Be sure to check out GreenHalloween.org.
Here's Michelle's wonderful list!
10 TIPS FOR A HOLISTIC HALLOWEEN
1. CREATE YOUR OWN COSTUME
Search the internet for ideas ● Shop at thrift stores for supplies ● Rent instead of buying ● Swap with friends ● Freecycle ● Donate old costumes
2. CHOOSE GREEN ACCESSORIES
Chose latex masks over vinyl (unless your child has a latex allergy) ● Vinyl contains PVC and phthalates ● Latex smells like a balloon and vinyl like a shower curtain ● Create your own makeup using recipes found on the internet ● Use non-toxic makeup (Aveda, Real Purity, Logona, Lyra, Sante Kosmetics) ● Collect candy in reusable bags rather than plastic ● Decorate your own organic cotton tote ● Avoid glowsticks that cannot be recycled ● Use rechargeable flashlights ● Try beeswax candles instead of petroleum-based
3. HAND OUT HEALTHY TREATS
Purchase organic/fair trade sweets ● Alternatives to candy include popcorn bags, snack bars, fruit leather, beverage boxes, raisins, honey sticks ● You can make your own treats, wrap creatively and include your address label to ensure safety
4. HAND OUT NON-EDIBLE TREATS
Distribute non-edible items like bubbles, playdoh, stickers, spider rings ● Shop at stores that promote fair trade practices ● Or save trinkets collected throughout the year, such as from party goody bags, and give those away ● Non-perishables can be saved for next year
5. DON’T EAT ALL THAT CANDY!
Good old-fashioned rationing ● “You can have as many pieces as you are old” ● Donate the candy to troops overseas, nursing homes, etc. ● Invite the Switch Witch or Sugar Sprite to your house who exchanges gifts for candy while children are sleeping ● Glue the candy to cardboard and make a “gingerbread” house for Christmas ● Children can set up a candy store and use money earned from selling treats to buy other items on their wish lists
6. HAVE A PARTY INSTEAD
Have a harvest party instead of trick-or-treating ● Kids can trick-or-treat to each family for non-sugary treats ● Serve pumpkin pancakes or muffins, popcorn, veggie trays arranged like skeletons, hot apple cider in a crock pot ● Use Halloween cookie cutters on pita bread and bake in the oven to make little chips, or use cutters for cheese to place on whole grain crackers ● Organize fun games so parties are not just about food ● Make skeletons using Q-tips, pin the nose on the pumpkin/witch, “touch boxes” where children feel and guess what’s inside, painted pumpkins, pumpkin carving contests, bob for apples ● Organize a magical Halloween walk through the woods where children meet different characters in the forest
7. INCORPORATE SERVICE INTO THE HOLIDAY
Trick-or-treat for UNICEF and raise money for children around the world ● Participate in Reverse Trick-or-Treating and distribute out fair trade chocolate with a handout on child slavery in the cocoa industry
8. HALLOWEEN AS A “TEACHABLE MOMENT”
Talk with your children about your family’s choices and empower them to make good decisions ● “We just don’t do that in our family” ● Tells kids that every mommy and daddy can decide for their own kids what to do
9. CELEBRATE THE SEASON
Participate in Fall activities prior to Halloween, such as visiting a pumpkin patch, going on hay rides, taking a hike and observing seasonal changes ● Make Halloween just a small part of the season and not the main point
10. SPREAD THE WORD
Talk to friends and neighbors about your plans for a holistic Halloween ● Organize holistic trick-or-treating routes with other like-minded neighbors ● Learn more and join the Green Halloween movement at www.greenhalloween.org ● Put a “Green Halloween” logo on your door for visitors to see
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