Eco-friendly ideas for Halloween costumes and decorations

Here are some ideas to help you and your family embrace this fun time of year in the most sustainable way possible

Whether you love it or hate it, the fact is that if you have children of a certain age, they’re thinking a lot about Halloween right now. There are probably chats about costumes, decorations, parties and trick-or-treating which could be leaving you feeling a tad overwhelmed.

But while you may not be able to fully explain the price of Halloween (both financially and ecologically) to your child, you can still show them how to have an amazing experience without it costing the earth. Literally.

Here are some of our favourite ideas:

Costumes

• Many of us will remember dressing up in black bin bags as children with three holes cut out of it for our arms and head! And while we know that costumes these days are a bit more sophisticated, thanks in no small part to social media, there’s a lot to be said for looking at what is already in your child’s wardrobe to do your bit for the planet.

• Maybe there is something they have gotten too big for that you can cut up or style into something scary? Or perhaps you can raid your own closet to see if there’s anything that hasn’t seen the light of day in several years that could work?

• If there’s a fancy dress shop in your area or a local theatre, why not see if you can rent a costume for the night?

• Alternatively, your local charity shop is almost certain to have several good quality costumes (that have probably only been worn once) that will be suitable for your child’s trick-or-treating.
  
• If all else fails, use the old reliable hack of cutting up an ancient bed sheet and turning your child into a very convincing ghost!

Face paint

• If your child wants to use special effect makeup or face paint to create a scary look, don’t panic. Made for sensitive skin, organic, and packaged primarily in clever cardboard, the Namaki range of face paint pencils, palettes, hair mascara, and even fake blood is a worry-free, feel-good option for dress-up this year. The products are easy-on and easy-off with a damp soapy facecloth – no rubbing or red faces. They’re available at jiminy.ie.

Pumpkin decorating

• Don’t waste your energy carving a pumpkin only to watch it wilt and get mouldy before Halloween even arrives. Instead, you can decorate it with STABILO Woody solid-paint pencils from Jiminy.ie. Uncarved, it’ll last for a few months, and then when you’re done, you can wash, chop, bake, and eat in a nice pumpkin curry.
  
• If you do decide to do some pumpkin-carving for the big night, make sure to store the fruit and seeds immediately for roasting or turning into pumpkin soup. You can also compost it in your garden.

Window decorating

• The same pencils as above are also wonderful on windows for the spookiest Halloween decorations (that also wipe easily off with a damp cloth in time for Christmas).
  
• Got some old Barbie dolls or toys lying around? Give them a Halloween makeover with some fun artwork or just by twisting their heads around so they give passers-by a fright!

Garden decorating

• Paint empty cardboard boxes grey or black and turn them into gravestones for the front garden to spook trick-or-treaters who come knocking. Add the names of some of the world’s most notorious villains (real or from the movies) for maximum terrifying effect!