Balloons just naturally make birthdays better.

Make economical birthday gifts extra personal and perfectly earth-friendly by hand-making them with recyclable or biodegradable materials. Yes, even the balloons adorning the package may be biodegradable.

As we go green, we try to hand-craft and hand-deliver more of the gifts we give, because hand-made just naturally makes gifts more meaningful. Whatever you can make, balloons make it better. We surveyed the floral and balloon delivery sites, and almost everything we saw, we figured-out how we could make it, improve it, make it more Mother Earth-friendly, lower the price, and personalize it. And, of course, we figured out how we could add balloons to everything, too. Some examples are obvious: A living plant in a basket gets adorned with a balloon bouquet; a home-made teddy bear crafted from all-organic or recycled fabrics holds a card made from hand-made organic paper, and a balloon bouquet adorns him. Cookies, muffins, or cupcakes go safely in a recycled paper bag, which gets tied securely with the strings holding the ornamental, festive, absolutely essential balloons.

Support your local growers, artisans, and merchants.

We have yet to find an objet d'art that cannot be adorned with a balloon, or better, a whole bunch of balloons. In one particularly thoughtful gesture, Gabrielle, one of the carpool moms, borrowed a favorite photograph, asking a local painter to reproduce it as a stylized watercolour. She added locally grown flowers and a bouquet of balloons coordinated with the colours in the painting. The whole gift "ensemble," as Gabrielle called it, made a unique, thoughtful, memorable, and earth-friendly thirteenth birthday gift for the girl who received it.

You do not have to keep all the balloons to yourself.

Our college-aged daughters, very much devoted to their "causes," have become fans and advocates of balloon releases-provided they are eco-friendly, of course. During the Great Recession, the scholarly young women have elected to share their good fortune on their birthdays and other special occasions, releasing balloons with coupon books or gift cards for food and gasoline. They enclose their little gifts inside handmade cards that read, "Today is my birthday. Please, share my joy." They sign just their first names, because they believe the gifts are their own rewards. In a few instances, the local merchants who have received the coupons or gift cards have told the girls about the people who found them and the joy they felt. Yes, balloons are celebratory, and they are the tools of very good works.

Balloons go green along with your gifts.

Latex balloons are 100% biodegradable, and they are available everywhere. Of course, if you plan to share the balloons with children-or grown-ups-at a party or with your gifts, you must check for latex sensitivity or allergies, making alternative plans as needed. Many people are extra scrupulous about their balloons and then forget about the strings. Use colourful cotton carpenter's string line or find all-organic twine. If your balloons need support or shaping, use recyclable wire or natural bamboo.