"Fall Fun" by Ginger Garvey

As Halloween approaches, the seasonal “to-do” list, typically marked with finding the perfect costume and trick-or-treat route, is a bit more complicated with the growing need to protect the environment and manage household budgets. In preparing for your neighborhood ghosts and goblins, try these easy tips and tricks to “go green,” and spend less on your families’ spook-tacular celebration.

Howl to be Green
Incorporating small changes into your holiday preparation will go a long way to create an eco-friendly Halloween. Whether you’re hosting a party or adding colorful flare to the home or office, take inventory of your decorations and go back to nature by using locally-grown pumpkins, apples or fresh gourds to create tabletop and front porch accents. Organic, pesticide-free produce is widely available at farmers markets, grocery and specialty stores and leaves little waste once the celebration ends.

Also look for ways to “re-use” your Halloween accessories. Cloth or canvas shopping bags and pillowcases are great alternatives to paper, plastic bags and more traditional plastic jack-o-lanterns used by many trick-or-treaters to collect candy. Gather fall-colored scraps of fabric, ribbon, buttons or food coloring and spend the afternoon with the kids decorating a recyclable trick-or-treat bag. Use the custom creation to hand out candy at your door and your house will be the hit of the neighborhood.

Howl to Save
Spend less this Halloween by using old or outgrown clothes, sports equipment or dress-up items to make one-of-a-kind costumes. Unpack your graduation gown and buy a gavel at a thrift or prop store to transform your trick-or-treater into a judge. Dust off a wedding gown or bridesmaid’s dress, polish an old pair of pumps and grab a wig from a costume store and you’ve got a princess. Host a costume trading party and make sure everyone comes with old clothing or accessories to trade. Let the kids use their imaginations and see how many new and different costumes come to life.

You can also save by using recyclable household materials to decorate. Bed sheets hung from the ceiling or tree branches make convincing ghosts, as do balloons covered with a white sheet, tied with a ribbon around the neck and black felt tapped on for eyes. The sheets can be taken down, laundered and returned to the linen closet once Halloween is over.

Howl to Have Fun at Home
Consider baking at home this year to get everyone in the Halloween mood. Find unique recipes for Halloween treats that can be used as decorations or centerpieces before you indulge.

Gather everyone around and make creepy “edible eyeballs” with mini white powdered donuts, Life Savers Gummies, red icing and chocolate chips. Cover the hole in the center of the donut with a thin layer of icing and top with a gummy. Next, dip the bottom of a chocolate chip in icing before layering it on the gummy. Make the eyeball scary by drawing lines from the center of the donut to the outer edge with red icing. Finish the treat by poking each donut with a lollipop stick and arranging them in a bowl of candy corn to make a freaky yet tasty centerpiece.

Howl to Be Safe
Set the seasonal mood by decorating trees and sidewalks with lights and lanterns while making it easier for trick-or-treaters to find their way from door to door. Neat, well-lit landscapes make everyone feel more comfortable and confident.

Another simple way to help ghosts and goblins find their way door to door is to use makeup to finish a costume as an alternative to masks. Face paint makes it much easier for trick-or-treaters to see … especially at night.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

If you are the type of person that likes having dinner parties, then have a relaxed buffet with themed food and decorations. If you like dancing and plenty of food, booze and music then plan accordingly. Remember if you do not to take it too seriously; you won’t have to worry about having fun.

Planning

Planning your Halloween fun is the first step to making sure that everything goes well. You don’t have to have detailed checklists – just a rough plan that you can refer to. The most important list is your guest list. Come up with numbers and then start sending out invitations as early as possible.

Numbers are important so that you don’t end up with too much or too little food. Think of what you want to serve, whether you just want to have simple finger food or something more substantial. If you want to have a potluck then make sure everyone is bringing something and that no one has any allergies that you need to inform the others about.

An Angle

Halloween fun can be unusual or it can be ordinary. As long as you’re with your friends then you’ll have fun. Have a screening of your favorite horror films on Halloween. Have everyone come in pajamas. Provide lots of snacks and maybe a bottle of wine or two.

Have a pumpkin themed party. Part of the Halloween fun can include different things made with pumpkin and pumpkin carving. This is great for family gatherings where you can have teams to come up with the best pumpkin carving. Children can have separate games to keep them amused.

You can even take your Halloween fun to the streets. Have an old-fashioned block party. Make sure to get a permit to close off the street. If you live in a close knit community this can be a great fun filled activity for everyone. Contests for best costume are a must in this case. Have games and good music and you’ll find that everyone will get into the spirit of things pretty quickly.