Halloween is known to be one of the most exciting and enjoyable holidays for kids and families. It’s mixed right in with heading back to school, the changing of leaves and cool fall air, and in a way, it’s considered to be the kick-off of (gasp!) the holiday season. Yep, the holiday season is coming up and there’s nothing that’s going to stop it.
Before I get ahead of myself, let’s go back to Halloween. The holidays, Halloween included, are a time when we tend to go with traditional impulses and spend money on decorations, treats, and costumes that are trendy, colorful and inexpensive. We buy clunky plastic figurines to put out on the lawn and in the garden, big gaudy masks and costumes from those seasonal Halloween stores that go up in abandoned warehouses each year, and bulk bags of cheap, sugary and colorful candy. Most of us never think to green up our Halloween preparation, but it is certainly not an unrealistic route to take. Here are some simple ways you can make your Halloween season more eco-friendly, and even save yourself some money as well.
Thrift up your own costume
Making your own costume is not only the most creative, but the greenest way to dress up for Halloween. Instead of going to Halloween USA and picking out a costume that will be worn by everyone else in town, think up a few costume ideas that sound like fun, and rummage through your house for any items you have that could be used. Look through clothing, sheets, towels, hats, shoes, belts, pins, scarves and jewelry boxes to find fabrics and accessories that will help piece your costume together. A little ingenuity can take these basic items a long way.
If you don’t have everything at home, shop for extras at a vintage or thrift shop. These are hands down the best places to find a wicked cool costume. Not only are you guaranteed to find what you need whether it be a leather cowboy hat or gold glittery shoes, but you’ll probably wind up finding something else that would make a good costume as well. Don’t be surprised if you find a set of gently used leather chaps, a fun gypsy dress or a bright orange three piece tuxedo for 20 dollars. Who DOESN’T need one of those?
Get out the scissors and a hot glue gun and get to work on the sweetest handmade costume you’ll ever see. It’s eco-friendly, incredibly fun and a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a ladybug costume from the costume depot store.
Bake your own candy and treats
Instead of offering cheap candy that’s loaded with high fructose corn syrup and wrapped in plastic, offer homemade treats. While many parents are skeptical of receiving homemade candies when taking their kids trick or treating, it’s more acceptable to offer them up if your children have to bring in a treat to school, or if you’re bringing something into work to share with the crew. Instead of getting a giant bag of candy bars, make your own candy or chocolate treats and wrap them in organic saran wrap or paper. Other fun homemade treats are cookies and cupcakes, since both kids and adults love them. Baking several batches of pumpkin seeds and wrapping them in organic, recycled parchment paper tied with a ribbon makes a cute, healthy and delicious treat for people of all ages.
Cupcakes, cookies, homemade candies and pumpkin seeds are a much better treat than “fun” sized Snicker’s bars. Who was it that decided “fun” sized candies were the size of your thumb, anyway? Cupcakes are much more exciting, guaranteed. If you’re at a loss on how to make your own candy, go through the old recipe books you have lying around. Most of them have chocolate or candy recipes for the holidays. You can even use Christmas candy recipes and make them more suitable for Halloween by using different colored sprinkles and orange food coloring.
Decorate with nature
Every house on the block uses cheap plastic light-up decorations to litter their yard and call “decorating.” While that’s just fine, especially if the items are reused each year, there is no better way to decorate and get crafty for fall than by using nature to do it. After all, it’s the nature that makes fall so pretty. Decorate fallen leaves and branches with glitter and glue so they harden and shine, and place them in decorative jars or bowls. They can be put together strategically to make different designs and patterns from one jar to the next. Go to town with pumpkin carving to decorate your garden, porch, windowsills and deck. Collages can be carefully created with colorful leaves glued onto paper and framed as a festive type of art. Hardened leaves can be strung together like popcorn on Christmas to put around your windows or porch where the pumpkins are sitting.
These tips are pretty generic and can be taken a very long way with a little creativity and ingenuity. There is no limit to what type of costume you can create by shopping vintage, no limit to how many candies or cupcakes you can make, and since leaves will keep falling and pumpkins will keep growing, no limit to how much you can decorate, either. Round up the family for a costume making, candy baking, nature decorating weekend to turn Halloween into a safe, fun and green holiday.
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