Every year as Halloween approaches, there is a lot of excitement about costumes, candy and carving pumpkins. It is one of the best holidays of the year for our kids. This year, however, it’s all looking a little different. No one is sure what 31st October will bring, so we’ve decided to bring the inspiration to you! We’ve curated an activity filled weekend that can be done at home and in small groups to make sure your little ones don’t feel they’ve missed a trick or a treat!
From clutter to costume
Choosing a costume each year is certainly the highlight of Halloween. Almost every ‘dream-for-a-day’ is just a click away and kids are instantly gratified. What is rarely considered though is the waste that is produced by all of the polyester and plastic costumes consumed each year. According to the Guardian newspaper, a staggering 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste is produced every Halloween. That’s in addition to the 15 million pumpkins binned every year.
Let’s go green this year and create a costume at home instead! We’ve included our top DIY costumes below which are all easy to do and the kids can help as well. Dare we say, they warrant a costume making Halloween party for 6?
Costume ideas
1. Rainbow costume
Turn your leftover delivery boxes into a rainbow shaped coverall for your little one. They can use recycled coloured paper or paints to create the rainbow colours. Using an old duvet or cushion, the filling can be used to make clouds.
2. Delicious Duo
A perfect solution for little siblings and crafty parents, this Delicious Duo will be the highlight of Halloween! Using old sheets, a bit of sewing and some hot glue, this is an adorable project for the whole family to work on.
3. Lemonade & Ice Cream
For a refreshing change from all the spooks around, why not try this Lemonade and Ice Cream stand creation. An easy project for older children and they may even make a few sales along the way!
4. Baby Cow
This Baby Cow is a perfect costume for the super small and a creative way to use things you already have. All you need is a onesie, black paper and some bottle nipples.
5. Paintbrush costume
Have you left it to the last minute? Fear not! Cardboard, paint and spaghetti is all you need for this this Paint Brush costume. You can also use natural decorations such as leaves, acorns and branches to spice it up!
6. Scuba divers
For a simply upcycled costume, these scuba divers are off to search for plastic waste in the Ocean! A perfect way to reuse those old soda bottles and talk to children about the ocean and how they can help the environment.
Pumpkin party ideas
Historically, pumpkins are carved and lit up outside our homes on Halloween. It’s a messy business and not so easy for our littlest heroes to do. We’ve decided to break tradition this year! Why not host a ‘Pumpkin Painting Party’? A small group of your little one’s closest friends can get together to paint pumpkins while they boast about who will have the most candy at the end of the night.
Have a look at our Halloween themed invitations to make the playdate extra special.
Need some inspiration? You are spoiled for choice whether you want to Melt colours on with your crayons and hairdryer or let the kids get really messy with Splatter Paint. For something easy and super sparkly, we love these Bejeweled Pumpkins. Remember to tag us @kindergifts if you share your creations on Instagram!
Halloween hack
The final question remains, what to do with all these left-over pumpkins once the ghosts and ghouls have retired for another year? Halloween is the third largest commercial celebration which results in over 18,000 tonnes of pumpkins being binned each year, enough to make a bowl of soup for everyone in the UK.
The idea of throwing them out is far too wasteful. We’d much rather you try one of these delicious recipes …
We also love these simple food waste reduction tips courtesy of Leighton Buzzard’s Local Directory on how to go green at Halloween.
Don’t forget to recycle your costumes and decorations, and use the pumpkin inners for making some delicious treats.
One last laugh…
“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“Haha! Don’t cry! It’s …
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