JJ says "Happy Halloween!" on behalf of Reclaimed Threads
Halloween is such a fun holiday. You get to dress up, eat candy and spend time with friends. Halloween can also be one of those holiday where you buy tons of things that you use once and then throw away. This year why not try to find some ways to be one of the people who celebrate sustainably?! Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing…
General Party Ideas:
Kids Konserve, Party Pak
Utensils, plate and platters. Even though this may seem scarier to you then the scariest Halloween costume, try using reusable utensils, serving plates and platters instead of disposable ones! You can use them year after year and won’t contribute to the massive amounts of trash during any holiday season! Here is a great Party Pak from Kids Konserve: http://store.kidskonserve.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=KKPP. You get 25 of each item: plates tumblers, fork, knives and spoons. All of the items are made from 100% recycled yogurt containers and are BPA, Lead and Phthalate free. Great deal.
Green Planet Parties
Decorations and other “Good”ies. If you are looking for your one stop sop for green Halloween decoartions and such, look no further! Green Planet Parties has everything you need. I was blon away at the selection of great products they have. This is a defite must see so check them out here: http://www.greenplanetparties.com/category_43/Halloween.htm
Children Party Activities/ Decorations:
Make some Scarecrows! This is a really fun activity and give you the opportunity to use up some old cloths and newspapers. You can form a couple of groups and have a contest!
Reclaimed Threads' Trick or Treat Bag, now available at Lil' Green Wagon in Southern CA
Decorate Trick or Treat bags! Every year we used pillowcases as trick or treat bags. You can do the same and let you children decorate theirs with fabric scraps and old clothing. Either glue them on or this would be a great opportunity to teach your children how to hand sew!
Starched T-Shirt Ghost at Kaboose.com
The Starched T-Shirt Ghost. I used to love making these when I was little. You can use an old T-shirt and some clothing starch to create a little ghost decoration for your house! Here is are some nice instructions for this project: http://crafts.kaboose.com/starched-tshirt-ghost.html.
Tombstones, coffins and other decorations can be made out of cardboard. Get creative and use those materials again before you recycle them. If you have scrap wood laying around use those too and save them for use again next year!
Costumes
Costumes on Etsy.com
You can always make your own costume, but you can also go on Etsy.com and find handmade costumes! http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=handmade&search_query=halloween+costume&order=date_desc&ship_to= There are many people who can probably work with you too, to make something really unique. Check back this Thursday, October 22, for other Halloween items off Etsy.com.
I can’t remember where I heard this idea awhile back but you can have a costume exchange party! No one uses a costume more than a couple of times so you can get them in really good condition and get rid of your child’s costume from years past! Plus it’s an excuse to get your friend’s together!
Trick or Treat! – What Will You Be Handing Out?
Global Exchange for Fair Trade Items
The Global Exchange Store is another one stop shop, this time for all Fair Trade goodies. They can be found at: http://www.globalexchangestore.org/category-s/263.htm
Little bags of popcorn
Caramel apples! (you can use locally grown apples if you live near an orchard!!)
Dried Fruit
Pamela's Products
Home-made gluten-free cookies. Listen, you might be think EWWWW but hear me out. I thought I had a Gluten intolerance, turns out I don’t but for a few weeks I was eating a gluten free diet. I came across Pamela’s products, you can find them in the baking section of most grocery store’s “naturals section”. But I got the pancake and baking mix and OH MY GOD! I am telling you these are the best cookies! I still make my cookies from this mix because they are that good! Anyways if you want to offer cookies, definitely use this mix and don’t tell people that they are gluten-free so that they give them a chance! http://www.pamelasproducts.com/
To Wrap Up
Try using as many repurposed items as you can in your projects! You can use these opportunities to educate your children on recycling and how it is important to use up what you already have before buying something new. If you have favorite Halloween craft ideas, share them here!
Also try to buy items that can used year after year. Not only is this good for the environment but for your wallet as well! Why buy new things veery year?! If you want to have different things each year, then think about bring that costume exchange party to a new level and have a Halloween items exchange party and include any and all things Halloween!
About Reclaimed Threads: Reclaimed Threads is a sustainable bag company launched by Katherine DeSantis. Katherine is a 20-something entrepreneur combined her love of being creative and sustainably conscious to form the company. Every bag is handmade by Katherine from reclaimed, vintage and organic/sustainable materials. There are a variety of style bags and products to chose from! Her shop is at: www.reclaimedthreads.etsy.com.
Reclaimed Threads 