Polly, the Morticia of recycling, tells us how she stays spooky and sustainable at Halloween:
Halloween is my favourite time of the year. I love any reason to get dressed up and to make my house look spooky!
But as someone that cares about the environment, I hate to see all the single-use items we use once and then bin. So, this year I’ve challenged myself to waste less. Here’s how I got into a Hallo-green mindset.
Decorations:
The shops are full of cheap decorations that I’m desperate to buy to spookify my house. But not this year. Instead, I’ve invested in quality spooks and got crafty to make them last longer.
I’ve also done some upcycling to make stuff last longer. I’ve strengthened some flimsy polystyrene gravestones with bamboo sticks. Making them windproof, they’ve now lasted three years. Much better than replacing them every year!
Battery- powered lights and decorations are great, but they don’t always last more than a single year. Instead of buying new, I get a handy screwdriver and replace the batteries to make my decorations last longer.
Pumpkins:
I love pumpkins. They come in so many different colours, shapes and sizes. And that’s why I hate that so many of them are wasted. Over the years I’ve found recipes ranging from cakes and pies, to curries, risotto and even pumpkin macaroni cheese.
Pumpkins are so versatile and you can mix them with a whole range of spices and have your own October feast.
Here are some of my favourite recipes:
Pumpkin Macaroni Cheese Recipe – Great British Chefs
Pumpkin risotto with hazelnut butter – easy dinner recipe
Pumpkin cake recipe | Good Food
Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Pumpkin Soup – RecipeTin Eats
Top tip: October brings rainy, dark days and I like to use pumpkins to keep my daughter busy. Using water-based paint, we decorate them early in the month. When I’m ready to cook, I give them a good wash and cook them. Please make sure you scrub off all the paint, water-based paint is considered non-toxic but it’s not worth taking any risks when it comes to cooking them!
When we’re ready to carve our spooky pumpkins, I make them with big eyes, a wide mouth and use the scraps to make pumpkin puree. These make delicious cookies. I roast the seeds with sugar and cinnamon and add them to my cookie mix.
Remember that any parts of the pumpkin you don’t eat can be recycled in your food and garden bin where it will be turned into compost right here in the North West.
Sweets:
Trick-or-treat is a must in our household and I start stockpiling sweets from the beginning of October. Recently I’ve noticed that sweets come with more plastic than ever. You can’t recycle plastic sweet wrappers at home, but you can take them to a soft plastic collection point in supermarkets. I collect all mine in a bread bag and take it when it’s full. Even eating sweets can be guilt free!
Talking of sweets, last year my daughter collected two whole bags of them. Trying to be conscious of the amount of sweets a little one should have, I did my maternal duty of eating as many as I could … but this year, I’m making my own ice cream using gummies, brownies using chocolates and hopefully many more treats to take on our Sunday picnics.
Costumes:
Since becoming a mum, Halloween costumes have become a cute tradition. But with growth spurs and fashion trends, they are becoming an expensive trend. This year like many households, we’ve been singing and dancing to the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack non-stop, and it was no surprise when my daughter said she wanted to dress up as one of the Hunt/X.
I set myself a challenge – could I create this ‘golden outfit’ from second-hand clothes in charity shops. Sourcing the shorts was a difficult task in autumn but somehow we managed to get them, plus a t-shirt and leather jacket in my local shops. We added some necklaces and the result, in my daughters words was “I will look so awesome, I’m gonna be Golden!” The great thing about it is that after Halloween, I can sell the clothes on vinted!
Halloween doesn’t need to cost your pocket, or the planet, if you make the right decisions. If you make your own decorations and costumes, you can have a great fun family fuelled month.
