I didn’t grow up celebrating Halloween, but I love the way it leads to communities getting to know each other a bit more, and the joy it brings kids (big and small) who dress up and trick or treat. I’m looking forward to it! 

I was at the supermarket and saw all the plastic Halloween stuff for sale, and thought I’d share some tips on how you could celebrate it in a more eco-friendly way. 

🦜If you’re decorating your house please consider using decorations that don’t harm wildlife or the environment (but still look great). 

❌ Avoid those synthetic spider webs with the fake plastic spiders. They’re hazardous to things that get caught in them like flying foxes, bats, possums, gliders, lizards, insects and birds. They don’t break down like real spider webs which many small birds use in making nests and risk chicks becoming entangled. Those plastic spiders are potentially dangerous to anything that preys on them. Just because you see them at the big supermarkets, $2 dollar shops and big box retailers like KMart, Big W and Bunnings doesn’t make them okay.

🕸️ If you want a creepy crawly vibe: Replace them with DIY spider webs made using knitting wool or old bed sheets (both often available very cheap at the op shop), or buy a big piece of cotton cheesecloth and cut it into strips. 

❌ Avoid buying poor quality plastic decorations that just end up in landfill and will remain on earth for thousands of years.

Create your own more natural decorations instead, like:

🕷️Spooky paper cut outs on your front window

🦇 Cardboard bats hanging upside down on your front fence

🪦 Cardboard tombstones 

🧙‍♀️Witches broomsticks made out of twigs and sticks held together with twine or jute

👻 Ghosts made by stuffing a towel into a white sheet and hanging it in a tree

‼️ ’Danger ahead’ signs warning of zombies on cardboard or even drawn in chalk on a concrete driveway or footpath

 🔊Use music (ie a wifi speaker on the front porch) to play scary music or sound effects (some organ music can sound particularly creepy!)

🎃 Create your own pumpkin jack-o-lantern (compost/green bin it afterwards!)

 This year, I’ll be giving away lollies in small cardboard boxes (Smarties) instead of individual plastic wrapped lollies.

If you’re going trick or treating consider take a reusable bag (maybe get kids to decorate an old pillowcase or a brown paper bag with handles) instead of buying a plastic pumpkin basket that you’re likely to throw away straight after Halloween. 

I hope you have fun, I will!

By Jen Willis