My Imperfectly Sustainable Birthday Party: Turning 30 Consciously
I might be guilty of having used one of those popular phrases that some people say to put a deadline to procrastination and make it seem as though they aren’t procrastinating. In this case, the “I’ll celebrate my birthday when I turn 30” became more tangible and within my grasp when 2022 started. The days fly by, and us, obliviously, still believe these deadlines still exist in a distant time, somewhere they can’t touch us, hidden amid the uncertain tides of a faraway horizon, the one we drew ourselves to escape the pressure of the present. But 30 arrives, and so does the palpability of that promise we made. In that sense, I am perhaps a pseudo-Leo, an introvert with sporadic flashes of extroversion, that prefers to hide behind a cup of coffee and a book instead of being the center of attention at a party.
At the same time, I am inspired by the ‘Carpe Diem’ motto, or Thoreau’s philosophy of ‘living deliberately’ (although in a less ascetic way), which generates a contradiction: my personality, which aligns more with being a guest than a host, and the constant reminder in my head, my books, my movies, to seize the day. The former nurtures my original bag of excuses–“my apartment is smallish for a party”, and “I don’t know that many people in Miami for a big one”. The last one is powerful enough to fight the ego, and it won this war.
The last memory I have of celebrating my birthday is 2009, when I was still in high school. I did a ‘teatime’ at home, back in Buenos Aires, with my friends. Teatime in Argentina is called merienda and we are such merendadores that we sometimes use it as the theme of our parties. We buy lots of bakery goods, drinks, and consume them while chitchatting.
When my 30th birthday was around the corner, I knew it was time. I wanted to do something different from my previous celebration, 13 years ago, as well as fun, laid back, and as sustainable as possible. Yes, the most sustainable option is to not throw a party at all, but I’ve been doing that for all those years (low-impact birthday rookie!). The time to stop being a bore had arrived. But how?
My husband’s best friend’s girlfriend (take a minute there), uploaded a photo of her birthday to Instagram, and my bulb lit up. She was painting on a table with her friends, apparently having a merienda (could have been a dinner; not sure).
I asked her about it, and suddenly my birthday bash took shape with just one stroke of my mind’s brush. I was going to do an Art & Wine dinner party! Coincidentally, I had been thinking about how disconnected I had become from my artistic side, stuck in a creative writing-coloring-creating-artistic slump. The art side of the party was therefore super welcome. On the other side, I hadn’t had a glass of alcohol in about two years, as I was never much of an alcohol lover (I’m a smoothie, water, tea, or coffee kind of drinker), and is not recommended because I take oral chemo. However, I was very interested in discovering the vegan-organic wine scene, and sampling just a tiny bit myself. Both, then, art and wine, merged in beautiful symbiosis. I added the extra noun “dinner”, because nobody wants to be the person who sends their friends home on an empty stomach and, besides, I always enjoy having the opportunity to introduce awesome vegan food to my friends.
The challenge: how sustainable could I make it?
HOW I CELEBRATED MY BIRTHDAY IN A MORE SUSTAINABLE WAY
Making my best is always the intention. I went so far as calling my blog ‘Sustainable Rookie’, to confess to being an imperfectly sustainable person, because I believe in progress over perfection, and that with small gradual changes, we can become better and better over time. From the start, I knew I was going to struggle with making conscious choices in some areas of the party, but the learning process and exploration phase was super fun and a rich experience.
The sustainable side of my birthday celebration
VEGAN FOOD
I’m a vegan for the animals, so food being vegan in a party I host is non-negotiable. Even so, a vegan or plant-based diet is more sustainable, so the food at a party is the number one thing to consider if you are trying to make it more environmentally friendly. It has one of the biggest impacts on the planet!
My imperfectly sustainable party started with a vegan picada (appetizers), which included a variety of vegan cheeses (bought from Miyoko’s, Kite Hill, and Siete), and a variety of chips (I don’t remember the brands), and a bag of Hippeas.
As a main course I ordered vegan quesadillas and empanadas from my local vegan restaurant–Holi Vegan Kitchen–3 flavors of each. The quesadilla flavors were tempeh, chick’n, and black bean quesadillas, and corn, spinach, and impossible meat empanadas.
Luckily, I just got a cake for dessert because people were already full by the end of the party when the candles were blown. I ordered a vegan and gluten-free carrot cake from a small vegan bakery in Hollywood–Zalie Cakes–where I love to go to.
This vegan cheese was too good for words
VEGAN DRINKS
For the drinks, I got 5 different vegan wines I found at Whole Foods Market, 4 of which were also organic. First, a bottle of Domaine Bousquet Malbec, from my beautiful Argentina, made of organically grown grapes. I also got a bottle of Natura Pinot Noir (my partner’s favorite grape) from Chile, also organic. On the other hand, my European wines consisted of an organic Les Hauts de Lagarde Bordeaux, from France, made with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc; a bottle of Bio Mavrud & Rubin (grapes I had never heard about before), an organic wine from Bulgaria; and finally, a bottle of Prunus, a vegan wine from Portugal, also made with a variety of grapes I didn’t know about, including Jaen, Tinta Roriz, and Alfrocheiro. I also served water, orange juice and lemonade.
One of the vegan and organic wines we had during my sustainable birthday party
ECO-CUTLERY AND ECO-DECO
Using what you have is the number 1 rule of sustainable living, and I took it seriously. I used plates, glasses, and a tablecloth I already had at home. I only had 6 glasses, so I borrowed about 8 more from my office. Also, I had been saving some disposable bamboo forks we used for our wedding (still have lots to use!). Last, I used candles I already had at home.
For the decorations, I hang some cute banners I had saved from our wedding, and reuse whenever I can (like my company’s New Year’s Party). Moreover, I had stored some garden lights my friend across the hallway had given me when she moved away. They looked so cute that I left them on the wall after the party was over. Last, I reused some small candles I had also bought for our wedding, putting them across the table and the floor, so everyone was surrounded by a bit of light when they painted.
CONSCIOUS ART
To make the Art part of the party more sustainable, I repurposed mason jars to wash brushes. I put a just a little bit of water on them (just enough to wash the bristles), to save as much water as possible. To dry the brushes and remove any remaining paint, I used some rags I made by cutting an old shirt. Finally, I reused some old plastic trays I had been saving for 4 years (the sustainability side of hoarding), the ones that are usually used for selling mushrooms or sprouts. I even had a few Chipotle trays I had been hoarding because I knew that someday I would be able to give them another life.
The paintings we created during my eco-friendly birthday celebration!
The unsustainable side of my birthday celebration
THE FOOD
The unsustainable side to this get-together, food-wise, was that everything I bought came packed. Unless you cook for your guests (I wasn’t going to cook for 14), and buy everything in bulk, plastic is going to be another guest at your party. This is something I’m used to, since I’m a celiac, and I have to buy gluten-free food that is perfectly sealed. This was the most unsustainable part of the party. Chips and cheeses came in plastic, whereas the lemonades and the food from my local restaurant came in aluminum, which is a bit better because of being infinitely and more easily recyclable than plastic. The bags in which some food came, like the chips, were saved to be repurposed as trash bags (usually use them for my cat’s poop!). Regarding the wine bottles, I must find a way in which to repurpose them that’s useful to me (so I don’t hoard them just for the sake of it). Otherwise, they’ll be separated to be recycled (glass is also better than plastic for recycling).
THE CUTLERY AND DECO
I ended up buying regular paper napkins, very reluctantly, but I only have 4 reusable linen napkins at home, not nearly enough for 14 people!
THE ART
At first, I thought about buying secondhand brushes, but didn’t find any, so I bought new ones, which I plan on using at home and rekindle my artistic side. In addition to that, the canvases were also new. Perhaps a more sustainable alternative could be to look for canvas made with recycled paper or asking people to bring some garment they already have at home and want to give it a new life and make it a textile art night!
What do you think about my big night? Have you ever tried throwing a sustainable birthday party? Let me know in the comments.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to receive more tips on how to be more sustainable and lead a conscious life.
Hi, I’m Melina,
I’m the creator of Sustainable Rookie, and my goal is to share what I learn throughout my sustainability journey, so that I can help other people live a more conscious life.
If you liked this post, you may also enjoy:
