Did you know that there is even more that you can do to celebrate Halloween and yet make sure that it is green? In my earlier post, I mentioned some ways to reduce your impact around this holiday. Now, here are even more ideas.
Goodies
Buy your candy and treats in bulk this year. Not only will doing so reduce the amount of packaging that you consume, but you will save money as well. Make sure to only buy as much as you think you will need and not so much extra. You’ll consume less, and you won’t have to worry about your waistline with all of that extra candy laying around your home.
You can also offer some natural treats, such as apples from your local orchard or farm stand. Parents may be more inclined to accept whole fruit than homemade goods.
Decorations
Skip the cardboard skeletons, rubber animated goblins, plastic pumpkins, etc. Nature has given us so much bounty during this time of year, so take advantage of it. Why not decorate with natural pumpkins, gourds, hay, corn stalks and mums? As a bonus, you can keep the decorations up all of the way through Thanksgiving. You should be able to compost these natural decorations when you are done with them, another bonus.
If you can’t resist a spider or a witch or two, why not make your own using cardboard, paper, fabric or other materials that you already have on hand? Reuse or repurpose items that would normally get trashed, and you’ll have your decorations without the environmental impact. Save these decorations for next year, or pull them apart and recycle the materials as you can.
A great homemade decoration is the scarecrow. All you need are some old clothes, and maybe some straw (or plastic bags if you have them) and possibly a stake (or sit your scarecrow in a chair).
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