A Green Halloween

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The weather starts to cool down and we begin the holidays, starting with Halloween. As a child, I remember how excited I would get when it neared the end of October, how fun it was to dress up and have parties to celebrate. Back in the day, we could even wear our costumes to school...that was probably what I looked forward to the most. Well, that and trick or treating of course!

Now I'm an adult and I have kids of my own. I still love Fall and I love how excited my kids get for Halloween. But as a parent, I worry about my kids. I worry about their health, future and the future of thier environment. That's why this year, I'm doing what I can to help make our Halloween Green. I'm participating in Green Halloween® Blogfest to help spread the word.

There are so many ways we can make Halloween healthier for our kids. Instead of bringing candy to school for class parties, a good alternative is maybe send some stickers, pencils or fun rings in a baggie for each child. Pass out healthy natural alternatives to candy like Stretch Island Fruit or Endangered Species Chocolates. My personal favorite is the new Unreal Candy. Its really so good without all the extra junk that's in most candy.

If you child get to much candy(not that they would ever admit such a thing exists!), some fun ideas are to have a candy trade or start a tradition where the Halloween fairy comes and collects all the extra candy. One thing we always to is ration out the candy. After I check it over, I keep it all in a cabinet and we only eat a few pieces, a few times a week. This is not always a good idea though, because I seem to have a sweet tooth and end up eating more candy than the kids...oops!

We can also be green this Halloween by sharing our costumes with friends. Over the years, we've done this often and its one of my favorite ways to save money on costumes. We also make decorations for around the house with the kids. I did this a lot when my own children little, and also with the children I have in my daycare. We can decorate the house and have fun at the same time. One year we grew our own pumpkins, and shared the extra with friends.

I like to do what I can to help the environment and keep my kids healhty. Even small things like using a recycled bag to collect candy or walk instead of drive when trick or treating can help. Getting family and friends involved makes it even more fun. Because, to me, that's what it's all about in the end...making sure the kids have a fun night they'll remember for a long time.