What seven-year-old wants a recycling themed birthday party? Apparently, my son. It was a wacky and creative request that left me spinning my brain cells for how to pull this off. Ultimately, the birthday theme we decided on was: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Coming off an Earth Day celebration at school, Liam came home and asked that his birthday theme be a recycling theme. Recycling bins, trucks, and all reusable decorations. I had no idea where to start. I immediately went into “keep all the recycling” mode (and realized that was silly). However, with reduce and reuse as one of our guiding principles, it gave me a reason to use all the plates, cups, and napkins we’ve been hoarding every birthday party for the last seven years!
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A Recycling Birthday Cake
The real challenge was the cake. How could I pull off a themed cake for recycling? I originally thought I could do a cardboard box, but that proved to be a bit more complicated. Then I thought, maybe a recycling logo (the three arrows) and I’d carve it out of a cake. I realized that, too, it was a little too complicated. And then I found these recycling signs cake toppers online. Yes, I bought something, however, they’d be reused as signs for pretend play (my son has an obsession with road signs–check out last year’s birthday). He loved the signs. I threw in Paw Patrol’s Rocky to give it a little more pizzazz.
As for decorations, we stayed simple. We reused some older birthday signs, stayed away from balloons, and it was all Liam-approved.
I love when my kids give me a challenge, and even more when I see their faces light up once it’s pulled off. What’s the most creative (or challenging) birthday party theme you threw for your family or friends? Drop a comment below!
