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Traditional Christmas parties have been no party for the planet: guests consuming excessive food and drink, your home guzzling electricity - not to mention all the rubbish thrown out the next day.

Yet throwing an eco-party is simple, and can add ambiance and character, as well as encourage guests to mingle!

Follow these green party tips and your Christmas festivities will help ensure the planet has many happy new years to come.

Food and drink

Food can make a party memorable or it can break a party - and the planet. Reduce the carbon footprint of your catering and the amount of waste you throw away the next day by following these steps:

• Make sure your food hasn't traveled too far by buying local produce, wine, beer and soft drink.
• Reduce the number of herbicides and pesticides seeping into the ecosystem and buy organic where you can.
• Purchase items that come with as little packaging as possible, and are recyclable.
• Further cut down on wasteful packaging by buying in bulk.
• Reject paper and plastic, and serve food and drink in real plates and glasses. It's a green thing, and it's also a style thing.
• Similarly, don't spoil a party with paper napkins. Simple cotton serviettes are inexpensive and can be used over and over.
• Telephone local homeless shelters and ask about their policies of accepting left over food. Some won't accept pre-prepared dishes or opened packages but will accept things like bread, unopened jars and packets of food and soft drink.

Reduce your party's carbon footprint

• Lighting your home like a Las Vegas casino doesn't guarantee a good time will be had by your guests, but it does increase your carbon emissions and is an added expense.
• Create elegant ambiance by lighting your party with candles. Choose a variety of sizes and shapes around the home and hang lanterns outdoors. Ditch the fairy lights in the front yard and instead illuminate the driveway with candles placed in coloured paper bags weighed down with sand.
• Forget the fridge for cooling drinks and instead use colourful, reusable tubs filled with ice. Place the tubs around the room, and this will ensure that guests move around the party, rather than stay huddled in groups.
• Parties shouldn't actually need heating or cooling. For summer parties, throw open the doors and let in the cool evening breeze. In winter, close the doors and windows and you will find that the body heat of all your guests warms the room. Plan your party so it is appropriate for the weather.

Arrivals and departures

Transport can be a bit of a headache for the party-goer. If you are planning to drink you either need to take a taxi or convince your partner to be the designated driver. If you drive, you face the hassle of finding a free space nearby.

Organising a car or cab-pooling system needn't be difficult or time consuming. Make it part of the RSVP process. Ask your guests to let you know not only if they will be attending, but also where they live and if they would be happy to share a cab.

Even better, ask if anyone is planning on driving and would be willing to give another guest a lift. Then simply bundle them together, share email addresses, and get the guests to work out the finer details.

Car or cab-pooling will cut down carbon emissions, introduce people who may not have met, and start the mingling before they even arrive!

Don't waste the morning after

Anyone who has spent the morning after a party filling garbage bags knows that celebrating can be a wasteful experience. Yet it doesn't have to be.

You know you should recycle, but did you know you can get your guests to do it for you? Place three clearly labeled bins at the party: paper, plastic and bottles; food stuffs; and other waste.

The next day empty the recycling into the recycling bin, throw the food scraps into the compost, and bin the rest.

Given that you used real plates, glasses and cutlery, there should be some washing up. Make sure that you fill the dishwasher completely before running a wash, and use biodegradable detergent that won't harm the garden if you have it connected to a greywater system.