Birthday Parties Going Green at MCM

Kids’ birthday parties often create mountains of plastic trash. Plastic tablecloths, forks and spoons, disposable decorations, cheap party favor toys, etc. Last year, when we restarted our birthday party program, we wanted to do better by our guests and by our environment.

Madison Children’s Museum now provides reusable plates, cups, bowls, and cutlery in kid-approved colors as part of every party package. Our staff washes the dishes after the party, so parents don’t need to stress about cleanup without resorting to plates and cutlery which would end up in a landfill afterward. The tables in our party room are covered in the same paper we use in the art studio, with crayons provided so guests can color between activities, replacing disposable plastic tablecloths. Even our party room decorations are made by our staff out of paper and other recyclable materials, so families can skip buying balloons or other single-use decorations and still have a beautiful, festive atmosphere.

For our deluxe party package, which comes with goody bags for the guests, we replaced generic, plastic party favors with a coloring book developed by our staff, crayons, a reusable cup, stickers, and a play pass. We also created a birthday party poster that kids can color on during the party, making a memorable keepsake without generating even more plastic waste.

We even reduced waste in our birthday party program behind the scenes, slashing the number of printed forms we generate for every party. And at MCM when

Kids have loved the updates and parents appreciate both the aesthetics and the chance to throw a birthday party that doesn’t end up in the landfill. And as a museum, we love that sustainability and environmental stewardship are part of every event at Madison Children’s Museum.

Learn more or book a birthday party at MCM.