The Clock is Ticking!

Only 4 more days ’til Halloween!  Here are a few last minute green Halloween ideas to help you put the final touches on your Halloween decorations, and your party.

Recycled Pumpkin

Here’s a great recycling idea!  This pumpkin decoration is made from an empty laundry detergent jug.  Just add some construction paper facial features and leaves, and a green pipe cleaner to complete the look, and this would make a cute table centerpiece.  You could also hang these recycled Halloween decorations from their handles with string.

Homemade Halloween Treats

Whatever you do, don’t forget about the treats, or you’ll be the target of every trickster in the neighborhood!  Homemade Halloween snacks are always a better alternative than prepackaged, trash-generating items.  Here are some fun ideas for decorating Halloween cupcakes.

Think Ahead!

Why not plan a costume exchange for next year?  What a waste to get only one use out of Halloween costumes!  Before you put everything away, invite the neighbor kids, cousins, co-workers,etc. over for a quick costume exchange.  You’ll be saving money, and reducing landfill waste.

As you search for green Halloween ideas, don’t forget about solar powered Halloween decorations to help create some ghastly fun and a spooky atmosphere for your Halloween party.  With these solar powered decorations, you won’t have to worry about wasting energy, running up your power bill, or adding disposable batteries to landfills.

The solar powered corpse above is 16 inches tall, and holds a solar lantern.  Place the corpse at  ground level to create the look the it is emerging from the ground.  A built-in solar panel charges the included rechargeable batteries during the day, and the lantern automatically turns on at night.  There is an on/off switch if you don’t want to use the automatic feature. The solar corpse is available at Oriental Trading Company.

Here’s more green Halloween décor.  This string of of solar powered LED lights will operate for up to 8 hours from one day of charging in the sun.  The strand of Halloween lights is 26 feet long, and is comprised of 60 individual LED light bulbs that are rated to last 100,000 hours.  I found the solar powered Halloween lights at Improvements for $24.97.

Here’s the best idea in green Halloween decorations I’ve seen yet- a wreath made from garlic. Not only will this garlic wreath make an all natural addition to your Halloween décor, but you will have a good dose of vampire repellent hanging right on the front door (just in case). Here’s some information on garlic and vampire folklore to share at your Halloween party.

And don’t forget about solar-powered Halloween decorations for great green Halloween ideas. This evil little gargoyle is solar-powered, and he’ll creep out your guests with his illuminated green eyes when it gets dark. One of these on each side of your front steps would make a very Gothic entrance to your Halloween party. I found the gargoyle at Online Discount Mart.

Are you frightened by the amount of waste that can be generated from Halloween? In addition to the amount of trash that comes from practically disposable Halloween costumes, plastic treat bags, and Halloween decorations, there is the issue of which Halloween treats you’ll choose to give to all the little ghosts and goblins that show up at your door. This year, consider giving up the usual individually-wrapped candies in favor of green Halloween treats that go a lot easier on the environment. Here are a few ideas:

Recycled pencils- These recycled pencils are available in recycled denim, recycled currency, and recycled paper.

Recycled stickers- A creative Halloween treat for trick-or-treaters. These recycled Halloween stickers are made from 30% post-consumer content.

Soy crayon rocks- These rock-shaped crayons, pictured above, are made of soy. You get 16 per package, so you can treat your Halloween visitors with one or two per person.

Sweet Halloween treats- If you really want to include a sweet treat for your trick-or-treaters, there are many options in both fair trade Halloween candy and candy that comes in recycled or biodegradable packaging. Here’s more information on green Halloween candy from National Geographic.