8 Spooky & Eco-Friendly Halloween Decoration Ideas
Looking for Halloween decoration ideas that are fun for the whole family and don’t involve sending tons of plastic to the landfill? Here are a few DIY eco-friendly decorations to try!
Store shelves are stacked with loads of Halloween decorations this time of year, and no wonder – it’s one of our favorite holidays! But with all the fun of decorating our homes for the holiday, many of us forget that plastic decorations are not that good for the environment – or for your health.
Most store-bought Halloween decorations are made of non-recyclable, petro-chemical-based plastics and other synthetic fibers. Even if you reuse them for several years, eventually they will still end up in a landfill – not to mention all of the chemicals that were released into the environment during their manufacture.
You can still have some spooky fun by shopping secondhand stores for used decorations – but even better, why not make your own?
Besides the original DIY Halloween decor – the Jack-o-Lantern – there are lots of other great ideas for decorating your home for this spooky/fun holiday!
Here are just a few crafty and eco-friendly Halloween decoration ideas from Thrive Market:
Bloooooood
Halloween would be nothing without fake blood! Whip some up with natural ingredents: ⅔ cup organic corn syrup, 1 teaspoon red food coloring, 2 to 3 drops blue food coloring (to darken), and a squirt of dish soap.
Homemade craft paint
Make your own craft paint that’s clean, safe, and eco-friendly. Just mix 3 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup cornstarch, and 2 cups water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until it thickens to a paint-like consistency. Divide the mixture into individual containers (muffin tins work great!) and mix in natural, plant-based food coloring to each one. Use for painting some of the other Halloween decorations on this page!
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Get ghostly
Ball up some leaves, newspaper, or other paper packing materials until it’s roughly size of a head. Cover it with an old white sheet and loosely tie a string around the base of the “head” to create a “neck” and keep the materials from falling out. Attach fishing line or string to the top of the ghost’s head with a safety pin and hang it from the trees or your front porch. The ghostly creation will flutter in the wind just like a real spook.
Egg carton bats and leaf ghosts
Not so scary—just super cute! Here’s a DIY that turns leaves into adorable ghosts and recycles egg cartons into loveable bats. For our version, we used red and white paper scraps for eyes and fangs.
Upcycled plastic spiders
There’s something you can do with plastic water bottles after all— before you throw them into the recycling bin, that is. Check out this super cool way to turn plastic bottles into creepy crawlers!..
Easy scarecrow
Want a creepy guardian on the porch without spending hardly any money at all? Fill some old clothes with crumpled newspapers or other paper packing materials. Put him in a pair of boots, plop a pumpkin head with a hat on him. Sit him on the porch and watch trick-or-treaters and passersby do a double take every time.
Head in a jar
Imagine people’s horror at finding a head in a jar on the porch or in your fridge. Muhahaha! To create this excellent prank, download this flattened face, print it out, and roll up the paper to slip into a mason jar. Fill the jar with water—you can even add food coloring to make it extra mad science-y—and seal it with a lid. Want to put your own loved ones’ heads in jars? Here are the Photoshop tricks to do it.
Coffee can luminaries
If you’ve collected quite a few coffee cans and the kitchen cabinets are overflowing, create some can luminaries. This DIY makes lights that are just as cool as jack-o-lanterns—without the mess.
Read more at ThriveMarket.com…
