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We all want to host fun parties for our kids, and we don't want to arrive empty-handed at somebody else's. Yet, families tend to have heaps of toys hidden in closets. These soon break and, because most are 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?

Luckily, lots of parents are discovering the fun of parties that focus on kids learning 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.
• Hold your party at a local organic farm, nature center or a city park to help children learn about caring for the natural environment. Get kids up and moving with an activity such as planting a tree (check your parks department to see if they have a plant-a-tree program) or apple picking. A home-baked, low-sugar apple pie makes a great summer alternative to a thickly frosted birthday cake. For farms near you, see www.localharvest.org.
• For your little ones, ages 1 to 2, suggest that guests bring a gently used toy from home instead of buying a new one. Many parents will welcome the opportunity.
• Ditch the traditional "goody bag" full of candy and throw-away plastic toys for an item that the kids make themselves, such as a puppet or princess hat, and then take home with them.

You may be the first on the block to try it, but green birthdays are catching on. "My friends have all since started doing this and the creativity is wonderful," says Errico.

Resources

• Other themes for parties: Contact local zoos and aquariums to find out about sponsor-an-animal programs. One option: adopt tigers, pandas, elephants and sea turtles at www.worldwildlife.org ($25).
• Or, find a number of gift ideas for people throughout the world at: Alternative Gifts International (www.altgifts.org). For example, $5 saves one acre of rainforest in Panama or Nicaragua.