How to have an eco-friendly Halloween party

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Parties are great, and a lot of fun but they create so much waste! We spend so much unnecessary money on disposables. No one wants to do tons of washing up, so it’s just much more convenient to buy paper plates, plastic cups, napkins etc. And it is nice to have themed decorations but it is so much more cost-efficient to buy reusable decorations, and it is also far more sustainable. So in this post, I will be sharing how to have an eco-friendly Halloween party.

Featured photo by Craig Dimmick on Unsplash

Eco-friendly Halloween party decorations

The first thing to think about is the actual decorations of the party. For Halloween, it could be harder because it’s themed, but it should still be possible.

Wreath

There are a few options when it comes to a seasonal wreath. Firstly you could make your own by gathering twigs to make the base. Then gather acorns, leaves, pinecones etc. Secondly, you could buy a base*, places like Hobbycraft or Etsy sell them. With this base, you could gather natural decorations and compost them when the season is over. Then you can reuse the base for Christmas, spring etc.

Make bunting

Making your own bunting is one of my favourite things to do! I created pastel bunny-themed bunting for Easter last year which was fun. You can either save it for upcoming years or recycle it if you make it with paper or cardboard. When I was younger, my mum and I made a pumpkin garland/bunting which we brought out every year for October.

I also love the idea of fabric bunting. You can have a standard* one and maybe add different letters. Or you could make or buy a Halloween*-themed fabric one and reuse it every Halloween. You could even share themed bunting amongst your friends and family to avoid any unnecessary purchases.

Use chalkboards

Instead of buying signs for each seasonal party, use a few chalkboards. Rather than buying a chalkboard, you could make one as they are very simple and cheap to make. It is perfect if you have a board-shaped plank of wood/leftover something laying around. Then you just paint a few coats of chalkboard paint*. Voila, you have your own DIY chalkboard! You can write fun messages on them, and change them whenever you want. You can buy different coloured chalk sticks* or pens*. A very simple decoration, but it can be made to look so good.

Candles

There is such a variety of wax melts and candles that you can buy, perfect for any occasion. My personal favourite wax melts are from The Hawthorn Collection, but there are lots of cute ones on Etsy too. I have put a couple of my favourites below*. Candles and wax melts create such a lovely ambience and make the room so cosy.

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Pumpkins

As Halloween gets closer, lots of shops display and sell fake pumpkins. Be that ceramic, plastic, fabric, or wood, there are lots of different options. But in my opinion, the best ones are always the real ones! Pumpkins last for quite a while, so you can decorate your house with pumpkins that you are going to use for carving or cooking. Did you know that carving pumpkins aren’t the best option for cooking? Carving pumpkins tend to be more stringy, whereas cooking pumpkins are thicker so you cook the majority of it. Bare that in mind when you are choosing your pumpkins for decoration. I can’t wait to make my pumpkin-spiced cupcakes this year!

Tin can lanterns

I saw this craft on Pinterest, and now I definitely want to try it! It is a genius way of upcycling old tin cans, and it’s a less wasteful lantern. There are a few slight moderations, but this is the general method:

1. Wash your tin can, and then dry it.
2. Draw the shape you want onto a piece of paper (to size).
3. Put the piece of paper on the tin can.
4. Using a nail and potentially a hammer, make the holes in the outline of your shape.
5. Put a tealight in the bottom
6. Watch your tin can lantern light up!

Dried oranges

Another great eco-friendly Halloween party decoration is dried oranges. You will want to make the dried oranges in advance. You simply cut up your oranges and put them on a baking tray to bake which dries them out. Then you can hang them up or put them in a bowl, like with potpourri.

Related post: How to have a sustainable Halloween

Eco-friendly Halloween costumes

Halloween costumes can be such a struggle, especially if your Halloween party has a theme within itself. This year the theme for the party I’m going to is Twilight. I would love any suggestions because I don’t really want to go as a vampire or a werewolf! I’m thinking of a cat so I can draw leopard spots haha.

Go to charity shops

If you are looking for something specific, charity shops aren’t necessarily the best place to look. But with Halloween coming up, shops are putting out all their related clothing items. You never know, you might find what you are looking for! Charity shops are a great place for accessories and little extras that you might not have thought to buy.

Old clothing

You are bound to have some kind of old clothing that you can transform for Halloween. Annoyingly, my cat ears are at home because I thought I would be going home before Halloween so I didn’t bring them. However, I don’t think it will be too hard to make my own cat ears. I already have a black headband, so I’ll just stick some triangles on top!

Ask friends or family

If you don’t already own what you want, and you don’t want to spend money, ask your friends or family. One of my friends is thinking of going as a fairy, and I have a flower crown that I could lend her. And yes, I did bring a random flower crown to uni!

Vinted

Vinted is an absolute gem of a shop, it is my favourite place for shopping second-hand. You can search for practically anything on Vinted, and there will usually be someone selling it. But I would get searching/buying sooner or later because there are lots of Royal Mail strikes coming up and you need it to arrive in time!

Eco-friendly Halloween treats

I’m not sure if making Halloween food for a house party is something that happens, but I love being creative and I want to try all the Pinterest ideas!

Provide vegetarian or vegan snacks

The most common Halloween treat that I have seen on Pinterest is a frankfurter wrapped in pastry for a mummy. This seems like a fun idea, so I have bought some vegetarian Linda McCartney sausages which I am going to use instead. I think Richmond veggie sausages are vegan, or there are other alternatives. I’m not sure about the pastry, I am going to a ready-to-roll pre-made version.

Make your own

One of the most eco-friendly methods is making your own. As I said before, I am really looking forward to making lots of Halloween treats. There are so many great ideas on Pinterest. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post of 3 Halloween treats to make. Some of them were a bit of a fail, but the cobweb biscuits turned out okay. It would also be fun to make a pumpkin charcuterie board!

Are you planning on having an eco-friendly Halloween party?

Best wishes, Cx