Not So Scary Stuff: Green Halloween
by Desmond Williams
Shrieks, gasps, shivers… And I’m not talking about reactions to the twists and turns of the general election or the teeter-tottering economy. It’s almost Halloween! And that means it’s time to scare up some fun. Every kid wants to be something other than himself for Halloween, so once again eco-conscious parents are forced to find that delicate balance between creepy for kids and eerie for the environment.
The truth is that for the same reason manufacturers shy away from incorporating organic or sustainable fabrics into the production of Halloween items (no one wants to pay a high price for costumed event that lasts only one-day), parents should make every effort to ensure that as they canvas the neighborhood for treats, their family’s carbon footprints are as small as possible.
Below are six ways to green this Halloween:
1) Use your long-range vision: By consulting with your small-sized superhero (or tiny terror) before dress up time draws near, you can brainstorm ways to fashion a costume from too-small clothing items – and boy do kids have a lot of those. Depending on age, he can be a lobster or a giant Lego man, while she can be a sweet little princess, or Spider… er woman. There are also tons of ideas for costumes made from recycled t-shirts or household items online.
2) Swap meets are always scary: Host a pre-Halloween costume swap. Last year’s Spidey can be this year’s Superman. Pirates and Princes can trade places. And even if a kid can’t find that perfect costume at the swap, he might be excited about a costume mash-up. Up in the sky! It’s green… And it’s red… And it’s metal… It’s Iron-Spider-Hulk!
3) Say Boo! to big box stores and shop local: Visit your neighborhood farmers market for Halloween staples such as apples, squash, pumpkins and even organic raw wool and yarn to embellish your homemade costume. Some larger markets anticipating the holiday, may even have special offer items such as organic sweets. And what’s scarier to kids than the sight of all those vegetables?
4) Allow some stuff to get sucked into a wormhole: Stash away reminders of this year’s trends until after Halloween. Wall-E gets swept under the sink, Star Wars figures get sucked into a wormhole and anything Batman gets temporarily banished. Instead try to encourage a costume that is created in your child’s mind, not just put there by clever marketing.
5) Placate the Monster Child: If your kid wont let you get away with any of the above, and he simply has to have that Joker costume with the recently bought smell of polyester felt, consider taking as best care of it on Halloween day as possible. On November 1st, donate it to a charitable organization that will gift it to a kid next holiday. This extends the life of your bought items and keeps them out of a landfills for the time being.
6) Challenge yourself: Need a little incentive to crank out a killer costume? There are various community contests - both local and Internet-based - available to enter your creation. Parenting magazines and craft websites host annual costume contests and most only require that you send in a photograph of your child.
Get crafty and help make this Halloween green.
(Photos from pt’s MAKECRAFTHALLOWEEN Flickr stream)
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October 14th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I remember the \"good old days\" when we had to be creative and put a Halloween costume together with papier mache masks and whatever junk we had in the closet or garage. Much more inspired creativity than simply buying the \"latest\" cartoon or super hero ready-made costume. I miss those good old days.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Man, those are fantastic.
Where, oh where did you get the idea for that little lucha libre mask?
October 14th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
The photos are from MAKE/Craft magazines’ 2006 Halloween contest. I’m pretty certain it was inspired by Nacho Libre.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
When we were looking for a candy alternative for Halloween treats we decided on tea bags. We had lots of close out herb teas and gave them out to our visitors. One child remarked, “That’s weird… it’s cool, but it’s still weird.”
Peppermint tea is an excellent choice for Halloween treats. It’s kid friendly, good for digestion and familiar.
October 16th, 2008 at 9:43 am
What a trick… Or treat, depending on the kid. Weird is good at Halloween. Cranberry tea bags will brew up a scary batch of red tea and Rooibos tea (also red) will taste a little bit like dirt. Plus there are various other teas recommended for kids.
October 17th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I just posted this on one of your other topics, but my favorite resource for parents is http://www.GreenHalloween.org and the new http://www.CelebrateGreen.net.
They’re non-proft, grassroots and have amazing ideas that are simple and affordable.
Have any of you checked them out? What do you think?
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:42 am
MattBrenChris: Getting costumes at resale shops is what we did. Hey, they’ve been own may be once, and the ones we found were of good quality, and often in the original packaging. Since some of the accessories they come with are..cheesy, we grabbed some “real” accessories and gave them some flair. BWT, I found lots more good ideas from this article by some thrift store chain called value village. http://newsinfusion.com/video_details.php?videoId=235
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Hi there
Great minds think alike! Check out my MuseGreen article from yesterday on a similar topic!
Some great tips here - thanks!!
October 24th, 2008 at 3:37 am
nice
October 27th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Thanks for the thought-provoking article. I’m wondering what your suggestions are regarding giving away candy– parents want to be green but at the same time, know that safety must come first. That often means that all candy needs to be individually wrapped. Agreed?
I wrote an article on the top 10 Halloween safety tips. If you have any ideas regarding the “green” question or some other tips for parents– I’d love for you to add a comment.
http://tinyurl.com/6etond
Thanks-
Dr. Robyn
October 27th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Hello Dr. Robyn. I’ll head over to tinyurl (cute url) after noting that there are many great ‘green’ sweets and treats suggested in the comments section of the Inhabitot Green Halloween Contest post. And you are certainly correct in thinking that individually wrapped candy creates non-recyclable waste. Does a fashionable candy wrapper purse sound appealing?
October 28th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Thanks, Desmond. I also appreciate your comment over on my parenting blog so that others can see your post. No, a candy wrapper purse is something I think I can do without–hate to be promoting all those candy companies!– but I’m eager to see what people come up with in your Green Halloween contest. I’ve been reading up on the comment section of your posts– perhaps you’d like to write up some tips in an article for parents on my blog? Would love it–let me know!
Thanks for your responses-
Dr. Robyn