Your child has been invited to yet another birthday party. (Can a weekend ever go by without one?) ItB次元官网网址檚 someone from school; not a close friend.
The party is at a recreation centre, a pool, a park, a house. ItB次元官网网址檚 already noon and the party starts at 1 p.m.
Before leaving the house, you realize that you still havenB次元官网网址檛 bought a gift. Most likely, you rush to a chain store and shell out $25 on a plastic thing that will most likely end up at the back of a closet.
Happy birthday.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a familiar story for any parent; birthday parties need birthday presents, right? Not necessarily.
Enter the B次元官网网址榯oonie party.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 grown considerably in the past decade, part of the cultural shift toward sustainable living and mindful parenting styles.
In this case, the birthday party has been re-conceived. The B次元官网网址渢oonie party,B次元官网网址� as far as I can tell, seems to be not only a specifically Canadian phenomenon, but one largely confined to our little region.
For those who donB次元官网网址檛 know, instead of bringing a gift, the party-going family brings one or two toonies for the birthday child. In most cases, the organizing family sets out two cups in which the toonies are collected B次元官网网址� one for the birthday child, and one for a local charity. The idea behind the toonie party is to shift the focus away from shopping and consumption and on to the event itself. The birthday child then has the option of buying one gift and/or saving the toonies for a rainy day.
As an added bonus, kids get to learn about the values of charitable giving, rather than merely receiving.
IB次元官网网址檝e really enjoyed attending and hosting numerous toonie parties over the past several years.
It takes a lot of pressure off parents. The hosting family usually jettisons the gift bag, and instead gives out something perishable or plantable, such as flower seeds. The parents of the partygoers no longer have to make a trip to a box store and spend cash on plastic junk. And best of all, the birthday child learns the essential life lesson that B次元官网网址渓ess is more.B次元官网网址�
I saw this recently with my own daughter, who just turned five. She spent half her toonies on a stuffed owl, that she adores, and decided to save the rest.
The owl is special in the way that a pile of anonymous gifts is not. Plus, she got to use her money to pick it out.
The charitable element is especially important. In the past, weB次元官网网址檝e taken the collected toonies, added a bit to the pot, and donated the money to a local youth shelter.
Many of us house-poor, 30-something parents do not have large amounts of disposable income to dedicate to charity, but the toonie party offers a modest pathway to the practice of giving.
Cultural rituals provide rare opportunities to convey meaning and values to the young.
The toonie party manages to retain the best parts of birthday parties B次元官网网址� the most meaningful rituals that many kids will experience B次元官网网址� while ditching the materialist elements that it gained in the late 20th century.
A sustainable society is one that values community, experience, and charity over enforced consumerism. The toonie party is a great way to impart those values to our young.
- Jeremy L. Caradonna is the author of Sustainability: A History, adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, and former owner of Share Organics.
