Halloween, like the seasons, is a sure thing. And it will come again next year. Knowing this, when the holiday is over, it’s a great idea to take a few minutes to consider how to “recover” from this year’s festivities with an eye toward the next.

A few tips:

• Clean costumes, keep all pieces together, label size and store for next year’s costume swap.
• Do the same for décor that can be reused including lights.
• If you’re tired of an item, donate it to Goodwill right now. Why store what you have no intention of using again?

If you’ve used natural items for decorating, either return them to nature or compost. It’s easy! We’ll show you how, here.

We have fallen in love with composting. It makes us feel great to know that we are not tossing food into the trash where it goes into the local landfill and contributes to the greenhouse gas problem, plus, we’re helping improve the soil where we live.

You may realize that you can compost pumpkins, but do you know that candy is considered food (even the stuff that has absolutely no actual food in it!), and so can also be composted?

Just remove the wrappers and add to your compost bin or city collections (where allowed).

How about hosting an after-Halloween party? Have everyone bring their pumpkins and leftover candy. Compost the jack-o-lanterns and candy, then make items from the candy wrappers.

Some dentists also buy back candy and contribute it to Operation Gratitude for American troops. Find a participating dental practice here. You also may be able to contribute the candy to your local food bank or homeless shelter.

We hope you and your family enjoys an EEK-o-friendly Halloween this year and every year!

For more ways to green your Halloween, visit www.GreenHalloween.org or connect with Lynn & Corey on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/CelebrateGreen.

When Corey’s daughter was five, she called Lynn (her grandma) and said, “Abba, I lost my first tooth and we’re going out for dinner. Do you want to come?”

Abba of course said, “Yes.”

Then Zoe added, “And guess what I get to have?” The excitement in her voice indicated she was going to get the treat of a lifetime!

“What?”

“Salmon and broccoli!”

Seriously? Seriously.

We use this story to illustrate the fact that while adults think all any child could ever want at Halloween is a pillow case stuffed with candy, that’s not always true.

And while we admit that few children would likely be happy with fish sticks and broccoli “trees,” let’s give kids some credit. There are so many healthier alternatives available these days that go far beyond apples and raisins, and that children happily welcome in their Halloween bags. (We know this is true because we’ve presented the alternatives to hundreds thousands of children at Green Halloween® events across the country without one single complaint!)

And besides, as we suggested in yesterday’s post, it’s not just about what you hand out, but the amount.

If you doubt kids will want alternatives to confections, how about taking a baby step this year and stick with candy – just make sure it’s made with real food, not artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. And then just hand out one.

We recommend Surf Sweets (organic gummy bears and worms), Endangered Species Chocolate “Bug Bites” (all natural and organic chocolate) and Eli’s Earth Bars or Angell Bars (organic candy bars).

But if you want to stay away from candy altogether, there are loads of healthy alternatives kids will love:

• Honest Tea (organic juice pouches)
• Nature’s Path treat sized bars (organic crispy rice treats)
• Larabar minis (nut and fruit bars)
• Stretch Island Fruit strips (made from real fruit)
• Yo’ Drops (organic freeze-dried yogurt; like pop-rocks but healthy!)
• Glee Gum minis (all-natural gum)

Whatever you are giving away, look for treats that are:

• Whole/ real food
• Organically grown ingredients
• Non-GMO
• High fructose corn syrup (HFGS) free

Find dozens of ideas for child and Earth-healthy (and healthier) goodies on www.GreenHalloween.org

Note: Via our non-profit program, Green Halloween, we work with natural food companies to make their treats and snacks available in sizes (and at a price point) suitable for Halloween. If you have a favorite snack you’d love to see packaged for the holiday, let us know and we’ll see what we can do!

One of the issues sometimes raised when we talk about offering healthier alternatives to trick—or-treaters is that buying better choices tends to be more expensive. That can be true, but it doesn’t have to be.

A very easy solution is to hand out less. Instead of allowing kids to grab handfuls, fill a bowl with various choices and allow children to pick their favorite. Children will enjoy sifting and choosing and you’ll save money. (Of course, handing out less means fewer resources used and less waste generated, too.)

Another is to forget about buying altogether.

One mom we know does a weekly sweep of her house for small toys, jewelry etc., collects them throughout the year and distributes on Halloween.

Lynn is a DIY nut (Corey says, “Don’t get too close to her or she’ll decoupage you!”), and likes nothing better than gathering the grandkids to make goodies. Why not try it for Halloween?

Another mom we know sits down with her daughters before the holiday and together they make dozens of friendship bracelets, bean bags and little stuffed toys that they add to their handout stash. (We love this idea not only because it saves money but because, as we say, “It puts the meaning in the greening.”)

Ask your kids what small treasure they’d like to receive, then find a way to make or find them inexpensively.

Children love anything tiny so mini-books, little bags of confetti or seeds from plants you grow, and “people” made from corks, wood balls and acorn caps can be a hit.

Other low-cost, non-plastic, non-food ideas (depending on the age of the child):

• Pretty stones (make these into charms wrapping with wire and adding a jump ring)
• Feathers (believe it or not, feathers actually are an all-time favorite of every age from toddlers to teens)
• Beads
• Homemade “play” dough
• “Forever leaves” (encase them in wax, but leave them in a separate pile from other choices in bowl since they are a bit more fragile)

The main point is not to stress about the expense of Halloween treasures. Instead, make it  an exercise in creativity and fun for you and your children, spending lots of time but little money.

When Lynn’s three children were young, she made their Halloween costumes, preferably from materials she didn’t have to buy. Admittedly there were a few misses, like the year the Star Wars craze had her whipping up identical outfits out of burlap including a piece that completely covered the children’s faces since these creatures were featureless. When she insisted the kids wear the face pieces only for pictures and not for trick-or-treating, all three had a melt-down which included furious shouts of, “WE’RE NOT JAWAS IF WE HAVE FACES!!!”

The point is that buying cheap costumes that barely last through one night and that are made from plastic or other fabrics laden with chemicals, in no way adds to the fun of Halloween. Making them, however, can.

Once your child knows what she wants to be, make a rough sketch so you agree on how she wants it to look. Also check online to find variations on the theme. Sometimes a child has absolutes in her mind, but will loosen up when she sees the alternatives.

Next go around the house and locate what you already have on hand. Remember to think about what you can do with trash or other (clean) recyclables! To fill in what’s missing check with friends and family.

No one has what you need? Make a trip to a nearby thrift store or attend a costume swap where you can pick up accessories as well as complete costumes.

If you are purchasing fabric to fill in, look for natural, untreated materials like wool, silk, 100% organic cotton or hemp. Or go with Lynn’s old stand-in, burlap. EcoFleece, made from recycled bottles, is another great option.

As Lynn’s children got older, a big part of their Halloween was coming up with their own costumes.

They had nothing but creativity to spend and the results were fun and sometimes, hilarious, like the Mr. and Mrs. Circle costumes Corey and her friend made out of flattened cardboard.

The important thing is to remember that you don’t have to break the bank (or spend a penny for that matter) to come up with an EEK-o-friendly costume.

Find inspiration here, then tell us about your costume plans, below.

Six years ago, we were two busy moms (Lynn also a grandmom, or Abba, as she is known to her grandkids), green leaning, yet caught up in our ordinary lives. Corey was a mom of two and a licensed marital and family therapist and board certified art therapist (specializing in the transition to parenthood) , and Lynn a life coach with clients around the world. Our lives were full and happy. And then came Halloween 2006.

Walking the neighborhood with a group of friends and their kids, Corey noticed that the children responded with great excitement when they received stickers and bubbles. Candy? Not so much.

The moms talked about why this might be and realized that today candy is everywhere−kids get handed it at the bank, dry cleaner, at the end of restaurant meals, even at school and strangely, in doctors’ offices!

Candy just isn’t the novelty it once was when Corey was growing up and copious amounts of the sweet stuff truly was a once-a-year-treat.

It was a light bulb moment for Corey who thought, “Maybe we have an opportunity to make a change for the health of children as well as the health of the planet.”

Green Halloween® was born.

When we discussed the idea, we realized the need to change our holiday habits wasn’t just about Halloween, but about every holiday and celebration where our holiday traditions have evolved to become unhealthy for people (and planet, too).

But Halloween was the perfect starting point especially given the spooky statistics: the childhood obesity, food allergy and diabetes epidemics, the fact that this is the first generation of American children predicted to have a shorter lifespan than their parents, and toxins in candy, costumes and face paints. Not to mention all the waste!

When you look at it from this perspective, you realize that by changing Halloween habits (and by extension all holidays), we can have an impact not only on our children, but on the future of a whole generation.

We set out to do that not by taking anything away from kids, but by inspiring parents to make child and Earth-healthy choices that keep all the joy in Halloween.

In 2011, dozens of cities across the US are hosting official Green Halloween-partner events, where families can celebrate the holiday without all the junk. At these events, more than 1 million pieces of healthier and more sustainable treats and treasures will replace conventional candy.

Our website, is also the go-to resource for “eek-o” friendly ideas. From candy to costumes, décor to dinner, we create, invent and share great tips that are affordable, family oriented and fun!

We know that parents today want these choices and the mission of Green Halloween is to help companies offer more options and connect parents to the ideas that will support them as they raise healthy children in a healthy world.