Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of all time, but this year got me thinking about all of the waste and environmental damage that comes along with Halloween and most other mass celebrated holidays. I’m sitting here munching on bite-sized, individually wrapped Halloween candy, thinking about what costume I’m going to wear once and discard, and all the tiny little ghosts and goblins that will be delivered to my door by vehicle, asking for treats and it all seems like too much energy and resources poured into this one little holiday. Why not skip trick or treating completely this year and invite your neighbors to an eco-friendly Halloween party instead.       

 

Snacks at a party don’t have to be unhealthy, processed, junk food. Neither do snacks handed out to trick or treating children, but on the one day a year it is ok to accept candy from strangers most parents will still toss out anything homemade. At a party though it is a different story, and homemade treat ideas are every where. Candy apples, caramel popcorn, toasted pumpkin seeds, and Halloween themed cupcakes and cookies are all sure to be gobbled up in no time without the wasted packaging.

 

Costumes are easily found in your closet with a little imagination and creativity. Make it a rule that at your party all costumes must be made from clothing and items already found in the home and the most creative costume wins a prize. Think of all the energy and materials that go into making cheap costumes for children every year, which are usually too small to wear the next year. Now imagine if all of that energy and materials were used to make clothing for less fortunate children or weren’t used at all.

 

Decorations for Halloween are usually disposable and tacky. All the fake cobwebs and little plastic spiders are nothing compared to natural decorations. A few jack-o-lanterns, some paraffin free black candles, some seasonal leaves and pinecones, and a few gravestones created using old cardboard and paints which you can recycle later are enough to turn your home into a haunted house. Creating your own decorations out of things you have around the house that you would otherwise throw out can be a fun and educational activity for you and the kids.

 

Halloween comes from an ancient, three day, pagan festival celebrating the summer’s end and departed loved ones which was called Samhain. The original trick or treating tradition started with children going to homes and singing or telling ghost stories in exchange for their treat, called guising, or the more popular asking for treats with the promise not to ‘trick’ or in many cases vandalize the homeowners property. Today millions of children dress up in order to be driven around by their parents and collect high sugar and fat, processed snacks from neighbors. This holiday, like so many others, has become a frenzy of manufacturing, shopping, and discarding which has taken all of the meaning away from the celebration of passed loved ones and the end of a season. This year it might be a good start to try something different and celebrate our past while preserving our future.