There are plenty of stores if you expand your horizons that sell green gifts. Perhaps trying more unique children's toy stores, that sell educational toys. They tend to have more variety than your plastic made in China toy. Also, perhaps try conservation organization. Maybe a plush toy from WWF, in which proceeds go to the company? Or, do a search for organic children's clothes? Organic clothing tends to be pricey, so it would make a nice gift and something many people wouldn't buy.

If you don't want gift wrap, maybe ask for the gifts to be placed in something reusable--baskets, tote bags, etc. If they are wrapped, set aside the wrapping paper with newspaper/magazines you recycle.

Sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Wrapping Paper

You could set aside a portion of your yard as your child's garden. You could ask that all gifts be plants for the garden. The theme of the party could be planting the garden.

I used to have a seven year old neighbor boy. He often came to the fence to ask if he could come over and help me work in the garden. He constantly amazed me by how much he knew about gardening. I could give him a six pack of plants and he knew how to plant them! He was good at recognizing the difference bewteen weeds and plants. He told me both of his grandmothers have gardens, and that he has always helped them in their gardens. Whenever he came over, he would ask to tour the yard with me to see what new plants I had put in.

Lorna

Even though it may not be too thrilling for a child , a tree is a lovely gift that keeps on giving . A small tree the size of the birthday person can grow with them . A flowering or fruit tree could be even more fun . You could go in with another person on the gift and add a book about the tree and other related tree growing gifts like a journal or scrapbook .
Wallpaper and the comics from the newspaper make great wrapping paper . When you purchase gift wrap items from a Thrift Store like Habitat For Humanity , you are recycling and supporting a worthy cause .

For birthday presents, we make cookies, put them in a reused plastic container, and then put that in a reused brown paper bag which the child going to the birthday party has decorated. The child also makes a birthday card on the blank back of paper that I bring home from work.

I'm sure that there are parents who have found this cheap and tacky, though nobody has said anything -- yet. There are also parents who are very happy not to get another made-in-China toy that will leave pieces all over the house to step on, and then break.

If I were going to have a green birthday party for a three-year-old, I would invite a maximum of three children (and parents/siblings, as the case may be), make a cake, buy some ice cream and juice, and serve everything on the regular household dishes. I would rather deal with three who-knows-what birthday present than get into all of the issues of telling people what they should buy your daughter for a birthday present and what they should wrap it in. (And I would also skip the goody bags, which I disapprove of in principle. If you really wanted party favors, you could make some plain sugar cookies, and the birthday party guests could decorate the cookies as one of the party activities and take their cookies home afterwards.)

Great ideas, thank you. I'll have to see if I have a Habitat for Humanity and start buying wrapping paper there. Or use the comics :) I like the party favor idea being decorated cookies. It made me think of the handprints in clay, or those stained glass things kids paint. Thanks :) Christy

Whether the birthday person is 3 or 93, I have been trying to get away from giving "stuff". Cookies, wine, a dinner date (at home or a restaurant), a savings bond (good for a kid's college fund), a gift certificate for a service such as a massage - none of these ephemeral gifts have to find a place in the recipient's home.

Annebert - I love your thinking - no "stuff".

You can find your local Habitat For Humanity store by going to - habitatforhumanity.org and searching for the store in your area .
Also , check your yellow pages under Thrift Shops or the White pages for Business under H for Habitat .
Call first to find out their days and hours of operation .

I am now thinking of having her birthday at a bowling alley. I will be inviting 4 other children. So I'd like to find green party favors. I think I want to find a reusable lunch sack as the bag, but need to come up with some ideas to put in it. I did like the idea of cookies, I could fill it with that. Anyone have any other ideas?? Thanks :) Christy

with an october birthday, how about giving each child a pumpkin? If you are eating during the party, the pumpkins can go on the table as a centerpiece, and then each child picks the one they want to take home. we've done this before and the kids love choosing and carrying off their pumpkins.

When my children were young we gave a lot of books as gifts. I also got a lot for them. As they grew up they chose either to keep them or to give them to other families with younger children or to the local nursery school.

I googled go-green children parties and I found acouple good websites. As goodie bags you should use canvas bags and decorate them with fabric paint.

.http://www.ehow.com/how_2282355_throw-gogreen-childrens-party.html

http://gogreenpark.com/hand

http://www.polkadotpackage.com/productcart/pc/home.aspmade-kids-birthday-parties-3/

I hope these help you a little bit.

mica

when children are young preschool age-they dont care what the present is-they just like presents
what about having your child/the guest pick a toy from his/her toybox that they dont play with anymore and wrap that in the comic section

Great ideas!! Thank you :) I found some reusable lunch sacks (shaped like a brown paper bag with a built in handle and velcro to keep it closed). I like the pumpkin idea. I'm thinking I could put in the lunch sack a mini pumpkin with instructions for a craft to do with mom and/or dad later on, not at the party. Maybe even putting in a fabric paint to write their names on the lunch sack or decorate it however they want. Or some kind of craft or activity. Thanks for those links, I'll check them out right now!! Christy :)

If you are looking for invitations, gifts and party supplies here is one of our favourite online shops!

Here is a link that might be useful: Invitations

Yes, I know its abit late now but here's some ideas for next year, and for your present giving, I thought alot of the ideas where great previously by the way.
Get the e-mail addresses of the parents who children you want to invite, and send a e-invatition, ask them to e-mail the reply. yes electricity, but no paper or fuel in postage and no hassel. wrapping presents, use newpaper, old magizines, they are going to rip it any way, paper bags, for some reason my state you have to have your wine in brown paper? like no ones going to guess what you just brought! or if you have fast food for some reason, save these for wrapping but get your children to decorate them, at the age they are, people think it really cute, make cards out of old paper and pictures in mags, get your kids to make papier mache plant pots and decorate them, if for an adult, stick in a packet of seeds you know they like and if a child, a couple of seeds could be a bean, pea, nesturtium, radish something that shows a result quickly, and some planting medium in a bag, the bags I use are the ones manufacturered bread comes in!
Party Favours same thing as presents except you could present something growing athough maybe difficult in October, I am sure someone will come up with an idea, all I can think of is lettice and even my veggie loving children won't eat that! and brussel sprouts just too big, haha!, keep the party simple, my boys love picnics and love indoor picnics even more, I actually produce a more authentic picnic indoors than out, cos I don't have too lug the picnic basket around! rug on floor etc, old fashioned games such as pass the parsell, wrapped in newspaper easy to rig so every child wins a prize, prizes well, I just keep the merriad of rubbish my boys have accumilated over the year in favors, which they examine and then discard, currently I have 9 pensils, 6 mini tubs of playdough, 10 erasers, 6 flying discs and 1 tub of assorted beads from frendship braclets. once you start looking for ways to reuse stuff it becomes easier and easier, your brain just seems to make new connections you will find yourself hovering over the trash can with a used item, thinking, I wonder! today our washing machine died a death, repair man could repair but only if we where prepared to spend $600+ we brought a new one for $420 and on looking at our old machine, I kept saying could it be a composer, husband (who is not a natural recycler but buys second hand most the time and is a great bargin hunter) could it be a fire pit, get away says I! look on the garden forums and sure enough people have used old washing machines for both these purposes, so yes! if I was really really green I would have had it repaired (well I would probably have a wash board and Mangle) but I live in the real world and needs must but there can ways to do it.
BTW paper mache pots can be planted straight in the ground and decompose, but I would only do this if decorated for flowers not food!
last but by no means least, don't force you ideals on any one by asking them for green toys and paper, it will only get backs up, for example do not judge them, just as you should not expect to be judged for your decisions, it was my birthday the other day and ony one person asked what I wanted, a watering can, okay I expected a big cheepo one and recieved a dinky red posh one, put it does the job and looks pretty, I also got cut flowers which have lasted very well, 3 weeks and counting and as they die off, into the compost they go, a huge scented cantle which is now in the energancy draw for power cuts etc, the pretty cardboard tub it came in will become something to keep sewing bits in or I will put someones gift into, the bags other gifts came in have been squirelled away for rewraping presents for others, and the wrapping paper is in my boys craft box, the Best buy Voucher...oh I used that today towards a new washing machine! Grurr!
Just do what you can, we don't need to be tree huggers, and force our opinions, lead by example, and use what others waste, the link I enclosed is of a childrens TV program I loved in the 70's in the UK
last verse sums it up

We're so incredibly, utterly devious
Making the most of everything.
Even bottles and tins.
Pick up the pieces and make them into something new,
Is what we do!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wombles

That was exactly a very nice idea to have that kind of birthday party theme. Thanks !

Here is a link that might be useful: party supplies