A Zero Waste, Minimalist Birthday for Baby Beans
Hello again world. It’s Beans here. My mother requested I write another guest post for the blog to talk about my recent minimalist birthday party. I’m now two. Gone are the days of telling people how old I am based on months. I am a solid two years old and will remain that way until I turn three. And so on.
It’s been almost exactly 6 months since my first contribution, where I talked about what it’s like to be a minimalist baby.
I can confidently say I’m still very minimalist. While Christmas was a little over-indulgent, I made up for it with my birthday party this past week.
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Here I will recount my zero waste and minimalist birthday party.
A Zero Waste Toddler Birthday Party
Over the weekend, Mama and Chris threw me a lovely birthday party. Per my request, the theme was Elmo.
Grandma and Grandpa got me a beautiful Elmo cake. (Big Bird was on there, too; I'm not really a fan of his but I didn't want him to feel left out.)
Decorations: None. Some might've thought it was a bit bah-humbug to go without decorations for my party, but I was okay without it. There were so many loved ones that came to the apartment, so the party didn't feel lacking. That said, it would've been nice to have an Elmo balloon to bop around for a few weeks (cough cough—Mama…), but I'll be okay without one.
Paper Products: None. We used our everyday plates, glasses, forks, and cloth napkins.
My mother spent a decent amount of time the morning before my party trying to find a washable crayon so we could write on glasses to discern whose belonged to whom. Yet no one knew what a washable crayon was, nor could we find one to buy. Turned out to be okay (and it's called a grease pencil anyway, whoops.)
Food: Well, there was some waste here. Mama served a nice board of fine cheeses and charcuterie. Those items were wrapped in cellophane. But still, no toothpicks were harmed in the serving of these items.
There was also an assortment of chips and ice cream.
Again, some waste was created here, but that's why we live by Nearo Waste instead of Zero Waste!
No-Gift Minimalist Birthday Celebration
I asked my family and friends to refrain from giving gifts. As I mentioned before, I'm still recovering from a very fruitful Christmas.
Of course, Mama, Grandma and Grandpa, and Nana are excused from the no-gift rule. They each gave me things I will love and cherish: an Elmo friend that's bigger than me, a set of Melissa and Doug animal puzzles, and a set of Melissa and Doug stainless steel pots and pans so I can continue to pursue my culinary dreams.
I also received a few books (I love to read).
A few also contributed to my 529, and for that I am very grateful.
Some Quick Updates
So now I am two, and there have been a lot of goings-on the past few months. Some things that stand out to me:
My spaceman chair for the car is now a much bigger, fancier one.
I decided to use more words. Seems to make Mama happy.
I booked my first modeling gig the day after my actual birthday. (Photos below.) Thanks goes to Brian for a fantastic shoot in Rittenhouse Square.
Beans modeling Air Jordan 11 Low Toddler shoes
Well, that's it for now. Thanks for tuning in again.
Cover photo by Angèle Kamp
