I know what you’re thinking. How does ONE person celebrate Halloween sustainably, let alone a large family? Well, in our family October typically sets the tone for holiday spending through the end of January. My youngest son celebrates his birthday on December 17th. My husband celebrates his birthday on January 19th. February 20th is my youngest daughter’s birthday and shortly following that, we’re catapulted into another season of spending with more back-to-back birthdays and spring holidays. Creating memorable experiences for my family is how I love to celebrate, BUT (and this is a big but) I’m also very intentional about how I spend our money. Outlined are a few tangible ways anyone can practice celebrating a sustainable and ethical Halloween, – good for the family’s financial health and the planet kind of ethical.
- Buy preloved. Prior to making the Target run, check your local thrift store for costumes and seasonal home decor. If you’re like me and don’t love to store things- food doubles as decor. Purchase real pumpkins and squash and cook them when you’re ready to make the transition into winter decor or just ready to pack things up.
- Plan activities and outfits. Where are you going and what is everybody wearing? Planning events allows you to not only allocate funds appropriately, but it also allows you to plan outfits to avoid last minute shopping. Another simple way to achieve pre planned looks for the family is to utilize a capsule wardrobe system. Do thrift the capsule wardrobes! Plan your baking too. What ingredients and tools do you need? Again, have what you need on hand- avoid last minute shopping.
- Use discount codes. This is the time to not only take advantage of discount codes for holiday shopping but to also share your discount codes. After you finish your holiday shopping, remind your best mom friends and family to get their shopping out of the way early and encourage them to use your discount codes. I typically buy my kids a pair or two of heirloom quality holiday pajamas- a cute fall pair and a cute Christmas pair for family photos. I wait until I have at least a 20% off discount code to shop. Once I’m finished, I share the discount code and typically in return- I receive another discount code to use for future purchases. Alot of retailers use discount codes to build business- use them, share them.
- Recycle, recycle, recycle. Buying preloved enables you to buy higher quality pieces at a lower price point. Do keep what you find and love for next year (if you don’t mind storing it) – that’s how you start to build a collection of curated holiday decor and it means you spend less on these items next year. Happy sustainable holiday planning!
Love, Daley.