This Halloween, we’re sharing ideas on how to celebrate with your little learners in a more wholesome way. Make a paradigm shift by thinking about what you would like your children to learn and remember about your Halloween traditions. Join us as we discuss simple fixes, such as moving away from expensive, pre-made costumes, embracing traditions from across the globe, and getting more involved in the community to make it a holiday your family can bond over. 

But before you start, we invite you to watch this Halloween Facts video with your little ones!

Sustainable DIY Costumes and Decorations

It’s no secret that the price of Halloween costumes has risen substantially. What’s worse is that the quality of those costumes has not gone up, with most of them using cheap, synthetic fabric or plastic bad both for our health and for the environment. A more sustainable solution is to make DIY costumes and decorations out of materials you already have!

Many families might wonder what materials can be feasibly upcycled. Some general guidelines include:

• Garments or fabric from older clothes or sheets 
• Fabric from clothes children have outgrown
• Cardboard from shipping boxes
• Arts and craft supplies your kids already use, such as pipe cleaners, felt, yarn, or pom poms
• Paper towel and toilet paper rolls

As an easy and sustainable decoration, craft a spooky spiderweb in the bushes outside your home by draping yarn or cheesecloth over the shrubs. Craft some black spiders using pom poms, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. Arrange the spiders along the yarn and in the bushes to create a creepy curb appeal!

Another example of a sustainable DIY idea using materials mentioned above is something like an adorable elephant costume. Materials needed for this costume include:

1. A solid gray t-shirt, sweatshirt, or sweater
2. Solid gray leggings or sweatpants
3. Gray and pink felt for the ears
4. A headband
5. Paper towel rolls, tape, string or yarn, and gray paint

The solid gray clothing creates the body of the elephant costume, so the only items to make are the ears and trunk! Ears can be cut from felt and glued to a headband using a hot glue gun. For the trunk, simply tape paper towel rolls together and line them with gray felt. Attach string to the trunk to wear it around the head. 

Family-Themed Costumes

Bring your family closer together by planning themed costumes. This can begin a fun family tradition that can challenge your children to think of new themes every year.. Not only do themed costumes earn attention at parties, but they can boost self-esteem by helping kids to feel included. 

While many themed costume ideas on the internet include popular TV and film characters, try the following fresh ideas that are also easy to DIY:

• Emoji family: Using cardstock or cardboard boxes, cut out large circles and paint them to look like your family’s favorite emojis. Glue the emoji masks to craft sticks for a simple DIY costume!
• Dress by the decades: This can be done multiple ways! Choose a decade like the 70’s or 80’s, and create costumes using old clothes, thrift shop finds and creating props. Another way would be to have each family member choose their favorite decade to impersonate so that everyone dresses to represent the decade of their choice. 
• Role reversal: Kids always get a kick out of adults dressing like babies, children, or even teenagers! Mom and dad wear costumes to make them look decades younger, while the kids dress up like their parents or grandparents.  
• M&M’s: Make each family member a different colored M&M using bright, solid T-shirts and iron-on transfer paper. The candies come in brown, red, yellow, green, orange, and blue. T-shirts can easily be found at thrift shops or craft stores. The transfer paper should be made for dark fabrics, or felt can be used instead. 

Embrace Halloween Traditions from Around the World

Discover and explore traditions from around the world to create a more educational and wholesome experience for your child. While the holiday and customs we know as Halloween stems mostly from Celtic-speaking countries such as Ireland and Scotland, other countries likewise celebrate a holiday that honors their dead. 

A few options to explore with your kids include:

• Día De Los Muertos: Probably the most well-known in the US, Mexico’s Day of the Dead also includes colorful costumes and candy. This holiday focuses more on celebrating dead loved ones as opposed to scaring others with costumes. 
• Mischief Night: Have you ever wonder why kids only get treats and no tricks? England’s tradition of Mischief Night focuses more on the “trick” portion of trick or treating! This holiday indulges children allowing them a night of jokes and pranks.
• Ognissanti: This Italian holiday celebrates All Saint’s Day, which has its origins in the Roman Catholic religion. The traditions vary by region, but all celebrations commemorate the dead. 

Get Involved in Community Events!

Depending on your location, there are many family-oriented events your family can participate in to give back to the community while celebrating Halloween! 

Most locales have the following activities for which citizens can volunteer: 

• Trunk or treat events
• Church or community-sponsored pumpkin patches
• Halloween-themed food drives 
• Themed animal adoption events 

Make this Halloween a more wholesome experience for your children by creating meaningful traditions that go beyond store-bought costumes and candy. Try some of the ideas above to forge a deeper bond with your family while being more mindful of others and the environment.   

If your kids are in the mood for some Spooky Season learning, offer them our free collection of interactive Halloween worksheets!