Less Waste, Just as Much Fun
Halloween has a sneaky habit of arriving with a shopping list. A new costume, something cute for the pumpkin patch, decorations for the porch, craft supplies for the kids — and suddenly October has produced a surprising amount of stuff for one night of the year.
But nobody’s suggesting we cancel the fun. A greener Halloween can be surprisingly simple: raid the closet, borrow, swap, thrift, make a few things yourself and be a little pickier about what you buy new.
From pumpkin patch outfits to costumes, crafts and cobwebs, here’s how to keep the spooky with a little less waste.
Classic Pumpkin Patch Style: The Trick & the Treat
The pumpkin patch has become part fall outing, part family tradition and part seasonal photoshoot. The good news is that the best pumpkin patch outfits rarely need to be Halloween outfits at all.
The trick. Start with the clothes you’d actually wear through fall: denim, corduroy, sweaters, flannel shirts, overalls, boots and jackets. Think rust, cream, brown, olive and mustard – colors that work beautifully against a sea of pumpkins under a fall sky.
The treat. No need to buy that matching family set destined to disappear into the closet on November 1st!
For Little Pumpkins
For babies and toddlers, comfort wins. Build the outfit around breathable and cozy layers that can be adjusted as the day warms up. Layer knitwear, leggings, denim or overalls in simple fall colors; they photograph delightfully and can be worn long after the pumpkin patch.
If you want one obviously seasonal detail, make it small — a hat, bib or thrifted sweater — rather than buying a full single-use outfit.
And remember, pumpkin patches are farms. Mud-friendly footwear is your friend.
The Family Patch
Forget perfectly matching. Pick two or three fall colors and let everyone raid their closets.
- Denim + cream + rust
- Olive + brown + soft neutrals
- Mustard + denim + cream
You’ll look coordinated without the family costume feel.
The Greenish test is simple: would you wear it again once the pumpkins are gone? If the answer is yes, you’re onto a winner.
Halloween Costume Ideas – More Boo, Less New
This Halloween, the best costume ideas start with what you already own, or can borrow, swap, thrift or make. Before ordering something new, start with a quick closet check. A surprising number of costumes can be built around everyday clothes, with one or two borrowed, thrifted or homemade details doing the rest.
Try the Greenish Costume Ladder:
OWN IT > BORROW IT > SWAP IT > THRIFT IT > MAKE IT > BUY IT
- Use what you already own.
- Borrow from friends or family.
- Swap costumes from previous years.
- Check thrift stores and resale apps.
- Make the missing piece.
- Buy new only where it fills a real gap — ideally something that can be worn or reused again.
Black dress or black jeans? Witch, cat or vampire.
Jeans and a flannel shirt? Scarecrow.
Denim along with a borrowed hat? Cowboy.
Everyday kids’ clothes can form the base of a costume, with accessories supplying most of the character. For children, think beyond October 31. A costume that heads into the dress-up box has a much longer life than one designed for a single night.
Craft First, Shop Later - Easy Halloween Crafts to Make at Home
Halloween crafts do not need a cart full of brand-new supplies. Cardboard, paper, jars, leaves, egg cartons and fabric scraps can become plenty spooky with a little imagination — and using what is already around the house is part of the fun.
Haunted delivery boxes: turn cardboard boxes into wonky haunted houses with cut-out windows and doors. Use scrap paper, pens and paint to add extra spooky details!
Leaf ghosts: collect fallen leaves, add simple ghost faces and use them for a temporary garland or table display.
Egg-carton bat: cut sections from the cardboard carton, paint or color them and add paper wings. Done!
Paper spooks: make garlands using old paper bags, scrap paper or leftover card and string. Create pumpkins, ghosts and bats that can be packed flat and saved.
Jar-o’ Lanterns: give clean glass jars a creepy makeover with paper silhouettes or washable decoration, then add battery-powered LED lights.
Tiny toes, spooky ghosts: little handprints or footprints make super cute Halloween keepsakes. These prints double up as an activity and a keepsake. Stick to washable, child-safe paint and keep the setup simple.
A little Greenish Guide advice: skip plastic glitter and tiny plastic extras where you can as it can turn an otherwise recyclable or compostable craft into something much harder to dispose of.
Resurrect Your DIY Halloween Decorations
The greenest Halloween decoration is often the one already in the storage box. Reusing plastic decorations is not a failure of sustainability; keeping the same pumpkin, skeleton or string of lights going year after year can be far better than replacing the whole display each October.
So, this fall, give your pumpkins a glow up! Paint them, change the finish, add a ribbon or group them differently. Tired plastic pumpkins can be repainted, fabric bunting repaired, and jars, baskets or planters can be reused as part of a gorgeous porch display.
Before you give up the ghost on DIY decorations, consider the ideas below:
- Make reusable fabric bunting from scraps or worn clothing.
- Cut window silhouettes from saved card.
- Use branches, dried leaves, pumpkins and gourds to build a seasonal table or porch display.
- Turn scrap wood into a simple Halloween sign that can come back out every October.
- Use jars and reusable LED lights for lanterns rather than buying single-season light-up decorations.
For outdoor Halloween decorations, durability matters. A decoration that survives rain, wind, storage and several Halloweens may be a better buy than a supposedly ‘greener’ version that needs replacing every year.
Pumpkins Post-Halloween
A pumpkin can be the outfit backdrop, porch decoration and dinner — not bad for one seasonal purchase. So, what to do with your pumpkins after Halloween?
Cook it: Use the flesh for soups, purees and baking.
Top tip: Not all pumpkins are ideal for cooking. If you’re wondering which varieties are best for pie, soup, carving or decorating, use the quick Fall Pumpkin Guide below.
Wear it: Rich in Vitamins A and C, pumpkin flesh is perfect for a DIY face mask. See Martha Stewart’s picks for a peachy pumpkin glow up.
Scoop it: roast the seeds for a snack rather than scraping them straight into the trash.
Compost it: minus glitter, paint and plastic decorations.
Check it: look up local food waste or compost collections.
Don’t dump it: parks and wooded areas aren’t pumpkin disposal sites.
Your Little Greenish Halloween Checklist
- WEAR: Plan pumpkin patch outfits and costume basics from clothes you already wear.
- SWAP: Borrow, swap or thrift costume pieces before buying new.
- MAKE: Turn cardboard, jars, paper and scraps into decorations.
- KEEP: Reuse, repair and repaint the decorations you’ve already got.
- COMPOST: Reuse or compost pumpkins when the celebrations are over.
Keep the Spooky, Lose Some of the Waste
Halloween does not need to be stripped back to become a little greener. Keep the pumpkin patch, wear the costume, cover the kitchen table in crafts and set to work making the porch as spooky as you like. Just give the closet, costume box and craft cupboard first dibs before buying new.
Reuse one costume, revive one decoration or rescue one pumpkin from the trash and you’ve already made Halloween a little greener. No perfection required.
Here’s to a Happy Greenish Halloweenish
Fall Pumpkin Guide
Which pumpkin is best for pie, carving or decorating?
Sugar Pumpkin
Small and sweet.
Best for pie, soups and purée.
Jack-o’-Lantern
Big, bright orange and made for carving.
Great for Halloween carving. Usually not the best for cooking, as the flesh tends to be watery and stringy.
White Pumpkin
Pale skin and a softer, decorative look.
Better for decorating. Mild flavor, and sometimes okay for purée, but usually chosen more for looks than cooking.
Dickinson Pumpkin
Tan skin, dense flesh and more squash-like in shape.
Excellent for baking and purée. Often the type associated with canned pumpkin.
Cinderella Pumpkin
Fairytale looks with deep ribs and rich color.
Great for roasting, soups and decorating. A lovely all-rounder if you want something practical and pretty.
Greenish tip: If you’re buying pumpkins for both looks and leftovers, choose one for carving and one better suited to cooking.
Further reading
Martha Stewart - Spookily good ways to use your pumpkin guts.
Pumpkin Leftover - from scraps to scrumptious.
