Erika Hardison of Reviewed.com offers “10 ways to make it fun for kids at home” on Halloween. (The tips are good for adults too, if you’re like me and enjoy Halloween.)
I like the idea of making homemade treats to eat at home. (In fact, in past years I’ve thought of reducing single-use plastic trash by giving out homemade candy. But I’ve never ended up doing that, and I’m not sure how it’d go over in a pandemic world.)
I particularly like this tip about kids’ costumes: “No need to spend a lot of money on costumes for your growing kids when you can just make a fun outfit that can double as their everyday clothes. Primary is the source for all trendy, genderneutral clothes for infants, toddlers, big kids and adults. You can turn regular clothes into funny pop culture references. The best part is that these Halloween outfits can also be part of your kid’s wardrobe after Halloween which means you will save money.”
The tip about an indoor scavenger hunt for candy is another fun one, if you’ve got family or housemates living with you.
My Halloween plans this year will probably involve a large bowl of wrapped candy (though I don’t like the plastic trash) which I will put out on a table at the bottom of the driveway for people to help themselves. I’ve thought of scooping loose unwrapped candy into little paper bags; that might be a greener choice than the plastic-wrapped stuff.
I may also invite neighbors to stop by for social-distance cocktails, but probably not. For sure, a friend and I are going to sit in the “outdoor living room” (my driveway, which is furnished with outdoor furniture and potted plants — benefit of car-free life!) and watch the Madea Halloween movie on a portable DVD player.
Do you celebrate Halloween? What are some of your favorite tips for having fun while saving money, minimizing environmental impacts, and safeguarding public health?
Finally, I want to express my appreciation to my local paper, the Daytona Beach News-Journal, for running the article mentioned above. As well as many other articles I’ve referenced on this blog. I consider the News-Journal pretty darn good as local papers go. I particularly appreciate their climate-related coverage.
(Another article in today’s News-Journal talks about an alternative approach to “school picture day.” Some schools are doing it the old way but with hand sanitizer and all that. But some schools offering online learning are now letting kids take their own selfies at home and upload them to the photo company. Sounds kinda cool! I tended to dread picture day as a kid, but if home selfies had existed, I might have enjoyed it more. As well as being potentially more fun and convenient, and eliminating the public-health risk, it could be more eco-friendly since presumably you cut out the need for a bunch of hand-sanitizer and other stuff.)