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If you want your kids to be enviromentally conscious, you don't need to wait after they grow up. The Chicago Tribune reports that eco-friendly baby showers are perfect choices for eco-friendly parents-to-be. Instead registering at a Babys R' Us some moms-to-be are signing up at online stores like Felicite.com, which has a few eco-friendly merchants for new born baby such as Ecobaby Organics and Baby's Green Home.
And if you really want to creat an awesome earth-friendly party setting, click here for some "green" and environmental homemade party favors - as we all, inlcude the new baby, have eternal bond with nature.
Here is the article by The Chicago Tribune to get your thoughts and inspiration flow.
Eco-baby showers start children on road to green consciousness
NEW YORK -- There were no gifts trimmed in glittery wrapping paper and nylon ribbon at Susan Rosenkranz's baby shower in September.
There were no baby-themed paper plates for the soon-to-be mother, no streamers of pastel crepe paper or cakes accented with plastic rattles.
If the men and women gathered in the glow of reusable Christmas tree lights hadn't been plying Rosenkranz and her husband with gifts, it might have seemed like just any environmentally conscious couple's potluck party. But there were gifts: a green wooden dragon, organic cotton receiving blankets, baby outfits in paw print and jungle motifs and used children's books, to name a few.
Ecologically minded families like the Rosenkranzes want everything they own to be as natural and earth-sustaining as possible. And with low-impact and organic goods from food to furniture increasingly available, expectant parents aren't waiting until their babies are born to involve them in earth-conscious consumerism. Instead they are updating a ritual for new parents into one that better reflects their lifestyles. Welcome to the eco-baby shower.
Rosenkranz, a 35-year-old cultural anthropology graduate student, and her husband, Mark, 42, a water resources manager, try to eat only organic foods. They ride buses and bicycles instead of driving, use energy-saving light bulbs and turn their food scraps into garden compost. So when a friend suggested throwing them a green-themed baby shower, they were delighted.
Didn't want plastic
"I thought it was a great idea," Susan Rosenkranz said. "We knew we didn't want a bunch of plastic toys." Living in Portland, Ore., she was able to register at three local stores for cloth diapers, clothes and linens made of organic materials, as well as wooden toys and glass (not plastic) bottles.
Many ecologically conscious parents view the modern baby shower as particularly wasteful, with its throw-away gift wrap and bonanza of plastic toys headed inevitably for the landfill. In contrast, they see an eco-shower as a simpler, homier affair, more about good food and conversation, and less about ribbons and balloons.
At these parties, parents may even request re-gifts, items that have been handed along from one family to the next. Guests present coupons for baby-sitting or homemade meals and offer handmade books filled with sage parenting tips. Presents, perhaps bought from consignment stores, arrive wrapped in reusable materials such as baby blankets, or not wrapped at all.
In Arlington, Va., J.D. Doliner requested that her guests refrain from bringing gifts of toys and clothing to her eco-shower. Instead, the venture capital consultant was thrilled to receive meals that could be frozen until those moments when neither she nor her husband had the energy to cook.
The slightly rowdy entertainment at Doliner's shower celebrating the recent birth of her daughter, Maya, was hardly typical. "We were having tea. It was too civilized," Doliner said. So the group decided to bury a leftover from the home birth -- the placenta Doliner had stored in the freezer. They went outside to dig a hole as passersby looked on with fascination.
Gifts often more expensive
Just because parents-to-be create gift registries at local stores selling natural products or at specialized Web sites, not all families and friends will stick to the plan, or to its environmental spirit. With the requested gifts often pricier than what might be found at the nearest mass-market store, they may simply be cost prohibitive.
On Target.com, a pack of four 30-by-30-inch cotton receiving blankets costs $8.99 and an 11-inch polyester duck filled with plastic pellets is $9.99. At Ecobaby.com, one 35-by-28-inch organic cotton receiving blanket costs $16.99 and a 9-inch wool and organic cotton whale is $19.99. But price may not be the only factor for some eco-shower holdouts who sometimes treat the shower's theme less than seriously.
In Spokane, Wash., Tara Ford, 28, had an eco-shower where candlelight was used to create a party atmosphere, not paper decorations. Ford said she received a couple of plastic toys and a polyester teething ring despite the fact that her guests knew she was committed to avoiding synthetic materials. "They know who I am," she said, frustrated because she felt her values were being dismissed.
Some, but not all, plastic toys and bottles contain phthalates and bisphenol-A, chemicals that have been found to disrupt the hormones of rodents in laboratory studies. Others also reject conventional crib mattresses and children's sleepwear that are treated with flame retardants known as PBDEs. Researchers have linked those to thyroid hormone disruption and reproductive problems in lab animals.
Others who are planning eco-showers will find help from the Oregon Environmental Council, a nonprofit organization working for a cleaner environment. The council created its Tiny Footprints Web site (www.tinyfootprints.org) in September to encourage healthy and earth-friendly childrearing.
Eco-baby shower gifts can be found on general gift registries such as Felicite.com. Hans Xu, the Web site's chief executive officer, said that when the first eco-baby merchant signed on with his service four years ago, he had doubts about its potential for success. But then the first merchant was joined by three others and sales began to double annually.
Ali Wing, founder of the Giggle children's store in San Francisco, sees the eco-baby shower as part of an emerging health trend that is poised to enter the mainstream. Even parents who are not particularly health conscious in their own lifestyles are willing to make the effort for their children, she explained. "Organic baby food is flying off the shelf."
Wing is so certain of the trend that in October she opened a second store in New York's SoHo neighborhood. A third store is scheduled to open soon on the Upper East Side.
Trend or not, "this has been our lifestyle," Rosenkranz explained. "We're bringing a new life into the world, and now we'll continue that lifestyle with a baby."
By Karen James
Columbia News Service
Published December 15, 2005
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December 17, 2005 16:59 - Fun Baby Shower Games
A fun reading article about baby shower games from The Clarion News.
Frozen Plastic Babies
IĄ¯ve recently entered a new stage of my life. ItĄ¯s called baby showers. IĄ¯ve attended five within the past year.
My life used to be filled with the anticipation of another wedding, which basically meant I would get ready to stuff myself into a new bridesmaid dress and then later stuff myself with cake while I danced the Chicken Dance.
Now those married friends who once invited me to their nuptials are now inviting me to showers filled with either pink or blue balloons.
No matter the type of shower, I am terrible at the games. I am particularly terrible at baby shower games. I usually want to show up late so I donĄ¯t have to play them.
For example, the word scramble.
1. Abyb Totlbe. Now some of you Einsteins instantly kicked into word scramble mode and shouted "baby bottle!" I actually had a brief moment when I thought "Abyb Totlbe. Yeah those are words. ArenĄ¯t they?"
2. Piaerd Negie. Huh, IsnĄ¯t that a type of formula? Nope itĄ¯s a "diaper genie."
Attending baby showers also are a huge learning experience as you become introduced to new terms such as "diaper genie" and "onesie."
For those of you who donĄ¯t have kids or donĄ¯t attend baby showers every weekend, a diaper genie is basically a glorified trash can that keeps the scent of baby doo-doo from being more overwhelming than a kitty litter box.
A onesie is basically a one-piece shirt that has snaps. I think I used to have a onesie in the seventh grade only then it was called a bodysuit and I wore a pair of jeans over it.
The wedding shower also has its own version of the word scramble.
For example, 1. Dingdew Elbls or "wedding bells." Who knew?
2. Greenbarrin. Give up yet? Yes that scrambled wedding word is ringbearer.
But at least with the word scramble there is an ample amount of cheating going on so fools like me have a chance of getting a couple of the words right.
There is one baby shower game in which you cannot cheat and if you are wrong you have the chance to offend the pregnant guest of honor.
It is the game where you must, by cutting a piece of string, guess how big the womanĄ¯s belly is.
The key is to guess small. A short piece of string offends no one. If you cut too long a piece of string you will make the preggers lady believe she will never be able to lose that baby weight.
Another baby shower game which drives me nuts is the guess the baby food game. To me they are all the same with the exception of color. They even smell the same to me.
It is at this point where my guesses become totally ludicrous. While someone will guess green beans I will guess Caesar salad. Clearly I have no children.
When someone guesses carrots I will always guess papaya-mango blast. One time I was actually close with this guess but was off by a passion fruit.
Someone guesses cereal, I will guess glue. LetĄ¯s be honest - whatĄ¯s the difference?
Someone guesses tuiti fruiti, I guess scrambled eggs. And the list continues.
I also hate the nursery rhyme game. There are many versions of the nursery rhyme game. Sometimes they give you the first couple of words of a line and you have to complete it. Such as Jack SpratĄ
I donĄ¯t think my parents ever really read nursery rhymes to me so I start thinking of anything that will rhyme: Jack Sprat sat on some crap.
Three blind mice see how they eat rice.
Little Miss Muffett played with some puppets.
There is a new trend at baby showers which I hope is not ominous of my life.
The host freezes tiny plastic babies (Yeah, sounds creepy doesnĄ¯t it?) inside an ice cube and whoeverĄ¯s baby melts first gets a prize. Sometimes the baby is frozen inside a plastic Easter egg with the same concept in mind.
Why does my baby never hatch? In two of the most recent baby showers IĄ¯ve attended my baby didnĄ¯t hatch until I was getting ready to go. Maybe God knows IĄ¯d try to feed my baby Caesar salad and tell them mixed up nursery rhymes.
After the games thereĄ¯s usually a bright side -- an abundance of cold cuts or cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off and cake - letĄ¯s not forget the cake.
Once the obligatory snacking is complete, you finally get to the real reason anyone has a shower in the first place - the presents. LetĄ¯s face it. Babies are expensive and they need stuff.
I donĄ¯t mind this part of the shower at all. In fact I think itĄ¯s fun to see how people decorate their packages and what types of items they think to buy or make. After all I will surely need ideas for more baby showers in the future.
I also take great pride in decorating my packages. My mom taught me a great practical trick for presents. Always wrap baby gifts in receiving blankets. Always wrap wedding shower gifts in tee-towels. ItĄ¯s very practical and youĄ¯re not stuck using the same wrapping paper as everyone else.
My cousin recently made a "cake" out of diapers and I stood back in awe and immediately concluded I neither have the patience nor the time to make a diaper cake.
If someone gave me a diaper "cake" I would probably think twice about using it because they look so nice.
I also was at a baby shower recently where someone joked about baby items being discontinued.
I panicked. If anyone is going to end up purchasing the discontinued child deathtrap it would be me.
At every shower I also feel bad for the guest of honor because not everyone is good at being the center of attention and there is this enormous amount of pressure when you open up gifts in front of people. You must be excited or you run the risk of disappointing the person who brought you the gift.
You must also be excited even when you receive a duplicate gift. ThereĄ¯s at least one duplicate gift at every party.
Whether the registry doesnĄ¯t register fast enough or someone forgets to use the registry, there is always a repeat gift. And letĄ¯s face it in an area this small itĄ¯s not uncommon that everyone shops in the same stores.
I believe I have a few more baby showers to attend before I move on completely from this stage of my life and trust me IĄ¯m in no hurry before IĄ¯m the guest of honor.
By Amy Thompson
Clarion News Writer
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