Stay Spooky My Friends
- Michelle Fank
- Oct 18, 2019
- 4 min read
Let's face it, we live in a disposable society. Disposable plates, cutlery, serving dishes, cups, bottles, decorations. Convenience is rated higher than sustainability and thoughtfulness. How can we be conscious of what we are buying, how it affects the environment and all of those in the manufacturing process during the holiday season without adding to stress or cost? Maybe you don’t have a lot of space to store reusable items or the last thing you want to deal with is a huge pile of dishes after all your guests leave for the night. I totally get it.
I put together 10 non-scary ideas on how to be more thoughtful or sustainable for the Halloween holiday.
1. Use e-card for invitations instead of paper.
Evite offers a large selection of free online invitations that can be emailed or texted to your guests. You don't have to worry about losing an invitation in a backpack or around the house and you can even send out event reminders and easily track your guest list.
2. Buy real pumpkins and plants as decor.
Instead of buying more plastic décor try using natural items instead. Use real pumpkins, corn stalks, hay bales, flowers etc. Plant the items in your garden next year!
You can keep the pumpkin seeds to roast and make a pumpkin pie. Which pumpkins can be used for pie? The Daily Meal lists the 9 best pumpkins for cooking. Roast seeds to eat, plant for next year and make everything from pie to soup with your pumpkin decorations. Just make sure to use them before they are outside for the first frost or before they start to get soft to ensure they are good for eating.
Not a fan of cooking? Compost your pumpkins or donate to a local farm or animal sanctuary. They can typically use leftover pumpkins as feed for animals.
Photos listed in order: Baby Bear, Baby Pam, Cinderella, Fairytale, Long Island Cheese, Long Pie, New England Pie, Trickster, Winter Luxury
3. Thrift or DIY your costume {See last week's blog}
My local Goodwill has a huge section of Halloween costumes for every age group as well as accessories. Stores often donate their extra stock after the holidays so a lot of it is sold as a set if you aren’t feeling creative or need something fast.
4. Host or coordinate a costume swap with neighborhood or friends
We all know kids grow out of costumes each year or of course don't usually want to be the same thing 4 years in a row so get together with friends or neighbors and trade or sell costumes to avoid buying new and keep waste out of the land fill. This could be great for adults too!
5. Re-use decor or DIY from items already in your home.
First take inventory of your decor from previous years. Make sure you do this BEFORE you head out to the stores. You may be able to skip buying new all together and save time and money.
If you do need additional items to complete the decorations think of ways you can use items you already have with a little DIY. Instead of tossing those bottles and jars in the recycling right away, re purpose into fun decorations! Get the kids involved for fun projects.
{Keep an eye out in the next couple of weeks on social media for more DIY decor ideas!}
6. Shop Small/Second Hand for decorations
If you do need to head out to the stores, here are some ideas to stay on track:
Thrift shops- instead of buying new, try thrift shops or even a yard sale or Facebook marketplace
Shop local- supporting a local or small business can be a great option
Etsy or other maker- if you don’t have a local shop you can find so many good options to support online. Etsy is a great place to start. You are supporting a small business and can often find eco-friendly options too.
7. Offer non-food/candy treats from a brand you like to support
Yoobi has a lot of cute options if you need non-candy trick or treat items or party prizes.
8. Offer candy from a store/brand you feel good about supporting.
*Disclaimer- I haven't tried these candies myself.
Feed my starving children offers M&M candy packs that would be perfect for Halloween. Each pack provides meals for 4 children.
These milk chocolate bars are from the Equal Exchange and are organic, fair trade, gluten free.
UNREAL offers individual packs of milk chocolate gems. You can feel good about handing out these Fair trade treats with all natural colors.
Need a non chocolate idea? These spooky lollipops by Wholesome Sweeteners are fair trade and organic. They have no synthetic colors and are gluten free! And kids love gummy bears. Yum Earth has a variety pack of gummy bears that kids will love and is easy on the wallet as well.
9. Make your own food and treats for a party.
Most towns don't allow home made or non wrapped treats to be passed out to trick or treaters but if you are having a party for family and friends try and skip the pre-wrapped treats and offer home made goodies.
We all get bombarded with sugary treats so mix it up and have some fun with healthier items to get kids excited to eat their fruits and veggies too. It’s all about the presentation.
10. Send candy to the troops
Operation Gratitude collects leftover candy from Halloween and sends it in care packages to the troops serving overseas. What a great way to avoid scarfing down candy you don’t need, keep your kids from going wild from sugar and help encourage someone all at once. J
I hope you can use some or all of these ideas! Overall though do what you can, enjoy the holiday with your family and friends, don’t stress or overthink it all.
XOXO Michelle
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