I grew up in Florida, so costume choices were limited as it was always 80 degrees plus on Halloween. Now that I'm in Canada, and we have our own child, we're looking forward to cool fall weather, unlimited costume possibilities, and going trick or treating with our daughter.
We are trying something different this year: we are re-using products we already have and avoiding any cosmetic products that are unnatural. We are lucky in that we have a lot of various costumes (lab coats, fake glasses, wigs, cool hats) from some of the workshops we used to do.
What can you do if you don't have the costume trunk in the attic?
- trade with others in your community
- hit the yard sales or consignment/used clothing stores/Salvation Army Thrift stores early to find the best ideas
- look at your own closets - the perfect clown outfit can be created from a mix of clothing from various family members
- check out your recycling bin and trash can - what is in there that you can use? Old Styrofoam meat trays (washed thoroughly of course) make great cut outs, tombstones, and other accessories such as sword handles, bracelets, and animal ears.
- have your kids brainstorm different ideas using the products you have in the house from CDs to tissue paper to cardboard boxes to Dad's coveralls
Need some ideas?
- Velcro a bunch of clothes to yourself and you can be a dirty laundry pile
- create two cardboard circles about 2' in diameter, paint black, back with white tissue paper and strap together so they hang balanced over your shoulders and voila, you are an Oreo cookie
- take wire clothes hangers, using pliers shape them to be large butterfly wings. Wrap them with a sheer fabric or tissue paper and your child can be a fairy, a butterfly, a dragonfly
Still looking for more costume ideas? Check out our forum where I have posted additional ideas and a request from our readers for home-made eco-friendly costumes ideas(see forum post links below). And, if you have costumes you want to trade/barter, please add this to the forum also. It may only cost you a little bit of money for shipping verses the $20+ that it costs to buy a new one at the store, plus it is one less thing for you to store and figure out how to dispose of after the kids move out of the house!
GREEN TRICK OR TREATS
The other idea we had was to provide trick-or-treaters with a 'give away' that was somehow eco-friendly. I don't want to be known as that weird lady who gave away compact florescent light bulbs, so I've been brainstorming different ideas for treats.
So far I have come up with:
- stickers
- cool pencils
- money (if you look at the candy bags the average price for Halloween candy is about 10 cents a piece and I tend to give 3-4 pieces, so why not just hand out a quarter?)
- candy from the local bulk store - I'm still having individually wrapped pieces which means potentially more trash, but at least I'm eliminating some packaging
- homemade treats with a note that informs the parents who I am, my phone number and the ingredients, along with a statement of why I chose to make homemade cookies, etc. (Granted I live in a very safe and small rural community
- purchase fair-trade and organic treats that are labeled as such. Perhaps the child or parent may notice the labeling too and think twice next time
I also welcome your ideas for eco-friendly trick or treats. Please check out the forum (see forum post links below) to view other ideas or post your own.
Happy Green Halloween!
