This post is long overdue since the ghosts and goblins of Halloween are beginning to gather for a spook-tacular night! This is often a season where we can simultaneously go fabulously green AND bust the radar on breaking the rules!
If you still have plans in the works here are a few things to remember when you want to lean toward the greener end of the dial!
- Decorations – nature provides the greatest resources! Pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, leaves, Indian corn… all gifts of nature can be used for fabulous decorations and composted afterward. Because we have a ravine behind our house, all of them go down the hill to be recycled by Mother Nature (and devoured by the animals that haven’t already abused them for a special “treat”!)
- Costumes – your own closets and drawers can be an amazing costume store. Get creative and go to town! Consignment stores and thrift shops are also great resources and a far better choice over purchasing new. And reconsider face paint unless it’s homemade and non-toxic – the FDA does not regulate them, so you or your children could face some nasty chemical exposure and a reaction that’s even worse!
- Treats & candy – buy organic candy or simply be aware of those that are over-packaged to avoid a lot of excess trash. Or forgo the candy all together and instead give pencils made of recycled materials, paper pads or stickers. All are better than coated papers that wrap tons of candies. And avoid a bunch of plastic trinkets that will eventually meet the trash.
- Treat bags & “loot collectors”! – instead of buying cellophane bags, buy themed or Halloween-colored paper bags. Instead of buying a big plastic pumpkin for trick-or-treating, buy a reusable bag. You can find them anywhere and everywhere!
- Parties – there are lots of ways to be greener but start by using fabric table cloths instead of disposable plastic. Reusable dinnerware is best, or even uncoated plates and cups that could be composted… but at the very least, avoid a bunch of disposable plastic.
- Crafts & games – try making crafts using recycled materials. Cans and jars can be turned into great Halloween candy holders! And try a game of “Rotten Pumpkin” (instead of “Hot Potato”) with a small pumpkin or “Pin the Nose on the Jack-o-Lantern” (use a homemade paper jack-o-lantern and paper noses – all materials can be recycled afterward!)
- Make good use of the excess – if your children collect an overabundance of candy (that you don’t want them to have), consider taking it to a homeless shelter instead of throwing the majority of it away.
This list is frightfully late but there is always time to keep it “EEK-O”-friendly! (Okay, I can be “boo’ed” for that one! Wait… I just did it again, didn’t I?… never mind… just keep it green for Halloween, and ENJOY!)
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Here’s a recipe for making your own face paint, if anyone needs it: just mix together one part cold cream to two parts cornstarch or baby powder. Add a little bit of water, and then divide it up and add food coloring for each color that you want.
Kirsten – GREAT! Thanks!
All great ideas. We have a recipe on our site for making face paint using baby bottom cream. Actually we did a video on this which soon will be up on Mothering.com. The funny part is that when I was making it, I said, use “baby bottom paste,” LOL! I wonder if anyone will catch that!
Happy Hallo-GREEN!
Money! That’s one of the things I plan on giving. Pick what you would normally give out. Look at how much the package costs and how many are in the package. Divide cost by number of servings (if you’re like me you probably toss two or three bars into each bag), and that’s how much you can throw into each bag. Completely green, and very, very easy. Plus, you won’t eat the left-overs!
Lynn – thanks for more info!
Karen – one word… FABULOUS!
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