Birthday Parties That Give Back

We all want to host fun parties for our kids, and we don't want to arrive empty-handed at somebody else's. Yet, many of us already have heaps of toys hidden in closets. These soon break and, because they're non-recyclable, end up in landfills. Instead, why not help the less fortunate while cutting back on the paper-and-plastic trappings that parties always seem to entail? Paper makes up about 35 percent and plastics 11.3 percent of all municipal waste (before recycling); using less from the start is the easiest way to reduce trash.

Luckily, lots of parents are discovering the fun of parties that focus on helping kids learn the joy of helping others rather than tearing through gift boxes. But simply telling your child that he's giving a goat to an African community rather than getting presents is more likely to evoke tears than joy. The key is to combine green values with party themes that kids love. Here are some tips on hosting a meaningful birthday party packed with fun.

* Build your party around a kid-friendly theme such as puppies, zoo animals or dinosaurs. Then find an organization or museum that would appreciate donations or gifts. Mary DeBonis of Caldwell, New Jersey, held a puppy-themed party for her four-year-old son to benefit a local animal shelter. She made dog-bone shaped oatmeal cookies and provided furry dog ears for the kids to wear. In lieu of birthday gifts, guests brought donations, dog food, leashes, water bowls and toys for the abandoned animals. "I thought Michael would be upset," said DeBonis, "but he understood the idea immediately and loved it, and so did his friends and their moms!" And the animal shelter brought puppies for the kids to play with.

* Check your local fire station to see if they give tours or host parties. The kids will have a blast and volunteer firefighters will appreciate donations and gifts (call ahead to find out what sorts of items they need). Police stations may also give tours and you can use it as an opportunity to collect money for a community anti-drug or anti-crime program, as Flanders, New Jersey, mom Kasey Errico's six-year-old did. For the occasion, Errico made a cake shaped like a police car and the officers gave out key chains and stickers.

* Let your child choose the theme. "The possibilities are really endless and it is great to let them think of ways they can contribute," says Errico, who, like DeBonis, is a member of the Holistic Moms Network, a national organization of natural-health-minded parents based in Caldwell, New Jersey (www.holisticmoms.org). Her children attended one party where the kids collected donations for Hurricane Katrina victims, and another where they collected goods for soldiers in Iraq. At an Africa-themed party, kids built a grass hut and collected donations for African children. You can purchase the gift of a goat or plant trees for a needy community through the development organization, Oxfam. (Goat, £24; Plant 25 trees, £8, www.oxfamunwrapped.com.)