I live too far away from any trick-or-treaters, although I am often tempted to purchase something that reflects the seasons.
But buyer beware!
Halloween can be a costly undertaking – outfitting all of those ghosts and pirates contributes to big business. The average American spends $75.00 on decorations, costumes, and candy topping a total of $6 billion. Now that is scary!
I am following Occupy Wall Street, and while I am ready to go join the demonstrations, I am also considering my moves at home. We can call it “Take Over Halloween”.
One way we can all enjoy the season is to find a local farm and partake in their celebrations. Here on the Vineyard we have Morning Glory Farm’s Pumpkin Fest.
There are alternatives to the usual mass market, preservative-laden sweets. One innovative program I like is Reverse Trick-or-Treating to support Fair Trade.
Let’s take back Halloween from Big Business and Keep it Local and Reuse!
- Stock beeswax (local!) candles.
- Look for treats made with cane sugar and fruit juice.
- Opt out on the candy!
- Opt for popcorn packets, granola bars, nuts and fruit.
- Consider giving away non-food items like seed envelopes, candles, small flashlights.
- Lug your goodies home in a canvas bag, rather than a disposable plastic one or use what I used as a kid; an old pillow case!
- Make your own costume.
- Create a fashion statement by scavenging items from your closet or a local thrift store.
If we can’t partake in Wall Street, we can begin at home.
Related posts:
- Don’t cry over spilt raw milk… I didn’t ever know about or try raw milk until...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Homemade costumes take power away from the corporate/slave produced/consumptive machine and give it back to our kids as they participate in the process. Hallowe’en comes from the holiday of Samhain -old Celtic New Year. This ancient custom of dressing in costume at a time when the veil between the material world and the spirit world is very thin serves to protect one from spirits with bad intentions.
Making costumes is one of my favorite memories from childhood, and now I continue the tradition with my own children. Homemade costumes are fun with a little creativity, a peek in the closet, and a trip to the thrift shop.
For inspiration here are some of the easiest costumes we’ve made over the years…
White Tiger (white turtleneck and leggings painted with black stripes, headband with felt ears glued on, good facepaint, white gloves)
Monk/Nun (orange cotton draped over one shoulder and wrapped)
Robot (box for torso, box for head with holes cut out and painted silver, use your imagination and glue on knobs, rocket packs from pipe insulation, lights, etc)
Pirate (white shirt, cut off frayed pants, vest, big belt, rag for head covering, misc props like eye-patch, toy parrot to sit on shoulder, gold or jewels, wool socks, leather shoes)
Fairy (sew onto a dress some silk flowers, or real leaves, berries, etc., make an apron with leaf or petal-shaped felt or fabric, add wings)
Vampire (creepy dress and subtly white face makeup, red lipstick, blood, hair slicked with gel or aloe vera)
Accident victim (a little gruesome but simple – wrap parts in bandages, torn white sheets, add sling, crutches, blood?, bruise and scar makeup)
Mummy (same idea with torn white sheets over white clothing, use safety pins to attach, add grey makeup around eyes, wrap hair too…this takes a lot of patience in the dressing).