Who doesn’t love Halloween? All the decorating, costumes and awesome themed parties. It’s the most creative time of year, in my opinion. And this year is going to be even better.
You want to know why? Because this year I’m going to help you throw the most sustainable party you’ve ever thrown on Halloween.
No need to frighten the earth with more plastic when you can get even more creative than usual with sustainable options. And it’s not hard to do either.
Everything you need for a sustainable Halloween party
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The decor
Thrift
I probably put thrifting as an option in almost all of my posts. And it’s because you really can buy anything secondhand. Lots of people are selling their old stuff and Halloween decor is no different.
You can even swap your old decor with your friends if you’re on a budget. It can be really fun.
Buy sustainable
There are a few party places who have sustainable decor. You can get all sorts of things from garlands to beeswax candles. A lot of party shops have eco-friendly products now.
But if you’re going to buy anything new, make sure you can reuse it, if only for your annual Halloween party.
There is one shop I have seen, called Ecopartytime, that sell decorations by colour. Which is great because you can then reuse them again apart from Halloween.
Reuse
Who is really going to notice if you reuse your old decor? And if they do I’m sure they won’t mind. Rearrange some things and use what you have in a different way than you did last year.
I reuse all the decor from my past parties in some way or another at Halloween. Because student budget, ya know?
DIY
Now is your time to get crazy creative with random objects from home. You can do almost anything with toilet paper rolls.
Got an old wig lying around? Put it on one of your houseplants and call it Felicia. (don’t ask me why)
Use old sheets as drapes to get that haunted house effect in your entertainment area.
And if you need more inspiration you can Pinterest it. I’ve done a search and there are some amazing ideas on there.
Using things you would’ve thrown away also helps reduce your general waste and not just your Halloween waste. And once you’ve made your DIY decorations you can reuse them next year.
The cutlery
Reusables
You can always get plastic plates and use them for other events later. I have been using the same stack of about 50 plastic plates at every party hosted at my house for years.
And they will likely be used for years to come. The same goes for cups and cutlery.
Using glass is even better. That way you can throw a plastic-free party. Also, rethink getting things that you know nobody uses, like napkins. Rather give someone a cloth if they do need one.
Buy sustainable
But if you don’t want to be stuck cleaning up for hours afterwards, you can always get biodegradable cutlery that you can throw in the compost without feeling guilty.
Lots of party shops these days do sell biodegradable cutlery. Just keep an eye out for them.
I know of one shop called Susty Party, but I’m sure a good internet search will bring up other online shops with biodegradable cutlery.
Not just for your plate ware but decorations and other things too. Ecopartytime also sells sustainable cutlery.
The food
Vegan
Serving vegan can be somewhat of a challenge if you haven’t done it before. But it’s not impossible. There are many recipes on Pinterest that are easy to make and quite delicious. You won’t even miss the meat.
Many recipes you can adapt to be vegan by simply using nut milk instead of cow’s milk. Elmhurst Milked has many milk alternatives you can use that are nutritious and delicious.
You can even have a vegan pumpkin spice latte station with their barista editions made specifically for coffee.
Vegan foods are more sustainable because it takes less water and land to grow them than it does to grow meat. It also reduces your carbon footprint.
No Beef
If vegan is not an option for you then you can always just leave out the beef. It’s cheaper and you can always substitute with chicken.
Beef uses the most water and land to grow and has the biggest carbon footprint of all food sources. So letting it go makes your food more sustainable.
Portion it out
Make sure you know exactly how many people are coming to the party so you don’t overcompensate the food and create food waste.
Portioning out the food will make sure everyone gets enough and minimizes leftovers, which will go bad anyway.
If you do get leftovers you can always tell your guests to take some home.
Snacks
We baked a spooky pumpkin spiced cake instead of having a lot of plastic-wrapped snacks. You can bake a vegan cake by substituting the eggs with aquafaba (chickpea water) and vegan milk alternatives.
But if you like putting out snacks and entertaining trick or treaters, you can get natural, organic sweets plastic-free or buy in bulk to minimize the packaging.
The costume
Reuse
If you still have your old costumes you can do a mashup and reuse elements of them. Cyborg zombie princess anyone? That would look really cool.
Or you can dress normally and let your makeup complete the costume. That way you don’t have to go out and buy a whole new costume.
You can take your old clothes and turn them into something completely different. Which makes sure your clothes don’t go to landfill, reducing even more waste.
Thrift
Like I said before, you can buy anything secondhand. Just like with the decor, there must be many people selling their old costumes. And you can exchange costumes with your friends too.
You can have a Halloween swapping party. Two parties in one month, I’d be all for it.
Buy ethical
Ok, so I haven’t found a shop online where you can buy ethical Halloween costumes. But maybe your Google skills are better than mine. Let me know in the comments if you know about one so we can spread the word.
Also, a lot of costume shops have the option to rent instead of buy. Which is a much better option for something you’ll only wear once.
Party favours/ prizes
DIY
You know a party with a best-dressed competition is a good party. You can make great trophies with things around the house or debris from outside.
Pinterest, again, has great examples. You can even upcycle some things and turn them into epic prizes.
And that’s it, all you need to throw a sustainable Halloween party. Have some fun with it. I would love to hear how it goes.
I really hope this article was helpful to you. I’m sure your party is going to be spooky amazing. Now you can have a great time knowing this Halloween will have a much smaller impact on the planet.
Let me know in the comments if I missed anything and how you make your Halloween parties sustainable.
Cheers for now,
Pin for later:
Related:
- The ultimate zero-waste gift guide
- How to shop ethically on a student budget
- How to decrease your carbon footprint
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