Pumpkins: Carving a pumpkin is about as plastic free as you can get. Kids love this experience because it’s messy and creative. Choose a variety of squashes and pop in a candle when you’re done. You could even try carving a pineapple. Feed leftover pumpkin seeds to the birds and compost the pumpkin when Halloween is over.
Music: Don't underestimate the power of music! Set up a speaker near the door and play a scary Halloween soundtrack from YouTube. Look for Harry Potter-type music or Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor on organ.
Ghosts, Witches & Scarecrows: Make a ghost by stuffing a towel in a white sheet, tying with twine, and hanging in a tree or near a door. Witches are the same, although I used a brown pillowcase with a hole cut in it for a face, a green blanket for the head, and twigs for arms. Make a creepy scarecrow with tattered clothing and a jack-o-lantern head.
Eco-Friendly Halloween Costumes: Pirates and princess outfits can be made ‘evil’ with black and white zombie-style face paints. There’s nothing like a living-dead Olaf to scare you witless. You could also consider renting a Halloween costume. Renting is becoming more popular because kids grow quickly and get an awful lot of chocolate on them.
Lighting: Paint glass Mason jars black and put tea-lights inside. Line the pathway to your house with them. Put a colored light bulb in your exterior light fixture for an eerie atmosphere.
Signs: Kids love warning signs of danger ahead. Paint your own creepy message on a wooden board. “Turn back now! You’ve entered the Land of the Walking Dead!” The more rustic, the better! Paint a large kraft-paper banner with orange and black paint that can hang over the door. You can also turn boards into gravestones.
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