Halloween is a time for the imagination to go wild, especially for kiddos who get to dress up and get creative with costumes and decorations.
Conventionally, this usually means buying decorations, new costumes, and plastic-wrapped candy. However, this year, re-imagine Halloween: just as spooky and fun, but without the single-use and wasteful side effects. You can still make Halloween fun and exciting without all the single-use products and consumerism involved. Read on to find some swaps that can green your Halloween while still keeping you in the spirit.
1. Second-hand costumes: Using a variety of methods, you can get the creative juices flowing and come up with your own Halloween costume.
- Did you love someone's costume from last year? Swap with them! We promise, no one will remember.
- Use clothing and accessories you already have. Still have those old bell bottom jeans? Throw a ribbon headband on, a tye dye shirt, stick some dried flowers behind your ear and you’re a hippie!
- Make a trip to the thrift store. If you have some inspiration and need a few new pieces of clothing, check out your local thrift store before buying new. This can be a fun creative trip to do with friends and family.
- If you want to get that perfect, spot-on costume that you have seen online, still go full out and own it! Check and see if you can rent the costume (could be cheaper and also someone else can use it next year). Chances are you won’t wear that Superhero costume again…
2. Carve some Jack-O-Lanterns! Nothing puts you in the Halloween spirit like carving a pumpkin, roasting the seeds, and setting it out on your front porch. We love this tradition and it already incorporates using a vegetable as a decoration!
- Try to go to a local pumpkin patch that grows pumpkins onsite (this is location dependent- might not be feasible everywhere).
- Don’t forget to compost your pumpkin when you’re done and use the seeds for a yummy snack and save the guts for a pumpkin spread!
3. Look for bulk candy: Instead of candy wrapped in single-use plastic, choose fair trade chocolate and sour candy that comes in bulk!
- A good substitute (or addition) to store bought candy is making your own sweet treat. This can be a fun activity with your kids, friends, family and it won’t leave you with a sugar-hangover the next day either! Check out our blog post outlining how to make Creepy Cashew Crawlers or our Almond Butter Cacao Cups.
- Finding bulk candy might be a challenge this year as a result of Covid-19. Do the best you can! We found that at Sprouts you can still buy bulk, but you can't bring your own bag. Reuse the plastic bag they give you in the future.
4. Decorations: With new halloween decorations lining every store right now, the temptation to buy new decorations is real. However, there are some easy ways to incorporate items you already have in your home (or yard) that can put some Halloween spirit into your home!
- If you have Halloween decorations that you keep in storage and use every year, keep doing that. As always we want these tips to be realistic, practical, and feasible for whatever situation and lifestyle you’re in.
- Got some mesh fabric, an old table runner? You’ve got some nice spider web material to work with. Hang it over your mantle in the living room, add some dried leaves and flowers and place some candlestick holders to top it off.
- Turn old milk jug cartons into ghosts decorations- a fun crafting activity and reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away.
We hope these simple tips can help make this year's Halloween, spooky, silly, and sustainable! Share these ideas with friends and family and see what creative costumes and decorations you can come up with.