Halloween goes green!

ARCHIVE: October 2013

Top tips for a fun, green Halloween, by Jean Laird

Pumpkins

You can have a lot of fun making a pumpkin lantern, and still be green.

Maybe you have grown your own pumpkin – well done if you have! If you are buying a pumpkin try to buy a locally grown one, or look out for British ones. This will make sure that your pumpkin has not clocked up too many food miles.

Use the scooped out pumpkin flesh to make a tasty soup-there are loads of recipes online. The seeds are delicious too. Give them a rinse and pat them dry. Heat a spot of oil in a frying pan and toast the seeds till they turn golden. Finally sprinkle them with a little salt and sugar, and enjoy.

Another option with pumpkin seeds is to dry out the seeds then store them in an envelope. In the spring you can use them to grow your very own pumpkin plants. We have tried this and it worked!

Costumes

Use old clothes to make costumes. You can have great fun ripping and cutting to make ragged monster and zombie outfits. Tear an old bed sheet into strips and bandage kids, or big kids up like mummies. Two eye holes in a sheet makes a cute ghost. These ideas offer a thrifty and green approach to dressing up.

 Apples

Ducking for apples is great fun. Encourage kids to actually enjoy eating their apple-rather than wasting it. It might help to have some melted (fair-trade) chocolate on hand and sprinkles to dip them in. Shove a lolly stick in to the coated apple, and this should make a tasty treat.

Happy Green Halloween!