1. Eat the décor
During the warmer months, using in-season and locally grown flowers to reduce carbon emissions is easy. But when the temperature dips, a great alternative is to decorate using seasonal vegetables. Not only do they make a unique and colourful centerpiece, but you can cook them and enjoy them again after the party. Or, use a fruit or vegetable as a place holder. To do this, handwrite the guest’s name on recyclable card stock, slice the top of the fruit or vegetable along the top, slide the name card in to mark their seat. If you choose to use candlelight, soy and beeswax candles are environmentally-friendly options over traditional wax.
2. Table setting: Mix and match or bring the outdoors in
A great way to set a table is to mix and match vintage china (or those old sets that are collecting dust in your cabinet) to achieve a shabby-chic, bohemian look. You can find some great pieces at thrift stores or garage sales, giving a new home to a piece that may have otherwise landed on top of a garbage dump. To create a more uniform look, pick a colour scheme (use two or three colours) and stick to it when purchasing new china. If you don’t want to use formal china you can also purchase [biodegradable plates and cutlery] {www.greenshift.ca} made from 100 per cent sugar cane fibre that can be recycled or composted and the fibre is renewable.
3. Hold the store bought hostess gift
This is one area that’s super-easy to keep environmentally-friendly. While good intentioned, many hostess gifts do end up in landfill sites (skip the kiss the cook Santa apron), include excessive packaging and are imported from foreign countries. If you’re not sure what your host needs, bring them baked goods or wine. Since wine is a popular gift, try to bring local wine in a Tetra Pak carton. These packages can all be reprocessed into tissue, and their compactness requires far fewer trucks for shipping. Plus, more than 80 per cent of Canadian households are currently able to recycle Tetra Pak packaging.
Another idea for a table setting is to use leafs that have fallen from the trees and place them flat on the table for décor. Go one step further, and iron the leaves. To do this, lay a dish cloth flat on an ironing board, then lay a piece of wax paper, then, place the leaf on top and then cover with another piece of wax paper and dishcloth. Put the hot iron on top for a few seconds (enough for the wax paper to coat the leaf) and your leaf centerpieces will last for months. In the winter, use small evergreen branches taken from the base of a holiday tree, lay them flat on a table and place tall soy candles and fruit in the nooks and crevices of the branch.
