Green Up Your Halloween

Halloween!  The kids love it, but it can be a seriously "trashy" holiday.  Gazillions of teeny wrappers of plastic, one-time use costumes that people toss after their evening of fun, and "disposable" Halloween Decor translates into a lot of waste.  I'm here to help you green up your Halloween.

First, let's talk costumes.  This is a perfect time of the year to let your inner artist and creative spirit run free... by making your costume.   That's right - make your costume!  You don't need expensive materials. This year my kid wants to be something from MineCraft - the base for his costume?  Cardboard boxes... it doesn't get any easier than that.   Do you need some creative inspiration?  Check our my Pinterest page for Handmade Halloween Ideas - a sneak peek is at the bottom of this blog post.  ReCreate is even offering a Costume Workshop for people who may have the desire, but might want a bit of help putting their costume together.

Next, Let's talk decor.  We make it easy at our house. - we have a bin of nice decoration we pull out each year - and we mix them with the latest handmade decoration.  My kids love to create - so this is always really easy.   Buying and tossing each year is a colossal waste of money and resources.  If you like pumpkins - buy real ones - not plastic ones - because at least they decompose easily.  Remember, every single thing we buy, eat, wear or use was made from a natural resource.    It is not great for the environment to decorate for a couple weeks, and then toss it. 

Finally - candy.  I am not going to try and tell you not to give or collect a treat.  Here is what I'm suggesting:  Go old school for your candy collection bag - use a pillow case like when I was a kid.  No need to go buy a candy container for one day!  If you are handing out candy,   opt for one slightly large candy - instead of 5 little ones.  This translates into fewer little pieces of plastic littering our community or filling up our landfill.    Please only collect an amount that your child will actually consume.  The idea of collecting it, and then tossing it, makes me a little crazy!

Also you can donate your candy wrappers to Terracycle!  Terra Who?  Terracycle.

TerraCycle is on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste. [They] do this by creating waste collection programs (each one is called a “Brigade”) for previously non-recyclable, or difficult-to-recycle, waste. The collected waste is then converted into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks.

I hope you have an awesome Halloween.  If you make your costume - please post a link in a comment below!

Orange and Black Halloween with Shade of Green In Between

Ok… I’m going to come clean – Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday.  But, our kids are 9 and 7, so unless I want a very unhappy pair of kids, we participate.  Here are some ways we have tried to minimize our waste impact on Halloween:

We have been able to make our costumes for several years now, and usually at little cost. 

My kids love going trick or treating because they always get comments on their costumes.  When I was a kid everyone made their costumes… and it was fun!  The great part about making your costume is that it usually takes more creativity than money…and creativity is priceless.  Let me show you what I mean. 

Last year, Sela was an owl.  We made it from an old sweater I didn’t wear anymore, fabric scraps and hot glue.  Her mask featured the plastic handle from a Costco size purchase of juice, and some other random items we had around the house.    Zach, completely obsessed with the show River Monsters, decided to be Jeremy Wade the star of the show.  We took his shirt and stomped on it in the sandbox to make it look like Zach had spent a long day fishing out in the wilds – fun!  Then we made a SCARY looking fish (paper mache), and hooked it to his fishing pole.   I really do like the costume part, as do the kids.  It makes for a great family activity, which we now look forward to every year. 

Not feeling crafty?  Ask your friends if they have old costumes they aren’t using this year, or visit a thrift store.

The part of Halloween I don’t like, are the gazillion little pieces of candy – individually wrapped.    I know a lot of parents who get their kids to “donate” it to their dentist’s office.   I can’t really put this together in my head… collecting candy to get paid to toss it.    Here is my compromise – a short trip around the neighborhood, and alternate non-candy activities for the rest of the evening. 

You don’t HAVE to give out candy.  You can give each kid a quarter, or a coupon for a local store (treat or activity related), a little piece of art that you make – like a decorated acorn,  a polished rock, a book mark, etc.  Also, instead of buying a candy bag or bucket, go old school – use a pillowcase!

If you like to stick with traditional treats, here are a few ideas – look for candy in compost friendly wrappers.  Also, with so many kids with allergies, you might want to consider something like the gluten free organic and natural lollipops out there.   They taste really good!

If your neighborhood participates in getting “Booed”:  you might consider handmade cookies.  Waxed paper makes cute ghosts for wrapping. 

I hope you have a safe and less-waste Halloween!

More ideas for a handmade (less wasteful) Halloween can bee seen here.