Eco-Friendly Party Tips

Everywhere you turn, people are working hard to go green and reduce waste. There are plenty of ways you can encourage green party planning too! These eco-friendly party tips aren't just good for the planet, but they can also rescue your party planning budget.

Use Cloth Napkins and Real Dishes

You can cut way back on the amount of waste you produce at your party by using real linens and dishes. By eliminating the paper plates and napkins from the equation, you can also create a more elegant party atmosphere for your guests.

Buy Recycled Products

We know that sometimes real linens and dishes just aren't feasible. If paper plates and napkins and plastic utensils are a must, look for brands that contain recycled content.  Recycle any products you can and store leftover items for future use. Look for party invitations that can be recycled, printed on recycle papers, or that have been printed with earth-friendly inks.

Store & Reuse Party Decor

You can store party favors and decorations for birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and more just as you would decorations for the holidays. When you do this, you have the opportunity to turn ordinary party decor into family heirlooms -- just like your favorite Christmas ornament or Halloween wreath. You might also want to create a community party chest where you and family and friends join forces in creating a huge stash of party favorites.

Make Your Party Favors Eco-Friendly

It's always a fun idea to send your guests home with party favors. Instead of disposable toys and trinkets, offer them something that can be used over and over. Glass jars can be filled with treats or snacks and decorated to fit with your party decor and reused for drinking glasses, dessert mix jars and more once your guests take them home.

Do have tips or suggestions for planning a more eco-friendly party? Share them in the comments!

Party Inspiration - Pinwhirls Customer Photos

We love the beautiful and creative ways that our customers use Pinwhirls.com products. Our pinwheels have appeared in a lot of special events since we started creating them, and we wanted to show them off while at the same time giving you inspiration for the perfect decor at your next birthday party, wedding, baby shower or holiday party.

Carnival Pinwheels
Our carnival themed papers make fun and whimsical favors and decorations. If you like these, you'll definitely want to check out our Vintage Carnival Themed photo set on Flickr.

Custom Handheld Carnival Pinwheels
Photos Courtesy of Michelle K.

Red, White & Blue Cake Toppers
This cake is festively decorated and looks absolutely delish! Red, white & blue customer Pinwhirls are great for 4th of July celebrations, armed forces homecomings, cookouts, outdoor parties and more.

Courtesty of Michelle Kraft @ partiesbymimi.blogspot.com/

Black & White Wedding Pinwhirls
Michael and Taryn's stunning black and white pinwheels were photographed beautifully by Anthony DeCarlo. We're so glad they shared them with us!

from the Wedding of Taryn & Michael Fabian July 2, 2011
Photos were taken by Anthony DeCarlo of DeCarlo Photo www.decarlophoto.com

Peony Pinwheels
Our Peony style pinwheels are another customer favorite, and we love what Michelle did with these party favors. With a hundreds of custom printed papers, we can make a peony pinwheel for any theme.

Custom Handheld Baby Shower Peony Pinwheels
Photos Courtesy of Michelle B.

Flower Girl Pinwheels
These are two of the most adorable flower girls we've seen, and we love that they're walking down the aisle with pinwheels. Our Pinwhirls creations are as pretty as flowers, but they last much longer.

Flower Girl Pinwheels Photo Courtesy of Whitney F.

Save on Your Order
You can save on your next Pinwhirls.com order when you submit your special event photos. Get all the details on our Promotions page.

Wedding Anniversary Celebration Ideas

Whether you're planning your parents' 25th or your grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration, we've got party suggestions to help you make your next wedding anniversary extra special!

Planning a 25th or 50th Wedding Anniversary Party


Is the big celebration going to be a surprise? If you so, you want to make sure that your wedding anniversary invitations remind everyone that the party is a secret!

Here are some must-haves for the big event:

• A slide show illustrating the couple's lives together from the day they met to the most recent photos of them with friends and family.
  
  


• Cakes or cupcakes. We love the idea of replicating the original wedding cake in some way, but you could also use more contemporary cupcake toppers to match a specific theme.
  


• Decorate with larger matching Pinwhirls imprinted with the couples' names and anniversary date for an extra special touch.
  


• Hire a band or a DJ to play the couple's favorite songs. Don't forget to find out what special songs should be included. What song was played at their wedding? What song did they first dance to? What song do they call "their" song?
  


• Don't forget to book a photgrapher! Just like the wedding, the anniversary celebration is something you'll want to remember through photos and video.
  


• Ask the couple to share a special moment or favorite memories from their years together. They can share this as a toast, make it part of the slide show, or include it on the party invitations.

What other tips and suggestions do you have for those celebrating milestone anniversaries? Share them with readers in the comments!

Classic Games for Children's Birthday Parties

If you're celebrating your child's birthday with a big party at home, don't forget the games! Birthday cupcakes, cupcake toppers, and party favors are important, but the kids will really love the chance to play together and be active.

Here are some great classic games you might have played at birthday parties when you were growing up.

Musical Chairs

For this game you need one less chair than you have children and a CD player or iPod to start and stop the music. Start with every child moving around the chairs while the music is playing. When the music stops, all the kids should try to find a seat. The child left standing after all the others are seated is eliminated from the game.

For the second round, remove one more chair and repeat the process. Keep doing this until only one child remains. This game is fun on its own, or you could award a small door prize or even a paper crown to the winning child.

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

This is a simple but well-loved favorite. One at a time, each child is blindfolded and given a paper tail. He or she is then spun around a few times before trying to pin the tail in the appropriate spot on the picture of a donkey. The child who comes closest wins.

Fruit Basket Upset

For this game, each child needs to be assigned to a group. Traditionally, fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas have been used—but you could change it up to match your party theme if you want. If the party is all about dinosaurs, you could have a group of triceratops, a group of T-Rexes, and a group of pterodactyls, for example. Assign groups before you start.

Next, form a circle with one less chair than you have children. The child without a seat will stand in the center and call out one of the group names. All of the children in that group must move to a new chair, and the child in the middle will join them in trying to take one of the open seats. The next child left without a seat takes the center spot for a turn at calling out a group.

At any point in the game, a child could call out, "Fruit Basket Upset!" and all of the children my find a new seat. The game ends when all the kids are exhausted!

What fun birthday party games did you play when you were a kid?

How to Throw the Perfect First Birthday Party

Your child’s first birthday party is a special occasion! Here’s how to make the day fun for baby and guests.

First Birthday Party Tips

Keep your guest list small. Of course your child’s first birthday is a big deal. And of course you want to invite a hundred people to share the day with you. But think about trimming your list in order to make the day happier for the birthday girl or boy. At 12 months, some children experience anxiety around strangers or become upset in the midst of too much activity and noise.

Pick a kid-friendly time. Schedule your child’s birthday party at a time of day when he or she is likely to be awake and happy. Schedule the party during nap time, and things are likely to turn sour. Parties should probably only last 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Choose age-appropriate party activities. A group of one year olds probably won’t appreciate anything too elaborate. Think of ways to keep festivities fun but simple. Plush toys, sandboxes, and sing-alongs can be a good choice. Save the clowns for later, as people in costumes can be a little disconcerting for youngsters.

Birthday Party Hats

Serve finger foods for children. Having snacks on hand can help keep hungry children from getting cranky. However, avoid any foods that could present a choking hazard like grapes, small candies, and nuts.

First Birthday Party Checklist

• Set the venue
• Order and send out party invitations and purchase corresponding thank you notes
• Plan and prepare appetizers, food and/or drinks
• Order birthday cake or cupcakes, candle and pinwhirl toppers
• Choose a birthday banner
• Select plates, napkins, cups, and utensils that go with your party theme
• Order party hats for each guest
• Select games or activities
• Find coordinating party favors
• Mail thank you notes to guests