If you want a real scare this Halloween, think about the monstrous mounds of trash we toss away after our spooky celebrations. Plastic candy wrappers, masks, decorations, face paints, and pumpkin candy buckets will haunt the planet long after we’re gone. So, this year, at Woobamboo we’re thinking it’s time to turn around these frightful habits and green our Halloween and all of the holidays that come after.
It’s All About the Costume
Wanna do Sonny and Cher this year? Well, there’s a couple of options you can go with when it comes to greening your 70s vibe. Putting together a retro costume from vintage shops is a really cool way to go for adults, and the best part is that you’ll still have some great funky clothes to wear throughout the year for fun.
When it comes to the kids if you don’t have time to pull a vintage costume together or make one from repurposed materials, you can host a trade-up event or see if your community already hosts a costume swap day. If you’re short on time, costume rentals are also a great route to go and perfect for kids who may want a specific costume they’ve seen in stores.
Happy Pumpkins
First off, make sure you’re carving up an organic pumpkin that you can later compost with fallen leaves and soil for the next garden season, to grow your own pumpkins. Next, you can light ’em up with beeswax candles instead of paraffin-based waxes. Also, be sure to compost the pumpkin seeds or save them for a salty roasted snack.
Decorations that Rock!
Nature offers the best decorations like pumpkins, gourds, hale bales, mums, and cornstalks. You can avoid buying wastefully packaged decorations by opting to borrow from friends or buy used items from second-hand stores. If you’ve got the time you can also make some wholesomely spooky bedsheet ghosts or paper mâché monsters.
Give Away Cool Stuff
While it may seem like Halloween is all about the candy, we all know that most of us have tons of candy all the way through November. Kids get overloaded on all the plastic-wrapped candies cuz they can only eat so much junk. Instead, you could give away friendship bracelets, sustainable stickers, temporary tattoos, bamboo toothbrushes, or snack bags full of healthy snacks. You can also have a brewing witch pot of warm cider to hand out in sustainable cups for thirsty trick-or-treaters.
Party Gear
Start the party right by emailing your invitations and announcing a contest for the best recycled or used costumes. Offer the winner a great cloth bag of organic baked goodies.
Next, don’t scare your guests off with Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils! Go Casper the friendly ghoststyle with compostable plates or use your household dishes. You could also invite guests to bring their own reusable plates and cups so they can also bring home so leftover goodies. Everybody wins!
We hope you try out some of these ideas and we’d love to hear yours as well. And please share your earth-friendly costumes or party pictures with us on social media. Happy Halloween!
Author: Becci Goodall
