Whether the mom-to-be is already living a green lifestyle or if she wants to start reducing her carbon footprint now that she’s pregnant, an eco-friendly shower is a great way to set the new arrival up for a healthy green childhood. So we consulted with green party planning experts to help you organize everything from the invites to the activities.

Invitations
An online invite is the greenest way to spread the word—no paper is used and no fuel is needed for delivery—and it doesn’t have to be un-classy or impersonal. Try Pingg.com, which boasts designs from experts like Martha Stewart and Lenny Williams owner of Garden Party, a New York City green events company or if you like, you can upload your own images. Plus, beyond emailing your invite, Pingg will link to Facebook, Twitter and T-Mobile text messages to spread the word.

Online invites can have their drawbacks though, says Shannon Downey, owner of Chicago’s green event company Pivotal Productions, like the spam folder and tech-troubled guests like Grandma. Look for non-toxic inks, recycled papers (try Tiny Prints) or seed-embedded cards that can be planted later (try eInvite). Downey is also a fan of Woman Craft, an organization that provides work to women in transition due to homelessness, abuse, etc. “You’re supporting an amazing cause and your invites are sustainable,” she says. They use recycled office paper and reclaimed botanicals to create hand made invites.

Decorations
Don’t fall for baby shower balloons, signs and other junk at the party store—everything will end up in the trash after the event is over! Instead, make use out of what’s already going to be at the shower. Hang up a clothesline and pin baby clothes on—it’ll look festive during the party and doubles as a gift for Mom. For a centerpiece, try a stack of baby blocks or plush toys. Or create a baby bottle centerpiece. Williams says to fill each one with colored candies to compliment your color scheme. Guests can indulge in the sweets during the party and leave the bottles behind for Mom.

Living centerpieces are also beautiful. Go for clusters of fresh local flowers or pots of herbs and guests can each take one home after the party. You could also try a faux flower bouquet like the Baby Bunch. It looks like flowers, but the sustainable blooms are actually organic cotton baby essentials. If you’re crafty you can even make your own: Buy a selection of organic onesies, socks, bibs and blankets, roll them up to look like rosettes and arrange them in a bucket, vase or bouquet.

Food & Drink
One easy way to make your menu more eco is to make it vegetarian. “It’s cheaper than paying for meats, helps reduce the greenhouse gases accelerating global warming and is just plain healthier,” says Downey. You could also go organic, but if you’re trying to stay on budget, eat local instead so the trip from farm to table is shorter and in turn greener. Williams says to skip prepackaged foods—support your favorite neighborhood bakery or café by buying fresh treats instead. Serve pitchers of beverages like iced tea or water with fresh fruit, not bottled water or cans of soda that’ll quickly fill your recycling bin.

Paper plates and plastic cups might seem easy, but you can make a prettier and more plant-friendly presentation by using the real thing. If you don’t have enough dishes to go around, choose disposables made from renewable materials. They require less energy and water to produce and they’ll biodegrade quickly without releasing toxins during the process. Two to try? World Centric Biocompostables made using corn starch and sugarcane or Bambu Veneerware made from organically grown bamboo.

Activities
Buy a plain organic cotton onesie for each of your guests, suggests Williams. At the shower, have supplies on hand to decorate them. Post-party, the mom-to-be will have an arsenal of personalized easy outfits ready for her newborn. Or provide a small flat wooden animal shape for each guest to decorate, and then create a mobile to hang in the baby’s room.

Gifts
Encourage guests to gift green. Choose Certified Organic and renewable fabrics for clothing, blankets and plush toys so you know pesticides weren’t used to grow the crop and bleach and other harmful chemicals weren’t used in processing. Choose natural and organic baby care items (lotion, diaper balm, shampoo, etc.) to avoid harsh chemical ingredients like sulfates, synthetic fragrances, petrolatum and parabens. When it comes to toys, look for organic plush, wooden or natural rubber options. If you’re considering plastic toys and baby bottles make sure the packaging says BPA-free, meaning the products were made without Bisphenol-A, a hormone disrupter. In the same way, flexible plastics should be avoided (bath toys, teethers and bath books) because they often contain phthalates, another hormone disrupter. Downey also suggests saving bonds, college fund donations, coupons for babysitting or a gift certificate for a pre-natal massage or yoga class for mom.

Gift Wrap
Wrapping isn’t always necessary. You could ask guests to forgo the un-eco process and create a lovely montage of the gifts on a table instead, which can double as a centerpiece. If you like the element of surprise, hampers, diaper pails, baskets, memory boxes and the like can double as gift boxes—fill one with goodies and it’s two gifts in one. Or use swaddling blankets, bedding or towels to wrap your gift.