Photo: jessica.diamond/Flickr

When planning, I always think I will do a better job keeping garbage to a minimum at Celia’s birthday party. I swear off paper plates, disposable tablecloths, goody bags, mountains of craft supplies, Mylar balloons.

But, hey, we’re having birthday cake, right?

Not fresh fruit and sugar-free granola bars.

So it’s already not going to be the greenest birthday party. Might as well buy a Mylar balloon or two or 10. For me, kid parties are a slippery slope greased by buttercream frosting and nonsensical justification.

For Celia’s last birthday party, I carried four overstuffed garbage bags to the curb and vowed to do better next time. Notice I said better, not perfect. Parties are a big deal to me. My mom always made sure I had a special party, and I want to do the same for Celia. But I know her party can be special without generating so much trash.

Here’s how I plan to do it:

Guest list: The more kids you invite, the more mess you’re going to create. A smaller party has less of an impact. For Celia, we’ll have a pretty big party, about 15 kids. We go to a lot of parties, and she has a lot of kids in her social circle. As she gets older, we will downshift to smaller celebrations.

Invitations: I love real invitations, the kind made from paper. The kind that get delivered to your real mailbox. I recently got one in the form of a scroll for a knights-and-princess-themed party. Adorable! I am not against real invitations. Hey, they’re recyclable. I just find Evite a better choice for me. It’s quick and I can manage the RSVPs.

Food: We order pizza. Kids and parents gobble it up. I freeze the leftovers. Pizza boxes usually get grease stains and cannot be recycled, but, still, the overall amount of garbage is small. Additionally, I provide some fruit, hummus and pita bread. Because that’s what I like, and I need the fuel.

Stuff to eat off of: I have enough plates and forks for everyone, and it’s not that big of a deal to throw them in the dishwasher. So I skip the paper plates. This is a huge garbage-reducer, but not practical for every family.

The cake: I bake my own from scratch. It’s easy! My grandmother gave me her Wilton cake pan collection, so I have a lot of options. Last year, I made a kitty cat cake. This year, Celia wants a baseball-theme party, so I’ll just bake a round cake with white frosting and a little red frosting for the stitching.

Decorations: I’ll hang a few pennants in honor of the baseball theme, but I’m not big on party decorations. I think the cake screams BIRTHDAY PARTY loud enough. My mom is bringing balloons.

Activities: We have a trampoline, so we’re all set as long as the weather holds out. Someday when the landfill finally claims this trampoline, I’ll feel a bit guilty. But I consider it a sanity-saver, especially for parties and playdates. I’ll organize some old-school games, such as musical chairs, hot potato and freeze dance. But if the kids are having a great time just playing, I’ll let them have free play and skip the games. In the past, I have gone overboard on craft supplies. This year, no crafts.

Gifts: I let Celia receive gifts at her party. My friend requests donations to a local women’s shelter in lieu of gifts, and I enjoy shopping for the African-American hair care products the shelter requests instead of a random toy. But I still want my child to experience the fun of receiving gifts from her pals. I reuse gift bags, though I have had to purge my stash a few times because it became unmanageable. Wrapping paper and ribbons go into the trash. They’re usually too heavily treated to be recycled.

Favors: This is the bad habit I can’t seem to break. I will at least use recyclable paper bags and try to limit the junky toys to one or two. One year, I gave each child a book. Every other year I have fallen victim to the goody bag trap, and I have no idea why.

I hope I can keep the trash from Celia’s party limited to one garbage bag. And I hope I can remember that the party is for the kiddos, not for me. For kids, going green(ish) is simple. They just want to eat cake and play.

Patti Ghezzi lives in Avondale Estates and is founding partner of Greater Good Communication.