Boycotting a holiday altogether is a little ambitious and un-spirited and we have held off every year, but unprecedented times calls for an unprecedented Halloween … will there even be Halloween in 2020?
Every year, we have shared that Halloween involves more boos, eeks, screeches and ding-dongs than we should tolerate. In doing so, we have been ridiculed (especially Lisa) and questioned but we have always been after one thing … a less scary Halloween. In these Covid times, perhaps, we are all ready to pay a little more attention to celebrating safely … and in good health.
EAT REAL SWEET TREATS AT HOME. If you’re staying in this Halloween, but still want to celebrate, offer your kids good treats! The artificial colours, flavours, refined, over-processed ingredients and dyes that are in conventional candy should petrify us all. It is remarkable in the very scariest way, that they are even on shelf! The sugar industry and the big companies making “chocolate” (that shouldn’t even be allowed to be called chocolate, and often is only allowed to be called “candy”), are the true horrors of our present-day Halloween! You’ll never buy a chocolate bar the same way again after you read, “Your Candy Bar Was Made By Child Slaves.”
CARVE AN ORGANIC PUMPKIN LIKE YOU MEAN IT. Growing a conventional pumpkin takes a farmer an awful lot of pesticides (they are a very heavily “treated” crop) – this matters whether you are eating any part of the pumpkin or not. What goes into our air, soil and earth comes back up into our lives, and is also dangerous for those working in the fields. Buy your organic pumpkin at a farmers’ market, or better yet, grow your own next year, it’ll get you right into the Halloween spirit! Once you’ve brought yours home, enjoy creating and carving it together as family, and bake and enjoy the seeds too! Maybe draw inspiration from my 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 or 2013 pumpkins?
CHOOSE AN ECO + SAFE COSTUME. Do this for your health, and for all of the reasons that you should be concerned about all of the clothes you buy and wear. Use a costume you already have, or make your own. Do you remember dressing as a ballet dancer or hockey player? Of course, and it’s easy. How can you justify putting on an off-gassing, store-bought, made-in-China, phthalate-laced, over-packaged mask by choice? A few costume ideas that are bright, easy and comfortable: a Whiteboard (all white clothing with a pen on a string around your waist and people can sign you – now that is interactive!), a Compact Flourescent Lightbulb (again, all white clothing with skinny white balloons in twisty shapes on your head), a Ghost (with an organic cotton sheet, of course), a Jelly Fish (dressed in pink while opening and closing an umbrella).
And please, please, do not use toxic face paints – your skin is your largest organic, and your body immediately absorbs everything you put on it – those face paints are full of heavy metals and other dangerous ingredients. You can check the safety of your makeup, hairsprays, nail polish and more on the Skin Deep Database.
WEAR A MASK + SANTIZE WELL. If you’re planning to visit a few neighbours, remember to keep your distance, wear a healthy mask (a costume mask is not a safe substitute), and sanitize between stops (these are what we use and appreciate when we need to go out).
QUARANTINE HALLOWEEN. Host a virtual Halloween “watch” party and have a pumpkin carving and/or cooking contest. Have a Halloween movie night with household members either at home or drive-in. Do reverse trick-or-treating by dropping off treats on your neighbour’s porches.
CELEBRATE SAFE. There’s no need to spook our kids and the planet. Celebrate everything … but stay home if you aren’t feeling well!
Wishing a happy, healthy and safe Halloween!
