I love October. Autumn leaves, cooler weather, an abundance of squash, and time for green Halloween! Yes, Halloween is all about black cats and orange pumpkins, but why not make it a green Halloween? You don’t need to go abandon your candy corn for broccoli, just keep the earth in mind while celebrating this year. Here are a few of my favorite ways to have a green Halloween:
Costume Swap
You can’t have a green Halloween without costumes! Costumes are fun, but it’s wasteful to buy something that you will only wear once. To have a green Halloween, host a costume swap! Get some reuse out of old costumes by giving them to new owners.
Plan a night complete with candy and music with friends to get into the green Halloween mood or simply get a group together online to coordinate who wants to swap. There’s also a giant swap planned at the Mar Vista Farmers Market on October 9th!
Maybe you can even get an Earth costume! (That would definitely be a green Halloween.)
Trick or Treat and Party the Eco Way
Green Halloween would be nothing without some good trick or treating or a party!
For trick or treaters, have a green Halloween by: using reusable bags for your candy haul, walking instead of using a car, staying hydrated with a reusable water bottle, and lighting the way with an eco-friendly flashlight.
For the party-goers, keep it a green Halloween by not using disposable cups, dishware, silverware, and paper napkins. Keep your decorations to things that you can make yourself, reuse again, and/or easily upcycle/recycle. Want to be even more eco-friendly for a green Halloween? Go a step further and make it a vegetarian party! You can even use your jack o’lantern guts and seeds as a green Halloween dish!
Keep it Local, Organic, and Fair Trade
When buying candy, decorations, and other green Halloween odds and ends, buy local, organic, and Fair Trade items. For example, make sure your local pumpkin patch doesn’t use harmful pesticides, try to hand out Fair Trade chocolate to trick or treaters, and make your own green Halloween decorations using plants from your garden or upcycle something! (I love these tombstones made out of old paint samples!)
How are you having a green Halloween this year? We’d love to hear about it in the comments section!