As you would guess, there are innumerous opportunities these days to green any occasion, especially Halloween. From the costume, the tricks, the treats, decorations and even the all important pumpkin, here’s five ways to get you off to a good start.
1. Decorations –
Lights-out on Halloween usually means an assortment of party lights come on including the one lighting the pumpkin. If you’re looking ways to green your dim lit atmosphere, you might want to consider a string of jack-o-lantern LED lights. You can also stick LED’s in your pumpkin, but if you must light a flame consider switching over to beeswax or soy candles.
A key to green is making use of what you have lying around, and considering Halloween is all about fall, there’s a ton of foliage falling that can help with decorations.
2. Treats –
Having organic treats on hand that taste good isn’t too hard to do these days. For starters, there’s a variety of energy bars that are out there. For those on a smaller budget, try honey sticks or something more inventive such as Tundra Trading’s Organic Licorice (http://www.tundratrading.com/text/tubis.html) or Glee Gum’s Natural Chewing Gum (http://www.gleegum.com/). You could also consider something a little more savory by handing out snack foods from LesserEvil (http://www.lesserevil.com/).
3. Tricks –
Those interested in throwing hanging scarecrows onto the balcony of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters, or interested in jumping from around corners, just remember the key is to having a green Halloween is already using what you have. That mean’s old painting clothes can easily be turned into something scary, there’s a good opportunity to put the old boxes in the garage and basement to good use. While knives make for interesting tricks and big screams, you might want to consider other household items that can be equally as creepy without such a harsh edge: When’s the last time you used the meat tenderizer.
4. Costume –
Reuse and recycle, we can’t stress this enough when it comes from costumes. If you don’t have anything you like in your Halloween history consider raiding the closets of family (and politely asking) friends. Thrift stores make a great way to recycle goods on a budget. If you are interested in purchasing new, try avoiding fabrics that are harmful to the environment. If you’re getting one of those great pull-over masks, make sure it’s made out of latex instead of vinyl, or check out online sites like Zwaggle (http://zwaggle.com/ ) to get a new to you costume that no one in your friend of circles has ever seen. Finally, if you are plan on dusting the cobwebs off of your sewing machine and putting your own crafty handiwork to practice, consider purchasing organic fabrics.
5. Pumpkin –
Last but definitely not least is the all important pumpkin. Organic is best if its available, there are also a few co-ops popping-up that have a nice selection of pumpkins, check your local directories to see if there are any in your area (the internet is a great place to start). Don’t forget that every part of your pumpkin is edible, including all the stuff you scoop-out while carving your jack-o-lanterns. Consider checking out the Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com) or Cooking.com (http://www.cooking.com) for recipes on how you can make the most of your pumpkins.
