Are you disappointed with the quality and selection of props available at your local Halloween store or online? Maybe it’s time to make your own and be environmentally friendly at the same time!
A favorite addition to my decorations each year, my Werewolf, was actually one of the easiest to build. The basic body form was rescued from the trash of a neighbor. He had served them well during Christmas as an animated reindeer. His only offense was that his lights no longer worked. That was fine for me as I didn’t need them. It was time to get to work recycling him. After a simple bit of surgery to remove the lights, he was dressed in some old clothes and boots and that had reached the end of their usefulness for me but could gain new life as clothing for my prop. The mask and hands were picked up from the clearance bin at the day after Halloween sale of my local store. The body of the former reindeer was quickly prepared and ready for his new role as a Halloween decoration. You can see him in action at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gjbyFc5OYw. Great satisfaction can be gained by displaying something that you have made yourself. It is less likely to be thrown in the trash but may be kept and reused next year.
One day you will tire of your creation and want something new. Build it in a way that the prop can easily be disassembled and the parts reused in a new prop. PVC pipe like you use for a sprinkler system is easy to work with and can be assembled using self tapping screws instead of glue so the parts can be recycled into new props.
Projections can be another way to decorate for Halloween while at the same time minimizing your impact. You may already have an acceptable projector as part of a home entertainment system or an appropriate model can be purchased at a reasonable cost. Once you have a projector, it can also be used for other entertainment purposes like making your own outdoor theater! An increasing number of new digital choices are available each year as this method of decorating becomes more popular. It is quick and easy to set up a projector to shine on an appropriate window and provide a fantastic image that can be enjoyed by your Holiday visitors (they have Christmas ones as well). Your decorating materials stay inside and out of the weather and are secure, keeping them out of reach of someone that may want to take home more than just a piece of candy. There is even a free download offered for a limited time by AtmosFX. You can check out an example for yourself and even test it on the included TV version. I like to run this as an added indoor decoration for my Halloween party. Here is a link to the free download - https://cnet.co/2ksCtfn
One final tip is to place a trash can at the end of your driveway in order to make it easy for your Halloween visitors to deposit their empty candy wrappers. We want them to enjoy the age old tradition of sampling the fruits of their Trick or Treat labors but don’t want to have to deal with the associated litter the next day.
With a little forethought, you can include some environmentally friendly techniques into your Halloween planning to make your display greener! What are some of the practices you incorporate into your haunt to reduce your environmental impact? Please post them in the comments so that we can all take advantage of them and add some green to our favorite Halloween orange!