Planning for bus loads of trick or treaters? Want to add just a few more decorations?
Have to have a last minute costume?
Here are some tips to make Halloween a bit less spooky for Mother Earth:
Costumes - Shop for used costumes from thrift stores, or swap costumes from last year with friends. Make your own with old clothes, scrap fabric and items from around the house. And don't throw them away after Halloween. Save for next year to trade with someone
Decorations - Make your own out of paper or cardboard. Shop for decorations at a thrift store. Reuse decorations year to year. Do not decorate with plastic items unless you reuse them year after year. Single use fake spider web material is a danger and toxic to wildlife, so stay away from that.
Pumpkins - Shop from local farms rather than grocery or big box stores to avoid the carbon footprint of transporting the pumpkins. Carve your pumpkins or use wipeable, non-toxic paint. And compost them after the holiday, or donate to a farm rescue like Charlie's Acres. They feed all the donated pumpkins or squash to the pigs, goats etc.
Parties - Use recyclable or reusable plates, cups, and decorations. Have people label their cups to reuse during the party. Make your own food and send leftovers home with guests using foil, not plastic wrap. And have both recycle and compost bins available. Use the same tips as above when decorating for the party.
Treats - It goes without saying that ideally all treats for the kids should be nutritious and homemade. However, in this day and age, sadly we can't comfortably do that. So try and buy treats in cardboard boxes, rather than plastic wrap. Tough to do, I know.
Every little sustainable thing we do can, collectively, make a big difference. We do what we can, when we can.
Help Mother Earth stay Boooo-tiful this Halloween.
