Thursday, October 28, 2010

Have a Green Mean Halloween !

There were a lot of firsts in our house this Halloween. It was our first Halloween celebration after moving from up north to Texas, for the first time we could trick or treat without covering up in layers of fleece and for the first time as a family we decided to Green our Halloween. Here are a few spooky green ideas to get you jump started.

Decorations

· Avoid buying one time use cheap plastic items that will be trashed the next day, only to land in a landfill across town.

· Use pumpkin, gourds, squash which are locally available, think low carbon footprint, cheap and completely bio-degradable.

· Reuse household items such as old paper plates, milk cartons, boxes to make spooky décor that can be used this year and stored for the next. With dry branches from your garden, cereal boxes, black paint and little helping hands make your own black Halloween tree.

Costume

This one was challenging to say the least. It is probably impossible to steer your kids away from the aisles full of costumes attractively displayed in department stores, but do explore some creative options.

· Costume swaps are a great way to get more use out of the 'worn only one time a year' closet space-fillers. Check your neighborhood events - numerous organizations, groups and stores are supporting costume swap events.

· Use old clothes, cardboard boxes and a little bit of your personality to show off green, one of a kind costumes. My husband and I are working on being the Apple family - an iPod and iphone, a marriage made in heaven!


Candy

· Since Halloween is really all about the candy, it’s a great time to explore organic and naturally sweet options. Dried fruits, raisins, flavored pretzels, fruit bites are a few examples of adding a dose of health to the candy basket.


We are hoping that this first green Halloween in our house soon becomes an annual tradition!


To explore additional ideas and tip on this topic please visit the websites listed below.

http://www.greenhalloween.org

http://www.kiwimagonline.com

http://www.thedailygreen.com

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