Ideal Bite

After watching a large ballon release I did some research on balloons. The current latex balloons don't biodegrade in 6 months. They actually take 4 years to fully break down. I have posted my brief research on my blog at http://mawalkingwolf.blogspot.com/2007/08/balloon-releases.html

Latex balloons may degrade faster, but they are extremely unsafe for small children, even up to age five. If bitten (believe me, this is totally compelling for kids), they can pop and be sucked into the child's throat, and they almost always cause suffocation at that point because it's impossible to expel them. Mylar balloons take forever to degrade, but they can be refilled with helium repeatedly, and when they lose the ability to hold air, you can cut them up to create wrapping paper. I try to be eco-friendly, but not to the point of endangering my kids.

Great comment! The obligatory goodie bags, usually full of pointless plastic stuff shipped from halfway around the world, need to go as well. Instead, give ice cream gift cards, fruit bars, homemade cookies, etc.

The number of children allergic to latex is increasing. I completely support creative thinking; however, make sure the kids coming to the party don't end up with localized, or worse, systemic reactions.

Hi: I agree that less is more and will be doing an 'unbirthday' for the both kids in 2008 - who needs 2 of everything, toys, goodie bags, etc. that proliferate the 'burban outdo the Jones' kiddie fest. However, as much as we all think there's degrading going in, today's modern landfill is designed to avoid degradation with tightly compacted detrus, methane gas, leachate collection, coverage each day with semi-permeable materials. The better solution is to avoid/reduce the things that have to go in the trash, buy use recycled goods and recycle what you have, compost the food and unwaxed paper plates you don't consume in the back yard or communally (as is done in some European nations), keep the party favors to a minimum and enjoy the TIME with kids. Have a fabulous birthday.

helium is also going fast and soon the world will run out. so it would be nice if we didn't have to have a balloon float on it's own just to celebrate, especially since we use them to celebrate EVERYTHING from presidential elections to little susie's birthday party to hospital stays. maybe tying up the balloons would be better for the environment.

aloha, my friends and i were thinking about throwing a party and having 200 balloons everywhere in the house. now id like to believe that my friends and i are ecofriendly, and the idea that if we had 200 balloons, we would have an excess of plastic, or latex.. is that really ecofriendly? i got inspired and i want to see for myself if it really is biodegradable, so we are going to throw the party with the 200 balloons and use that in an experiment. i am currently in college and have access to labs where i can test for microorganisms and have a place to process my results.. i was wondering if anyone would like to help by giving websites or other resources that are reliable in this subject.. this will be helpful! thanks!

I love today's tip. Fortunately (or not), I don't have kids yet. However, when looking after my friend's kids, I always felt that the birthday parties leave a lot of waste behind. Besides, no matter how old you are, cloth napkins can make you feel special. Might as well introduce them to the feeling when they're young.

Anybody knows the numbers of http://www.louisvuitton4sale.com/articles/Madonna_LV.html ">louis vuitton and modonna in CA, I need to call them and get my bag repaired. The information you posted about louis vuitton is so useful, I am expecting for your next post.

Thanks a lot ed hardy ed hardy clothing ralph lauren polo juicy couture