The Green Parent

Ready to scare up some Halloween fun this weekend? Decorate in black and orange for your next Halloween party but keep it green with these easy tips. And be sure to have a great, green time!

Invites

• Poo Poo Paper: Skip the usual paper invites that cost a fortune to mail and take forever to fill out. Instead, email an invite to your friends for free (try www.evite.com). If you really want to mail out a card, put the poo poo on paper with an invitation made from elephant dung (www.poopoopaper.com)!

Food

• Keep It Local: Serve locally grown and produced foods to your party guests. If it’s a potluck, challenge your guests to bring a dish that contains locally grown ingredients.
• Pass On Paper: Use dishes, utensils, and napkins that can be washed and reused rather than disposables. If it’s a huge party and dishwashing is not an option, consider purchasing biodegradable plates, cups, and utensils that can be tossed in the compost bin.
• Show Your True Colors: Enlist your kids help in coming up with dishes that show off your Halloween green (and black and orange). Ingredient ideas include black olives, raisins, orange bell peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and green apples.
  

Decorations

• Click here for a ton of Green Halloween decoration ideas

Games

• Bobbing for Apples (another alternative is to tie strings to apples and hang from a tree. Blindfold guests and have them try to chomp one.)
• Pumpkin Carving: Gather up some locally grown pumpkins (click here for more info about pumpkins) from a nearby pumpkin farm and let guests carve or paint their own to take home.
• Recycled Costume Exchange: Have guests bring old costumes from years past or old clothes and props from around their house that can be recycled as costumes. Click here for some great DIY costume ideas.
• Make Your Own Haunted House: Turn old bed sheets into ghoulish ghosts, rocks into creepy spiders, and old dolls into “headless” horsemen! (Be sure to factor in the ages of your guests so as not to frighten little ones)