As Halloween approaches, you may be disappearing at all of the plastic associated with it – in particular lots of individually wrapped sweets, Halloween costumes and decorations made of plastic.
Here are some awesome Plastic Free Halloween ideas so you can start working towards are more environmentally friendly Halloween Holiday.
While it might not be possible to eliminate all plastic from your Halloween celebrations, there are lots of ways you can reduce the amount of plastic used, especially single-use plastic.
Plastic Free Halloween Costumes
With kids growing as they do, you might end up needing to buy a new Halloween costume for your children each year. New Halloween costumes often come wrapped in plastic and can be made of up to 90% plastic too.
Shopping for second-hand Halloween costumes is one way to help reduce plastics. Charity shops are a great choice and many will have lots of Halloween costumes on display during the Autumn months.
Another option is to shop on pre-loved shopping apps such as Vinted and Depop. Of course with these options, you do have to be a little more organized and allow extra time for items to be posted.
You could of course make your own costumes either using items you already have or making something from scratch using paper, cardboard and other materials.
Pretty much anything can become a ‘zombie’ if you add some rips and face paints! Swapping with friends and family can help keep things fresh too, especially if they have children of a similar age that might have outgrown last year’s costumes.
Also, remember Halloween costumes don’t have to be scary – my three-year-old has a huge dressing-up box full of costumes I bought from Shpock for her at Christmas last year. She’s more than happy to go as a superhero this year and she already has the costume which is a winner!
Plastic-Free Halloween Decoration Ideas
Cheap plastic decorations often end up in the bin after one use, so here are ways you can avoid plastics and still have a spooktastic Halloween.
- Invest in ceramic, material and wooden decorations that can be used over and over again, year after year. While this is a slightly more expensive option, you could buy just one or two things each year until you’ve build up a nice collection.
- Make your own decorations using paper and by recycling other items, such as glass jars.
- Head out into nature and use pinecones, fallen leaves and twigs to create spooky scenes at home.
- Munchin Pumpkins make great Halloween decor as if they are left uncarved they can last for several weeks and then when Halloween is over they can be eaten.
Make Your Own Broom
Making your own broom is a fun and plastic free Halloween activity for children. Simply choose a small branch or even a large fallen stick, and then collect twigs to be wrapped around one end using twine.
5 Budget Friendly Halloween Ideas To Try With Your Kids
Halloween Buckets
When most kids are out trick or treating they take a bucket to pop all the sweets in. Try using a bucket from summer beach trips or printing patterns on a canvas bag instead.
Plastic Free Halloween Sweets & Treats
Okay, so this can definitely be a tricky one.
It’s a bit easier if you’re planning a Halloween party at home as you can easily make things like toffee apples, cakes biscuits and homemade popcorn to avoid buying things wrapped in plastic.
When it comes to giving out sweets to Trick or Treaters, things can get a little more complicated.
For both hygiene and allergy reasons, I think sweets and chocolate that are being given to other children, especially ones you don’t know, need to be individually wrapped.
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Smarties are a good option as they come in small cardboard boxes and the larger bags have switched to paper-based packaging.
You could also go for sweets that have paper wrapping but even these often come with a plastic bag on the outside. Another option, and a much healthier one is to offer fruit instead such as Apples, Pears and Bananas.
As I mentioned before, eliminating all single-use plastics from your Halloween can be tough!