Category — HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Image: Flickr user GetHiroshima

It’s not quite Halloween yet (school’s barely gotten started!), but National Costume Swap Day is right around the corner. On October 8^th, families across the country will be getting together to exchange gently used Halloween costumes at events sponsored by KIWI magazine, Green Halloween, and Swap.com. And there are plenty of good reasons to take part: In addition to saving the money you would’ve spent on new costumes for your kids, you’ll also be doing something to help the environment. In fact, swapping half the costumes kids wear at Halloween would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons—about the weight of 2,500 midsize cars!

Many neighborhoods and towns have already begun planning their swaps, but you can start one from scratch in your area, too. Either way, consider these tips for making your community swap an eek-o fabulous success:

Collect costumes It’s best to have a small variety of costumes available so that people who arrive at the beginning of the swap have choices. Put out a call at your school, church, or neighborhood association, or see what’s available at local thrift stores. No matter where the costumes come from, make sure they’re in good condition with no significant tears, holes, or stains.

Make it an event In addition to swapping costumes, bring in more fun with games, face painting, or a craft station where kids can decorate their own reusable Halloween bags. You can even hold a bake sale with (healthy) Halloween-themed treats and donate the proceeds to a local charity.

Stay organized When parents and kids bring their old costumes, hang them on a rack or lay them on tables organized by size so that people won’t have to sift through messy boxes.

Stage a changing area or remind kids to come in swimsuits or long underwear so they’re able to try on costumes before taking them home.

Ready to get started? Find existing swaps—plus information to help you start your own at CostumeSwapDay.com.

-Marygrace, staff writer

Happy (almost) Halloween! We’re celebrating by sharing some ghoulishly great posts from our favorite mom blogs. Got a blog you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!

• They really are that good. Smiling Green Mom reviews YummyEarth organic gummy bears and candy drops.
• Post trick-or-treating, how about a spooky family flick? Try one of these picks from MultiMinding Mom.
• Green Baby Guide‘s got plenty of last-minute tips for a green Halloween. Get ‘em while you can!
• It’s probably too late to make our own, but we’re definitely saving MooMama‘s Halloween Countdown box idea for next year.
• Green Phonebooth shares a roundup of their own Halloween posts from past years.

-Marygrace, staff writer

There’s no way around it: Halloween is a sugar fest. In that past, I’d try to limit my candy consumption (or even avoid it entirely), but that’s just no fun. What works a whole lot better? Enjoying sweets that are healthier for my body (no artficial sweeteners, dyes, or fats) and kinder to the planet. Best of all, there are more green candy options than ever! Here, my list of must-haves:

Equal Exchange Organic Dark Chocolate Minis Perfect-sized bites of chocolate-y goodness that are Fair Trade certified, plus vegan and gluten-free. You’ll get a healthy dose of antioxidants, too! ($35 for 150-pack, shop.equalexchange.com)

Yummy Earth Organic Gummy Bears These chewy cubs have something for every princess and pirate at your door, with sweet and sour flavors like pomegranate pucker and strawberry smash. And at only 44 calories a bag with 50 percent of the daily vitamin C requirement, you may want to keep some for yourself. ($7 for a 30-pack, yummyearth.com)

Treat Size EnviroKidz Peanut Choco Drizzle Crispy Rice Bars Don’t let the fact that they’re whole grain, low fat, and low sodium fool you: These bars are super-tasty. Plus, these new gluten-free, snack-size treats are perfect for the growing number of ghosts and goblins who are avoiding gluten. ($6 for an 18-pack, naturespath.com)

Endangered Species All-Natural Milk Chocolate Treats They’re made with premium, ethically traded chocolate that children (and grown-ups!) will love, and 10 percent of the company’s profits are donated to help support endangered species. These bites of bliss are also available in dark chocolate. ($6.70 for 24-pack, chocolatebar.com)

St. Claire’s Organics Naturally Sweet Tart Candy One box of the assorted fruit tart pouches packs a tangy punch of lip-puckering pleasers, with flavors such as sweet peach, watermelon, and sour lemon. You can dole out these low-carb, low-cal treats sans worry as they’re certified organic, allergy-free, and vegan. ($11 for 12-pack, stclaires.com)

Come Sunday, what will you be munching on giving out?

Guest blogger Melissa Graham blogs at Little Locavores.

Late October is a scary time. Both the crisp autumn air and the falling leaves whisper the promise of ghosts, ghouls and goblins soon to arrive. These days also bring other frightful things. While I know I’m going sound like a fuddy-duddy, I have to ask: when did Halloween become the holiday of excess?

When I was growing up, people didn’t seem so nutso about Halloween. We decorated – a pumpkin or two would sit on our stoop, waiting to be carved. We might add a few small touches, like cardboard black cat cutouts, perhaps even a small broom, implying the presence of a witch inside. Yes, there were always the outliers – the dramatically creative who would create bigger and bigger scary displays each year that we would visit and ooh and ah about, but most people seemed rather sensible in their decorating.

These days, you can’t drive a street on the north side of Chicago without your eyes being bombarded with Styrofoam gravestones, life size mummies, gigantic light displays, and of course, the ubiquitous spider webbing wrapped along fence after fence in neon Halloween colors. Seemingly, every empty store front (of which in this economy are many), is filled with spooky supply shops full of an endless supply of cheap Halloween goods, manufactured who knows where. While some of these adornments are used year after year, most, I suspect, are destined for the trash heap – more garbage for our brimming landfills. Given our wont to overdo, Halloween has become a very scary holiday for those of use care about the environment.

Halloween has also become a very scary day for us health conscious parents as the excess is certainly not limited to the decorations. As I mentioned in my first post, I’m no candy hater. When we crafted the mission statement of my non-profit, Purple Asparagus, we intentionally left out any reference to the word “healthy,” but instead talked about good eating. Good eating we feel is a diet high in vegetables and whole grains, which leaves room for sometime foods, candy included. I certainly remember loving Halloween especially post trick-or-treating when I inspected my loot, organizing it, and rationing it out. For me, it’s a matter of degree. When I was my son’s age, I would travel 3 to 4 blocks in my suburban neighborhood and come home with the same amount of candy that my son gathers in one small 1/2 city block. Back then, I got one piece a house. Nowadays, people throw handfuls of the stuff like beads off Mardi Gras floats.

Perhaps, it wouldn’t be so bad, if it were limited to trick-or-treating, but these days, there are the parties, school and otherwise, with goodie bags stocked full of candy. It’s all too much.

Because we’ve still got some time before the sugar blob arrives, I wanted to give my top five tips for making Halloween a little less scary this year. There’s a bonus: none of them will get your house egged!

1. Limit the trick or treating and organize a neighborhood potluck instead. On our street, we visit a handful of houses and then head to a party organized by a friend and neighbor. All the neighbors bring a little something, soups, salads, and other potluck fare. If we’re lucky, the weather is decent and we sit outside on our stoops, eating and sipping adult beverages while we watch the kids run around releasing the sugar rush generated from their Halloween loot. The recipe below, Spiced Pumpkin Muffins, would be a nice addition to a potluck table.
2. Help your little ones triage their candy. This is a particularly effective strategy for little ones who like to sort things. The morning after Halloween, my son and I dump out his goody bags the not-so-bad such as Hershey bars, Snickers, Reese’s (the candy that at least resembles real food). The not-so-bad pile is further sorted to include three categories: 1. Eat now, 2. Give away to Daddy’s office (they’ll eat anything), and 3. Save for his advent calendar (a treat each day of December before Christmas).
3. Work with your child’s teacher or the school administration to encourage healthy school celebrations that don’t focus on sweets, but instead activities. There’s so much you can do, including good old-fashioned fun like bobbing for apples or decorating pumpkins.
4. When decorating your house, look to use natural and recycled materials. For example, cheesecloth, used and washed, makes terrific spider webs. Soak it with leftover coffee grinds to give it a little color and then shred it. It holds up a lot better than the webbing sold at junky Halloween stores that turns in to spider blobs after a few rain storms. I’ve always wanted to transform my front yard into a set piece from The Blair Witch Project. Anyone remember the stick and cloth figures suspended from the trees? Oooh, what a terrifying movie moment and easy to recreate with items around the house.
5. Be a good role model. It’s easy just to pick up a bag of Halloween branded candy from the megamart. But there are some great online stores that sell a better product. For example, Natural Candy Store has a section of Fair Trade Halloween candy Given that it’s National Fair Trade month, it would be an appropriate choice. It’s a little more expensive, but if you’re not giving out handfuls of candy, the cost will likely even out and you’ll have done your part to make the day a little less scary. Let the ghosts, ghouls, and goblins take care of that.

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

I used to make this recipe with golden raisins instead of chocolate chips. My little locavore suggested the switch and we’ve never gone back. For these pictures, I used my adorable Williams-Sonoma acorn cake pan – they’re just as good in a regular or mini-muffin tin.

Makes 18 muffins

2 large eggs
½ cup canola oil
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon mace
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Fill 2 standard muffin tins with 18 paper or silicone cups. Whisk together the eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, and ¼ cup water. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin tins equally. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a tester comes out with only a few crumbs.

Looking for ways to make Halloween healthier for your kids and the planet? Check out kiwimagonline.com/halloween, where you’ll find…

• KIWI-tested and -approved picks for all-natural candy that’s free of artificial sweeteners, colors, flavorings, and preservatives.
• Fun eco-crafts like a trick-or-treating tote and Halloween decorations made from recycled materials, plus homemade costume ideas and instructions.
• Spooky books and movies that will get your whole family in the Halloween spirit.
• Maylee’s DIY Costume Contest. Enter your kid’s or pet’s homemade Halloween costume for a chance to win JAKKS Pacific toys or a dog- or cat-friendly gift basket!

There’s more where that came from, so check it out! Does your family have any plans to go green this Halloween?

If you’re like many parents, you want your kids to enjoy Halloween, but you’re uneasy with the emphasis on candy.

Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. Over the last two years, we’ve discovered dozens and dozens of ways to enjoy Halloween without all the focus on loot. In fact, it’s not only possible, it’s becoming a trend! (And, we expect, one that’s here to stay.) Here are our five top ideas for celebrating a green Halloween. For the dozens more great ideas, check out www.GreenHalloween.org.

1. Focus on fun. Generally, when people think about Halloween, the first thing that comes to mind is candy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. How about planning a party with an emphasis on games that goblins of all ages are sure to enjoy. Dunking for apples is a classic—and hilarious to boot. You can also have your guests use non-toxic crayons to paint each other’s faces—with their eyes closed! Instead of trick-or-treating for candy, plan a Halloween scavenger hunt with your neighbors. Doing so at night with flashlights adds to the fun. Shakable flashlights makes the hunt eco-cool. Focusing on fun – rather than stuff is not only healthier and more earth-friendly, it makes for wonderful memories.

2. Choose treats you and your kids can enjoy. No, we’re not suggesting that you hand out candy that both of you can agree on. We’re encouraging you to choose from the many healthy and healthier goodies now on the market (with more being released every day), that are parent and kid approved. And with natural and healthy food and essentials stores popping up around the country like dandelions in the lawn (in a good way), finding treats like honey or agave sticks, fruit leathers, organic chocolate “bites” or all natural gum is a snap.

3. Consider treasures. “Treasures” are non-edible goodies that trick-or-treaters will love. Think they won’t? While we have yet to meet a child who would rather have conventional candy once he or she sees alternatives, we know your experience will speak louder than ours. So, this year, try putting your conventional candy choice in one bowl and in the other, a mix of the types of treasures we suggest such as polished stones, temporary tattoos or seed packets. (Why not check the extensive list at Green Halloween and allow your children be your guide as to what they think will be most popular?) Offer the kids a choice and see what happens.

4. Less is more. When we were kids, receiving one piece of candy at each home was the norm. Today, trick-or-treaters receive handfuls. Not only is this costly for this generation’s health and the health of the planet, giving out supersized quantities is expensive, too. This year, try giving just one of whatever you select. Or, allow the children to choose, “just one special (make a big deal of this part) treat.” You’ll be as amazed as we were to find that when it’s done with fun in mind, reducing actually encourages children’s excitement and gratitude.

5. Give yourself a treat and remember that you don’t have to do it all to make a big difference. New healthy and green steps will be more sustainable if you can find ways to enjoy the process and celebrate your baby steps. So, this year, consider starting where you are and with whatever choice or choices inspire your family most. Whether you make your own face paints, hold a party in a retirement home or carve (and eat) locally grown pumpkins, it’s really all about the “spirit” of going green. Celebrate what works for you!

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and the authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Celebrations, Holidays and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.NET. Pictures provided by ©2008 Holli Dunn.

Here’s hoping there are more treats than tricks in your goodie bag!

Leave me comments with your Halloween costumes! I am sure our creative KIWI readers have some awesome costumes. I am dressed up as a black cat today. You can see my picture in my Cre8Buzz profile.

Also- what are you giving out for candy at your door? I am giving out some healthy granola bars and Stacy’s pita chips!

And now a couple of Halloween related quotes to get you into the “spirit” of things!

“Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween Night.”- Steve Almond

Ghosts, like ladies, never speak till spoke to. -Richard Harris Barham
“Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, ‘Never take candy from strangers.’ And then they dressed me up and said, ‘Go beg for it.’ I didn’t know what to do. I’d knock on people’s doors and go, ‘Trick or treat. No thank you.’”- Rita Rudner

So, HAPPY HALLOWEEN from all of us at KIWI!