I’ve just found this really useful and informative article about getting ready for a green halloween.
There are loads of great ideas for creating decorations ready for the spooky season.
Hope you like the ideas.? Here’s the link: Are You Ready For A Green Halloween?
Posted under green halloween
Pumpkins for Halloween are a very long-held tradition, and are also a naturally eco-friendly decoration.? They are easy to find during the fall harvest season, cheap to buy, and come in lots of sizes and shapes.? Here are a few ways that you can use them to make your Halloween festivities super earth-friendly this year!
Start by making an event out of selecting your pumpkins.? If you are fortunate enough to live in an area that is within driving distance of the countryside, try to locate a farmer who has a pumpkin patch you can visit to select your pumpkin at the source.? Some farmers make a point of opening up their pumpkin patches to the public, and even offer corn mazes and hay rides for extra entertainment.? You and your family or friends can make a whole day trip out visiting the country side to enjoy the autumn scenery.? Be sure to bring your camera to photograph the fun. Make a game out of seeing who can be the first to spot the biggest, the smallest, the most perfect and the oddest-shaped pumpkins.? Then take photos of each other next to your discoveries.? You can bring some of your findings home for more festivities, and you will have pictures for your album of the ones that were too big fit in your car.
That same evening, or even a week or two later, you can have a pumpkin carving party.? Start with some big blank sheets of paper and crayons or markers to draw practice designs.? Even the youngest in your group can safely join in drawing pumpkin pictures.? Get creative and experiment on paper with traditional, spooky, funny or abstract designs.? Plan it so that each person has a pumpkin to carve.? Or if you have some talented carvers in your group, have everyone participate in the designing, and then have the group choose the final designs but let the pumpkin artists do the actual carving.? When they are finished, show them off and admire the grinning and glowing jack-o-lantern artwork by installing candles and having a proper display in a darkened room.
Be sure to save the insides of all of the pumpkins that you carve. If you’re really into cooking, you can make delicious side dishes, pies and quick breads from the pumpkin pulp.? But if cooking and baking is too much fuss for you, at least do yourself a favor and gather up the pumpkin seeds.? After you clean them off, spread them in a thin layer onto a cookie sheet and season them with sea salt.? Then bake them in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until they are golden and toasted.? Let them cool, and then enjoy their crunchy goodness as a healthy natural snack.
After Halloween is over, you should add the remainder of the pumpkin to your compost heap (or give it to a neighbor for theirs).
From beginning to end, pumpkins are really the perfect green Halloween entertainment and decoration.? They provide a feast for the eyes and mouth and they also help to feed the earth when they’re done!
Posted under halloween pumpkins
If you have decided on hosting a Halloween Party, why not plan it around a green theme?? How about “recycling”?? Here are some easy, cheap and fun ideas you can use for your Green Halloween Party entertainment.
First, instead of trying to do all of the work of decorating and preparing food yourself, why not combine the “recycling” concepts of left-overs and pot lucks, and ask each guest to contribute to the food, music and decorations.? To avoid having the party turn into chaos using this idea, you could outline the menu, music genre and color schemes and ask everyone to follow along.? For example, ask people to bring their favorite vegetarian appetizer, their favorite rock or jazz (on cd’s or mp3′s), and a black or orange centerpiece or balloon bouquet.
For entertainment, have each person on your party list brings 5 or more different ?dress up” props. Give instructions for people to bring crazy and unusual theatrical costume items: fright wigs, capes, feather boas, satin boxer shorts, Spock ears, rhinestone tiaras, fake mustaches…the more visually outrageous, the better. ? (And it is best if the articles are either large enough to fit anyone in the group or are one-size-fits-all.)
Then as each person arrives, write the name of each prop on a slip of paper and assemble all of the props on a table. Then everyone takes turns drawing for the name of one prop piece to wear.? Rotate through the group until all of the props are handed out. And keep your digital camera or video camera handy as everyone adds the oddball props to their costumes.? It’s a lot of fun to watch your 6-foot tall football player friend put on a long pearl necklace, big red clown nose and a top hat, or to see your prim and proper 5-foot tall accountant sister wearing a Groucho mustache and a fake bald head.
When everyone is “dressed” in their new costumes, it’s a good time to start a game of charades.? And remember to keep the cameras rolling. The pictures you will get from this party will be priceless!
Posted under halloween party ideas
Are you proud of your green lifestyle and healthy eating regime?? We certainly are here at Green-Halloween.com.
However, it can be a little tricky when Halloween arrives and the local kids expect candy for their trick or treat antics.? A bag of carrots and and some apples is going to get you pranked – end of story!? But there is a way to please the kids and stay true to your eco-warrior lifestyle!
First of all, try to buy the candy that contains the healthiest ingredients (read the labels and choose the best option).? Avoid chemical additives, but don’t be too scared of chocolate, nuts and sugar (although be aware of allergies!).? Candies that contain simple ingredients are the best choice and there are plenty to choose from if you look around.
WARNING! At all costs, you should avoid high fructose corn syrup (again read the label).? This is because it is made from genetically modified corn which our bodies find it difficult to metabolize.? Also, this corn syrup is very highly processed using fuel-intensive methods.? It may produce food that is cheap, but at what cost to the environment?? Not good!
Better still, why not make your own green halloween treats, especially if you know the kids involved?? Try making chocolate chip cookies or popcorn balls and wrap them in eco-friendly waxed paper (not plastic!).? If you have kids, they’ll love them as well!
Be careful about handing out homemade treats to strangers.? Sadly, we live in a dangerous world and they may simply be urban myths, but stories of broken glass being found in halloween treats do exist.? Play safe and stick with commercially available (but healthy) candy that has been sealed and packaged in the factory.
Finally, remember that it is possible to be ‘green’ at Halloween without resorting to granola-munching!? Avoid buying candy with loads of packaging (and choose biodegradable wrappers and boxes) and avoid chemical additives as much as possible.
You stay ‘green’ AND the kids stay happy and a little healthier, too!
Posted under halloween treats
So, are you looking for a green Halloween costume idea for this spooky time of the year?? There’s two approaches here: an earth-friendly/green theme, or en eco-friendly/organic theme.? Both approaches will produce a fantastic, costume to scare the living daylights out of everybody!
Spend a little time thinking about natural materials and/or recycled materials.? Cheap costumes can be made using a length of fabric which has enough length to make a big reusable shopping bag which is large enough to wear (stay with me!).? These box-shaped rectangle bags will have handles and a rectangular bottom.
Here’s the fine detail:
If you want to go down the traditional route (witches, devils, monsters, etc), try to still use eco-friendly materials.? Consider using props that you already have lying around the house that can be returned to their normal use after the festivities have finished.
Just a little forethought can pay dividends.? Earth-friendly halloween festivities are possible with just a little sideways-thinking and a dash of creativity.
I hope you have fun making your low cost, green Halloween costume!
Posted under green halloween costume
At Halloween, there’s nothing better than getting creative with Halloween makeup.? It’s fun and an easy way to dress up for this festive time of the year.
Try to go for natural Halloween makeup which will have water soluble ingredients and should definitely be non-toxic.? Avoid makeup kits that don’t list their ingredients or have a huge list of unrecognizable chemicals.? Remember, toxins can be absorbed through the skin very easily.? So, if you wouldn’t eat it, or don’t know what it is, don’t slap it onto your skin either!
Make life easier for yourself: water soluble ingredients will easily wash off after the Halloween party and trick or treating fun.? There’ll be no residue left behind and no need for scrubbing.? If you do use oil-based makeup, then make a note of the kind of oil that is used.? Plant based oils are the best as mineral oils tend to be rather harsh on skin.? Unfortunately, some people suffer allergic reactions to plant based oils, so care is needed whichever type of makeup you use.? Use some common sense – if you are allergic to a type of fruit (say, apricot) then avoid apricot kernel oil.
And, if going ‘green’ is your thing, buy your makeup in biodegradable packaging.? Better still, try to buy it in minimal packaging so that it isn’t consuming valuable resources.? It goes without saying that you should also recycle as much of the packaging as possible.
After all the fun has finished, use natural lotions and cleaners to remove the makeup.? Remember, your skin will thank you for this after being punished and smothered under alien Halloween makeup!
Have fun!
Posted under halloween makeup
