We have eighteen years of birthday parties and each is supposed to be better than the last... at least that is the pressure I find that I put on myself. Planning your child's birthday can be overwhelming especially when they come home from another party telling you that they want the exact same thing. Every parent has a different budget and a different philosophy of how birthdays should be celebrated. We decided when our girls were little that we would alternate each year between a big party and a special family experience which for us has been a good balance. Some years it has been Disneyland and others have been theme parties with their friends. We have the added challenge of having twins and wanting to honor each of them. It is not easy to have to share your birthday every single year.

Birthdays were always a big deal in my family. I know my husband thinks a cake and a few presents are plenty for celebrating a birthday but I love this one time a year when we get to create a special memory. I am the first to admit that there is a point when enough is enough and sometimes the simplest birthdays are the best and most memorable. I love watching how creative parents can get with birthday parties from the invitations to the activities and foods served.

Although I hear parents sometimes comment that it costs too much to have entertainment whether they come to your house or you go to their business, I have found that often this can be the more affordable route... the entertainment becomes the focus of the party and if you plan it just right (10am-12pm or 2-4pm), you can keep the food really simple. I personally think party favors (unless it is one item that really ties into the party) are overrated and become one of the biggest costs. I do not need one more party bag of plastic toys and candy brought home. More recently we have made the activity the party favor. I found that once we started drop-off parties, everything got easier because we no longer had to entertain the parents. Hire a teenager to come help with the activities and you will be all set. It also tends to shift and some pre-teens really enjoy being a part of the planning whether they are just picking the theme/location to addressing the invitation and helping with decorations. Click to view a list of great birthday party ideas and themes or click on our Family Favorites and share your own. Scroll down to see a list of local party resources.

As our kids get older, many of us find that we can take our party planning skills to a whole new level by helping organize fundraisers for our kid's schools and other non-profits needing support. With hundreds of local organizations trying to raise money, it can be difficult to come up with a unique concept. We have some fun fundraising ideas that have been shared over the years ranging from Party Books to Cut-A-Thons, Coin Wars and more.  Many of our restaurants are wonderful about sponsoring a non-profit or a school for a night where a percentage of proceeds all go back to the organization that evening. Read below about a successful coin drive that was just held at Kellogg School to benefit Direct Relief Intl.

Meet our Mom in the Spotlight Leah Diamond, local mom, volunteer, reading specialist and business owner.  She also offers birthday parties through her Healthy Cooking with Kids program.  

Congratulations to one of our previous Moms in the Spotlight, Evan McCabe. She lost over 40 lbs in the Getting Red Dress Ready with WomenHeart & Nutrisystem program. She was on the Today show earlier this month as a WomenHeart Champion in honor of National Go Red Day.

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Use the PARENT PLANNER to click on events and resources you are interested in and click PRINT MY PLANNER to print or email your list.

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Santa Ynez Training Schedule in English

People Helping People - 545 Alisal Road, Solvang, CA

Orientation March 5, 2010 6-9 PM Friday

Session 1, 2, 3 March 6, 2010 9-4 PM Saturday

Session 4, 5 March 12, 2010 6-9 PM Friday

Session 6, 7, 8, 9 March 13, 2010 9-4 PM Saturday

Nuts and Bolts March 19, 2010 5:30-10 PM Friday

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Santa Barbara PRIDE Training Schedule in English

First Baptist Church - 949 Veronica Springs Rd. Santa Barbara, CA

Orientation March 3, 2009 6-9 PM Wednesday

Sessions Wednesdays 6-9pm March 3- April 14

Nuts and Bolts April 24, 2009 9-2 PM Saturday

submitted by Merryl Brown, President of Merryl Brown Events

Any parent who has thrown a child's birthday party knows all about the aftermath: piles of wadded-up paper napkins, stacks of paper plates smeared with trans-fat-packed frosting and melted ice cream, shreds of piñata strewn amidst the remnants of the sugar-addled guests, and several leftover "goodie bags' full of cheap candy and plastic, useless trinkets. That's a lot of waste and poor nutrition - hard for an eco-aware, health-minded parent to swallow.

Is there another way - a way that won't make your child complain that his or her party wasn't quite as cool as his or her friends' parties? Can one throw a child's birthday party in a way that will reduce trash and waste, offer more nutritious foods, and improve the quality of each child's experience? Try these earth-friendly party tips to help make your child's birthday both memorable and environmentally responsible.

• Start by updating from the old practice of sending paper party invitations: go paperless! Paperlesspost.com offers elegant, upscale online invitations that are quick, easy, and affordable. The site is well organized and user-friendly; it's a snap to create a beautiful and economical invitation for any occasion.

• Try bamboo or compostable tableware. As these options become increasingly popular, more and more choices show up in stores and online. You can have an even smaller impact on the waste stream if you use unbleached coffee filters or large fig leaves instead of paper plates- this is something really fun I've tried with children's parties!

• If you're thinking of having place cards or party favors, consider unconventional, eco-friendly items like organic seed packets, stones, small potted herbs, or glass jars filled with colorful organic sweets - you can find organic gummy worms or jellybeans locally or order them online. If you want these favors to do double duty as place cards, just write a name on them.

• For a girl's elegant outdoor tea party, you could then set a table and chairs inside your outdoor room. Layer the table with vintage tablecloths; arrange recycled jars filled with organic farmers market flowers, or place the "fruit patch" centerpiece described above at the table's center for a charming tea party. For favors, buy small jars of local honey and a few assorted tea sachets. Bundle them in natural soy wax paper and tie with some recycled ribbon to create the perfect fancy tea-party favor! Tuck a leaf with each person's name into the ribbon and the gift will double as a place card.

If sustainability is important to you, you'll really enjoy how it shows up in all of these lovely details. I hope you'll use these tips as a springboard for your own creativity. After all, designing a party can be a big drag if you don't find a way to use it as an expression of yourself and the guest of honor!

How can you create a beautiful earth-friendly party that everyone will enjoy and remember? As soon as you begin to play around with these ideas, you'll see how easy and affordable it can be to have a high-quality, low waste party for your child's special day.

Merryl Brown is the President of Merryl Brown Events, a Santa Barbara based sustainable events company that is known for its elegant, classic events that are created within a framework of sustainable practices.