By Cecilia Toro
It doesn’t take much to recognise that Halloween is one of the most wasteful decorating holidays. The packaging, the non-recyclable plastics, the toxic materials – THAT’s scary enough to spook you year-round. And yet, some of us still prefer getting store-bought decorations rather than spending a few moments looking for other options.
I remember that part of the reason I loved buying decorations was that, though a very crafty kid, I wasn’t all too talented and my DIY crafts always came out looking a little questionable. To this day, my arts and crafts look as they did years ago.
And so, shopping for Halloween decorations was a sort of saving grace, and certainly an activity that made me forget all about my own decorations. I could finally discern a pumpkin from a weird bat-seagull hybrid and that, for me, was the most thrilling part about store-bought Halloween decorations.
However, my family and I had accumulated so many Halloween decorations over the years that we wanted to think of new ways of celebrating and decorating that didn’t depend on overspending unnecessarily.
“When it comes to eco-friendly Halloween decorations, the greenest option is to use what you have.”
Green Child Magazine/Amity Hoop-Sotko
So, instead of overspending, we opted for recycling, reusing, and going back to DIY days.
Granted, we know that Halloween is “harder to pull off when you’re trying to live more eco-consciously” but, with so many more people trying to live as sustainably as they can, there have been so many new, creative, and helpful ways of being less wasteful during holiday seasons. And, really, there’s no better feeling than making something by yourself or with loved ones.
So, having looked through the trusty internet for DIY ideas, I wanted to share a few of the easiest and cutest (dare I say spookiest!) DIY ideas to make this Halloween a memorable one.
You’ll need: egg cartons, ribbon, paint, glue, googly eyes
This DIY idea has popped up almost everywhere because it’s so accessible and easy to do. If you have any leftover egg cartons, don’t throw them out just yet! All you have to do is cut these up into lines of three, and give them a batty shape. Once that’s done, you can paint them any color you want and glue some eyes on them once the paint dries.
FLOATING CANDLES
You’ll need: toilet paper or paper towel rolls, hot glue gun, paint, fishing line or string, needle or push pins, battery powered tealights, pins
For Harry Potter fans, this one’s great fun. It might not be a Halloweeny classic, but make it one! My sister’s a huge Harry Potter fan so we thought this would be the perfect DIY to make her room feel like a little part of Hogwarts. Check out the instructions here – they’re so easy to follow, making this DIY worth a try!
SPOOKY MASON JARS
You’ll need for ghosts in mason jars: mason jars, cheese cloth or paper towel, liquid starch, wooden “ball knobs” or aluminum foil, wooden spools, wood dowel, hot glue gun, black paint.
for ghost votives: mason jars, googly eyes, white paint, glue.
There are a ton of different ideas on how to use mason jars as creepy decorations, but I loved these two the most because of how equally adorable they are. The ghosts in jars might be a bit trickier but it’s definitely worth the challenge – the end result is so cute and spooky.
If you’d rather stick to quick and easy, though, the ghost votives are less time consuming and just as fun to make.
There are so many eco-friendly ways to celebrate Halloween and hopefully these ideas will inspire you to come up with your own spooky DIYs and enjoy this time of year as sustainably as you can.
Always remember to aim for greener options whenever possible and just have fun!
Cecilia Toro
Recent MA graduate from Durham Uni, focuses on contemporary issues and writes about literature, film, and art. Lover of podcasts, coffee, and gardening.
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