10 Easy tips for parents to ensure a successful and sustainable halloween season

It’s Halloween season and if you’re like us, you’re ready to give ’em pumpkin to talk about – see what we did there? So we’ve compiled our favourite easy tips for a successful and sustainable Halloween season, filled with DIY costumes and decorations, spooky recipes and harmless pranks that are sure to amuse the kids.

1. Let’s start with one of our favourites, the octopus costume!

Simple really, just fill four pairs of stockings with fabric/wool/cotton and attach them all together to a belt. This can be tied or sewn depending on your skill level. Those are your tentacles! Dress your little one in a colour that matches the tentacles and stick some cut out paper eyes onto their shirt. And there you have it, a super easy costume that’s bound to impress! All ready to wiggle around town! 

2. Ever thought of how cute your little one would look dressed as a scarecrow?

You’ll likely have all that’s needed in your child’s wardrobe, so no last minute Amazon order needed! All you’ll need for this one are some overalls, a checkered shirt, a straw hat (though any hat will do really) and some face paint – okay okay, a bit of face painting skill might be helpful here too!

3. Let’s talk decorations! You know those egg cartons that make your recycling bin overflow? Yes those ones will make some wonderful upcycled bats! For this one, you’ll need to do the following:

• cut your egg carton so you have three ‘pots’ in a row
• Paint it black
• Stick on some googly eyes
• Attach an orange ribbon to the middle pot so you can hang your bat

4. I’m sure you saw this one coming, but what about a white sheet ghost?

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Get a white sheet, pop two black circles on it (We recommend you cut them out of black/coloured paper and stick them on rather than draw directly on the sheet). Now pop a hanger in the sheet to get the desired shape and attach it somewhere high so it hangs!

5. Cotton cobwebs!

Easy peasy, whether you use them as decorations or as part of a costume, gently separate the cotton strands into the shape you want and there you go, easy peasy cobwebs!

To get the halloween spirit resonating throughout your home, you’re going to want a healthy and spooky Halloween menu, we have you sorted!

6. Scary Peppers

Ingredients:

• Quinoa/barley/orzo pasta
• Tomato paste
• Whole peppers
• Aubergines
• Spices

 Directions:

• Cut the top off the peppers (keeping the tops to one side)
• Carve out the seeds and white parts inside the peppers. 
• Carefully carve eyes and a spooky smile onto each pepper, as you would do on a pumpkin.
• Cook your grain of choice (e.g. quinoa), and add to the previously prepared vegetable stir fry. We love it with onions and aubergines but you can add any vegetables you like. Then add the tomato paste and spices to taste (e.g. paprika, pepper, nutmeg). 
• Fill the pepper with your grain stir fry, cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until the peppers look soft!

7. Spooky Burgers

Ingredients: 

• Vegan burger patties
• Lettuce
• Ketchup or tomato chutney
• Burger buns
• Vegan cheese slices
• Cucumber slices
• Pickles
• Olives
• Toothpicks

Directions:

• Cook your burger patties and cut the burger buns in half. 
• Start building your burger by adding a lettuce leaf. Add your burger patty, a couple of vegan cheese slices cut in triangles, so they come out in a zig zag shape, mocking teeth. 
• Add one cucumber slice spilling outside like a tongue and plenty of ketchup, the perfect blood lookalike. 
• Close the burger with the top part of the bun. 
• Put a toothpick through a pickled gherkin and sink two on each side of the burger, like horns. Then do the same with two olives, and place the sticks between the two gherkin sticks, for eyes. Your spooky burgers are now ready to eat!

8. Monster Eggs

Ingredients: 

• Eggs
• Mayo
• Mustard
• Paprika
• Tabasco
• Food colouring
• Vinegar

Directions:

• Boil some eggs for 10 minutes
• Once ready, submerge them in different containers with food colouring, water and a tablespoon of vinegar. 
• Gently tap the eggs with a spoon, to make the egg shell crack.
• Do not remove the shell and leave them to soak overnight (or for a few hours).
• Peel the eggs and marvel at their colourful veins. 
• Cut the eggs in half, pop the yolks into a bowl and mix them with mayonnaise, paprika, mustard and spices of choice, to create a nice orange colour. 
• Put the mixture back into the egg whites and sprinkle paprika over the eggs, leaving a few drops of tabasco on the plate too.

Now for some super easy pranks!

9. Colourful Surprise

Put food colouring in the milk so when your child pours their milk over their cereal, they will have a colorful surprise!

10. The curious fridge

Put googly eyes on all items in your fridge so when someone opens the fridge they will be watched!

We hope our 10 easy tips will make it into your Halloween plans! If they do, send over some photos, we’d love to see your creations!