Well, 2011 is here. The biggest party of the year is now behind us and another 360 days away, but with the welcoming of a new year I always get excited because it means Super Bowl Sunday is just around the bend. I generally always have a great time at Super Bowl parties but I can’t help but cringe when I’m at a friend of a friend’s place watching the game surrounded by plastic cups, paper plates and fruits and vegetables shipped in from all over the world. I’m not much of a gambler and to be honest Super Bowl betting is about the only time I wager on any sports, but I’d be willing to bet my life savings that even with all this common knowledge of the impact we are having on the earth the majority of hosts this year will still not do their part to help the planet.
Fortunately for me, this year one of my good friends is hosting and she came to me for some tips this year to have a truly green Super Bowl party. After giving her a few suggestions I thought I would share with everyone some advice on how to host an eco-friendly Super Bowl party.
First, instead of mailing out invitations for your party do it by email or some other type of electronic form. This will save paper consumption, not to mention a lot of extra time.
Don’t bother with a ton of fancy decorations, let’s face it, people will be staring at the boob tube for most of the party anyway and will only really notice your painstaking decoration efforts when they first arrive. If you really want to do the place up then try to use items you already have lying around instead of going out and purchasing a bunch of items you are just going to throw to the landfill the next day anyway. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t the most up-to-date decorations, after a few beers everything looks amazing and people will be complementing you regardless!
Buy local – This goes for all food and snacks, beer or whatever you plan on serving at your Super Bowl party. Buying your fruit, vegetables and other produce locally helps cut down on the fossil fuels that are used to transport the items across the country or even the world. Plus, you’ll be supporting your local farmer’s in your area. Buying your beer from a local micro brewery has the same impact, not to mention generally the beer tastes much better than your typical Anheuser Busch generic beer.
Serve you food with your regular dishes that you have instead of paper plates and disposable glasses and cutlery that are going to go directly into the garbage after use. If you are worried about having enough, borrow some from a neighbor or ask that one of your guests brings some along to help out. A few extra dishes in the dishwasher is a lot more eco-friendly than the disposables!
Those are my tips, there are plenty more but even if you can implement those four simple, but major steps into creating your Super Bowl party you will be in the green!
Watch some tips for a green Super Bowl party from The Green Party. It might be a little out of date regarding teams but the same principals for your party will apply.
If you have any other tips / suggestions in hosting a green Super Bowl party please comment below and share!
