens some rubber gloves and bags and have them pick up bottles and cans to recycle. Give them the deposit money for each item they find, such as 5 cents a can. Give them prizes for the most collected, the one who has a green can, a Poland Spring water bottle, and so on.
You can also put little surprises in specially marked waxed paper goodie bags along the way, with spot prizes or coupons they can cash in for treats when they get back to your house.
* A treasure hunt – If you have a lot of trees in your area, and they have greenery on them, teach them what the foliage looks like and have them hunt for each tree. At each tree, they will get a clue that will lead to the final prize or destination. If you have more than four teens, pair them up and color-code the clues so each one is on a different path. Be sure to have enough prizes for them to go around at the end.
* Animal games – Charades is always fun. You can also play twenty questions about animals, vegetables or minerals.
* Follow the trash trail – Discuss what happens to a plastic bag or straw in relation to the environment. Picture it in landfill, in the huge plastic floating island in the Pacific, how long it would take to break down if not recycled, and more. Look up these topics online.
Food
You can keep it simple, or make it more educational. For example, you could take them shopping for what they want, and educate them about smart choices, such as buying one large bag of cookies or chips instead of snack packs. You could do the shopping and then show them when you got home just how much trash and recycling are generated with the food packaging, and come up with different ways to cut down on trash.
You can teach them how to pop corn, and decorate their own personal pizzas or cupcakes. You can teach them how to make their own granola bars to have as a snack and to take home with them. Award prizes for the best students and creations.
Decorate the cake with an eco-friendly theme. Have them make a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to eat. If you are vegetarian or vegan, teach them the basic principles and how good it is for the environment compared with eating meat. See if a local farmer hosts working visits and take everyone along to help on the farm or with the animals.
It may not be a traditional party, but it is sure to be one that most teens will never forget.
