With Hallowe’en around the corner, the ‘holiday season’ is starting. Ireland, and Europe in general, might not be as wild as across the ocean but it does mark the beginning of the consumerism season. Hallowe’en, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Many of these festive days lost their original meaning (or were artificially created) and became an excuse to buy. Buy and consume more and more stuff. It’s a matter of choice though!

Take Hallowe’en, for example. Did you know that the practices of Hallowe’en mostly come from Celtic paganism in the British Isles, and the feast of Samhain, the new year? They believed it was the time when ghosts and spirits came out to haunt and the Celts would appease the spirits by giving them treats. The feast was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and parts of Britain.

In Slovakia, until some years ago when the American version of this holiday wrestled its way in, this time of year was solely dedicated to remembering those who left us with November 1st  being All Saints Day and with All Souls’ Day the following day. Instead of scary costumes and parties, people went to cemeteries to light a candle for their dearly departed. It was (and I hope still is) a time for family visits, crisp evenings walks on beautifully lit graveyards with a quiet atmosphere of self-reflection.

Candle-lit cemetery in Slovakia (source: Dnes24.sk)

The Slovakian take on things and also not having small children makes me slightly oblivious to the commercial part of Hallowe’en. I prefer the ‘autumnal-harvest-following’ atmosphere of this time of the year and preparing oneself for winter.

Since there is also a 3-day weekend around Hallowe’en in Ireland, we are often not at home for the day but if we are, I prefer to keep it low-key and low-waste. Here are my few tips you might find useful.

Decorations

• Reuse the ones from last year or the year before, I guarantee you they will be still perfectly fine (I mean, if you stored them well) and nobody will notice the repetition. No need to buy more plasticky junk than we already have.
• Go natural. Carve the pumpkin (roast the seeds, make a pie from the flesh and compost the jack-o after the holiday), put small decorative pumpkins on your window sill and eat them after Hallowe’en, use colourful leaves, acorns and chestnuts as a table decoration. Let your mind loose and use everyday objects to make decorations.
• Make seasonal decorations with your kids – you spent some quality time together and won’t need to queue to pay in the supermarket for the unimaginative ‘Made in China’ junk.

Go natural with decorations…(Source: pexels.com)

Costumes

• Rent rather than buy if you have to.
• Better still, make your own. Last year, we were invited to accompany my boyfriend’s nephews for their trick-and-treating at the last minute. I put together a costume which wasn’t bad – perhaps not the most exciting one but did the job – a pirate! A stripy t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms, a scarf, bandana, homemade eyepatch and a borrowed foam sabre (or you can easily make one from cardboard) – add a bit of ‘arrgh’ and there you are!
• You could also be a ninja – black pants, black t-shirt with a black dressing gown back to front, a face mask made from another black t-shirt and you’re all set.
• Or, if you have a little bit more time and some leftover white paint, you can always try to create a skeleton costume – just paint the bones onto a black t-shirt and leggings. Or, if you want to use up a t-shirt one more time before cutting it to rags, cut out the ‘bones’ and wear an opposite colour t-shirt underneath (black on white or white on black).
• Homemade costumes are fun, original and can be totally zero waste…Internet is a great place to look for some inspiration!

Aaargh!!

Make a skeleton costume!

Make a skeleton costume!

Treats

• This is a tougher one. You can be the unpopular lady/guy who offers some easy peelers or other fruit but since we all know that (almost all) kids really want the sweet stuff, you might want to skip this one.
• You could also try some homemade cookies, buns or other bite-size treats but unless you know your neighbours, well, these might end up in the bin regardless.
• One more option that might work is to get small glass jars (from yogurts) and fill them with nuts and chocolate/yogurt-covered raisins or sweets bought in bulk (in the cinema or the Pick&Mix section in Tesco for example).
• If you think these will still raise suspicion, you might need to give up and buy conventional wrapped candy. If so, go for the biggest bag available!

But hey, if you still think that Hallowe’en will just create unnecessary waste and belly aches from all the sweets, there is always an option to skip it completely. Go somewhere nice for the weekend, go for an adventure or just turn off the lights, unhook the bell, make some popcorn and watch telly. And don’t mind the Grinch comments, it’s not like you’re missing your only chance to take part – it will all happen again next year – and every year for the rest of your life! 🙂