All right, so Halloween is the ultimate season for family fun, full of spooky costumes, candy hunts, delicious pumpkin desserts, and decorations galore. They say Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but they must’ve forgotten all about Halloween! But just like the holiday season, even Halloween is guilty of being pretty wasteful, too.
Actually, there’s a lot of waste, from plastic pumpkins to one-off costumes. But while you’re trying to create sweet traditions and even sharpen the minds of your kids, you should think about sustainability, too.
Actually, there are loads of ways to enjoy the spooky season in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way while creating traditions that your kids will love year after year.
Get Creative with Arts and Crafts
Who needs store-bought decorations when you can turn crafting into a Halloween tradition? Actually, all you need to do is grab the kids and dive into making your own spooky décor using recycled and household materials. Just think about it: those household materials (and trash) can be transformed into haunted house banners, creepy masks, or even homemade lanterns.
Plus, if you really think about it, pumpkin carving is another family favourite that is technically eco-friendly. But how? Well, instead of letting the seeds and insides go to waste, you can roast the seeds for a tasty snack and compost the rest.
After a day, you can even use the insides to make a puree, which can then be used for pumpkin puree. Besides, it’s a messy activity kids love, and you can feel good knowing nothing’s going to waste (and it helps to look into sustainable farms, too).
Watch Spooky Movies and TV Show Specials Together
One Halloween tradition that can easily travel and is 100% waste-free is having a family movie night. Yes, it’s serious, that simple. So, whether it’s a binge-fest of Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or the Charlie Brown Halloween Special, just gathering the family for a cosy evening of Halloween classics is always a hit.
Most families make this an annual event, and making snacks from scratch rather than bagged-up crisps and chocolate is healthier and eco-friendly, too. Plus, you can’t go wrong getting the chance to watch Netflix together anyway. Plus, this is just one of those traditions that easily grows as your kids age.
Create DIY Costumes from Recycled Materials
Okay, so let’s face it: Halloween costumes are often worn once and then forgotten. It’s more of a newer concept of buying junky costumes rather than making them (because that used to be the major emphasis anyways). But instead of buying new ones every year, why not turn costume-making into a family tradition?
There’s plenty of household items, and potentially even some recyables or trash that could get a second life and be turned into a costume. Plus, usually DIY costumes look better, they get more respect (and more candy), and those are the ones that usually win costume contests too. Again, there’s just more benefits to this and it offers sweeter memories too.