The spooky season is upon us, and the shops are filled with all things Halloween. Halloween can be a sustainable shopper’s worst nightmare, as cheap plastic decorations and costumes fill the shelves, and single-use Halloween items are in the highest demand. This can present a predicament for anyone who loves Halloween but hates waste.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can make your Halloween party sustainable and enjoy all the spooky season has to offer without guilt. The right shopping habits, homeware and waste management tactics are crucial to help you throw a sustainable Halloween party.
Make Some Tasty Vegan Treats
Many of the Halloween treats you can find in supermarkets are not the best options for sustainability. Making your own treats and finger food for the party can be an excellent way to ensure that your party food has a minimal impact on the planet. This can include homemade vegan goodies, which provide health benefits as well as improved sustainability. There are plenty of recipes online to choose from that can help you cater to any taste and dietary needs.
Serve Drinks In Reusable Cups
Plastic or cardboard single-use cups are one of the biggest issues for any party. You need to provide cups for your guests to drink from, but you might not want to use anything breakable like glass, particularly for a party with kids. An excellent compromise could be reusable plastic cups that will serve you well for this party and many more to come. You could look for Halloween-themed reusable party cups or choose something more generic, like red Solo cups. Make sure to give them a good clean after use and store them safely for your next party.
Buy Your Pumpkins Locally
What is Halloween without pumpkins? Pumpkins make an excellent addition to Halloween décor for your party, and carving them can be a fun party activity for guests of all ages. Rather than sourcing your pumpkins from a supermarket, where they may have traveled many miles to end up on the shelves, consider visiting a local pumpkin patch to buy the pumpkins for your party. This can also make for a fun, Halloween-themed day out for you and your family – a definite win-win!
Choose A Theme
The theme for your party can make a big difference in how sustainable it ends up being. For instance, the more niche a theme is, the more likely guests are to buy a new costume that may only end up being used once. Making your theme a broader one can be a great way to ensure that guests can reuse their costumes from previous years. Check out some of these fun Halloween party themes that allow guests plenty of choice in what to wear to your party. Greenvelope has some excellent ideas for making your Halloween party as fun and sustainable as possible.
Compost Any Leftover Food
It is best to send leftovers home with your guests when possible, but if you still have food left over that you won’t be able to eat in time, composting is the way to go. This will ensure that nothing from your party ends up in landfill, and with the added bonus of making some natural food for your plants and garden.
Encourage Thrift Store Costume Shopping
An excellent way to make your Halloween party more sustainable is by challenging guests to find their costumes in thrift stores. This will make guests get more inventive with their costumes and discourage guests from buying single-use costumes online or in-store.
Do A Costume Swap
A lot of people have costumes tucked away in storage, just begging to be used again. If that’s the case for you and your guests, then having a costume swap just before the party can be an excellent choice. You could invite a few friends over and ask them to bring the costumes they have with them; then, everyone can choose a new costume from among the ones available.
Make Your Own Halloween Decorations
Making your own decorations out of things you have at home can be an excellent way to make your Halloween party more sustainable. You could make ghosts from old bedsheets, turn egg cartons into bats, and make spiderwebs out of yarn. You could also ask around for any Halloween decorations friends and family may be able to lend you or look for options in thrift stores.
Final Thoughts
Halloween can be great fun for kids and adults alike, and throwing a sustainable Halloween party is not as difficult as it may sound. You’ll need to consider everything from the food served to the costumes to the décor to find the best possible sustainable options and prevent waste. Start planning well in advance to give you the best chance at succeeding in your sustainable party planning.