Our eldest's 6th birthday party

On Saturday we celebrated our eldest's 6th birthday. We kept it eco and nature-themed ... sending out our Earth Greeting's turtle invites and making a Spider Cake on little one's request.

Fortunately I have a copy of Additive Free Kid's Parties at home which has an organic chocolate and pumpkin spider's cake recipe in it. Licorice is used for the legs. There was also a receipe for mini spiders made from homemade marzipan too.

I added some cupcakes with little raspberry worms.

Organic nuts, chocolate covered fruit, chips and homemade dips were purchased locally from our farmer's market and organic store and my family added some fruit platters.

Sunnie's 4th Birthday Party

On August 1 we celebrated our daughter Sunnie's 4th birthday with a party.

It was held at our home on a beautiful sunny day with the theme being a "princess party" ... that didn't mean everyone dressed as a princess, just the birthday girl.

I created some organic recipes - the birthday cake, scones, cupcakes, sandwiches cut out in hearts and flowers, berry mallow whip, beetroot dip and chocolate cheesecake as found in the book Additive Free Kids Parties. I bought a vegetarian quiche from the local bakery and some yummy Chipman corn chips from our local organic store.

How green was your winter party?

How Did You Make Your Party an Eco Friendly Event? What Ideas Did You Find or Come Up With?

For every season of the year we are giving away one of our fabulous eco birthday party boxes for 16 ($44.97) + one of our cool new felt crowns ($16.97).

All you have to do is purchase any one of our eco party boxes during the winter months, then host your party and tell us how you made your event so eco friendly.

It doesn't have to be a birthday party - it could be a dinner party, a corporate function or wedding. Whatever the celebration we want to hear how you invited nature to your party!

You may have come up with fabulous recipes using organic food, decorated the venue with beautiful eco and natural creations or even come up with eco friendly games and party favours of your own. You may even want to add some photos to give yourself an even better chance.

We love hearing how people have used their imagination and nature to make their parties as eco friendly as possible - and sharing these ideas helps inspire others to party responsibly too!

Send your entries to competitions@ecopartybox.com.au

Good luck!

Wirra Wirra Picks a Peck of Picnic Packs

Popular McLaren Vale winery, Wirra Wirra, recently got in touch with us wanting to create some Eco Picnic Packs for their fans to take advantage of the Cellar Door's new BBQ facilities.

Wirra Wirra actively seek to operate via environmentally sustainable management practices in all parts of their business.

This includes biodynamic management of vineyards, water recycling initiatives, energy efficiency and recycled packaging options.

Eco-friendly packs for their BBQs fits this philosophy.

"The idea is for people to buy some local meat, cook it up on our barbies and enjoy some of our beautiful wine," says Cellar Door manager Lisa McNicol.

The packs consist of:
*4 x unbleached large plates (12") made from sugar cane fibre
*4 x PSM cutlery - knives and forks - all made from 100% biodegradable corn starch

*2 x PSM spoons
*2 x unbleached bowls made from sugar cane fibre
*5 x napkins made from corn starch
*1 disposable bag made from corn starch

Wirra Wirra retail the packs for $6.00.
Visit www.ecopartybox.com.au for more info.