Finding cheap, environmentally friendly ways to celebrate
By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
Halloween is probably only second to Christmas as being the most disposable holiday. If you think about it, all those candy wrappers, the costumes youâll wear one time and then forget about, the paper decorations that will be going straight into the trash after the Vancouver weather does a number on themâit all leads up to one big, wasteful evening of fun and fancy. As a conservationist, I should despise Halloween, but I donât. Itâs actually my favourite holiday! The trick is to know how to make your Halloween as Hallogreen as possible.
It all starts with decorations. I mean, you want to entice those adorable trickâor-treaters to come to your house (which is really creepy if you think about it), so you have to have some decorations, right? A jack-âo-lantern, some fake cobwebs, maybe a ghost or two? Now Iâm not saying get rid of the pumpkin, that would just be blasphemy (plus, itâs biodegradable), but it is a good idea to plan your decorations to either be reusable, or not made of paper and plastics. By reusable, I mean donât fall for the gimmicky paper and cardboard cut-outs at the dollar store. Sure, paper is biodegradable, but it still ends up in a landfill on November 1.
Instead, go for decorations that will be able to stand up to the changing Vancouver weather. Rather than tissue paper, use white garbage bags for your ghosts. Theyâll be water-proof, and you can reuse them as actual garbage bags once Halloween is over. My next suggestion is to invest in some festive lightsâlike Christmas but better, because ghosts and pumpkins beat Santas and candy canes any day. Having festive lights automatically makes your house look Halloween-y, so you can ditch those fake cobwebs, which are a pain to put up and you throw out every year. Plus, lights have the added bonus of making your house look more inviting to children (again, this is creepy). Theyâll be more willing to brave your doorstep if they know for sure there will be a candy reward.
Of course nothing beats a good old fashioned DIY. Your decorations will be extra Hallogreen and impressive if they donât look like everyone elseâs on the block. So hit up Pinterest and see how you can turn your garbage into something masterful and spooky. Last year I turned milk jugs into light-up day of the dead skulls. This year Iâve been collecting toilet paper rolls so I can turn them into evil eyes that will peek out from the six-foot hedge that surrounds my house.
My last tip, and probably the simplest to follow, is about costumes. Vancouver is an amazing city for finding discount thrift costumes. I mean, come on, we have pop-up stores specifically devoted to it. If youâre in need of a costume, maybe try something thriftedâchances are it will be cheaper than buying something new, and far better quality. With this comes my annual dreading of the release of fad costumes. You know the kind, the ones that are funny and/or topical. I hate fad costumes; I think theyâre ridiculous and a huge waste. Not only are they oftentimes insulting to a portion of the population, but theyâre also completely useless after that year (Iâm looking at you, Caitlyn Jenner costume). I get it, you donât want to be known as the person that wears the same Halloween costume every year, but that doesnât mean that you canât donate your costume when youâre done with itâor pass it on to a family member or friend when theyâre in need of something fast next year. Fad costumes eliminate that option.
Halloween is a fantastic and fun holiday that is pretty unique in the pantheon of festivities. So enjoy all the candy and costumes, without your environmental conscience nagging you.
