Are you "greening up" Halloween at your house this year?
Those of you who know me in real life know I have a rule
about Halloween...Princess can be whatever she wants,
as long as it can be made with stuff we already have in the house.
Don't feel too bad for her...she has an armoire filled with costumes
(many of which I have picked up from freecycle) to choose from.
Some other ways we green up Halloween around here is to grow our
own pumpkins (and we cook or compost them when we're done).
We also use hay bales to decorate (this year all the decorations did double duty,
because her birthday party was "fall festival" themed) which then go over planting beds in the back
for winter protection. The corn stalks (we grow them...got some from our friend Ed too) get composted as well.
We are also keeping Halloween even closer to home this year. No driving to go trick or treating
with friends and relatives all over creation. I know they love to see the costumes, but come on,
how much trick or treating should there be? This year we will spend at home with our friend and her daughter.
We will make cupcakes to be decorated, a picture to color, a craft, a game, we will watch
The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
and trick or treat a couple of blocks behind us (we are on a main road without sidewalks)
and come home for homemade pizza. It's tradition. I am taking it back!
I will also not be buying any pre-packaged mini candy. This is all a scam to make people pay more for less.
There was one case of a razor in an apple years ago, the child's step mother did it.
OK, I cannot find a link to support that, but honestly..instead of allowing candy manufacturers to make a fortune off your fear...use common sense.
Worried about someone putting something in that cookie or apple?
Don't knock on their door. Don't know them well enough to eat food from their kitchen? Don't knock on their door. Let's take back the traditions of knowing our neighbors, little children do not need to go farther than their own neighborhoods to trick or treat. Children who have more stamina than that are probably too old to trick or treat anyway. I know it's radical.
Really want to make a difference? How about Trick or Treat for Unicef?So what are you doing to "green up" your Halloween?
I'd love to hear your ideas!
5 comments:
Yes, yes, yes!
Good for you!
I'm glad my two youngest kids are talking about skipping Trick-or-Treat this year.
It did cross my mind, though, that Hallowe'en night would be a great time to launch a can drive for Habitat for Humanity. There are now collection sites all over town for cans for Habitat. Spread a little awareness while collecting a can or two at each stop ... I wonder if the "almost too old to trick-or-treaters" would go for that!
I wonder if I could free-cycle a couple of Mr Jimmy masks!!! :-D
Have I mentioned how much I love your Saturday posts?
I agree so much about the overblown hysteria about Halloween.
I see trick-or-treating as a good way to go out and meet the neighbors, anyway.
I love your suggestions! Your plan for Halloween looks wonderful. We might take up a few of those ideas!
I catch your blog now and then via Patience and Angela. I had to comment here as this is how I feel about Halloween. This year I declared that costumes had to come from home or the thrift shop. Last week our thrift shop had a Halloween bash where they pulled out all the costumes and craziness that had come in over the year. I had fun figuring out Halloween costumes for the first time ever and the girls admitted that they did too!
Since I sew, Halloween is always a chance to make the kids some new PJ's. This year, HP is going as Princess Leia, so that is a new white flannel night gown. Carbon is going as Darth Vader, so we made him a black sweat suit and cape. The cape won't be reusable as PJ's but a black cape will be so many things in the dress up box!
And we are also doing Reverse Trick-or-treat, handing out Fair Trade chocolate with explanation cards to our neighbors when we go out with the kids.
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