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Original poster

not buying-in to plastic Halloween

76 replies

mrsscoob · 07/10/2011 18:28

At a time when we are all being reminded to recycle and take more care of our planet, reduce our carbon footprint etc why are people buying tons and tons of plastic crap at Halloween?

Halloween used to be a few kids trick or treating on the actual night, now it goes on for days, with parties, offices and shops being decorated, adults dressing up and shops pushing their Halloween junk for over a month before.

We hear all the time about people finding it hard financially at the moment and concerned about fuel prices and the cost of food, yet they can find the money for a flashing plastic skull.

It's all such a waste of money and so very bad for the environment. The stuff is shipped over here from all across the world, used for a day and then chucked in the bin.

Am I being unreasonable to feel that the only purpose of Halloween nowadays is to make people spend money? It sickens me how much rubbish there is in the shops, knowing that on the 1st November it will all be heading for landfill or the sea. Why can't we settle for carving a pumpkin? Why do we need all this plastic crap?

OP posts:
TakeThisOneHereForAStart · 07/10/2011 19:45

Since we had LO I have bought some halloween decorations, but I've been going for things that are well made and will be used for years to come.

Now he's a little older (2 1/2) we will be making our own decorations to go with them, much as we will at Christmas and as my parents did with us when we were little (my mother has an army of toilet roll snowmen and Father Christmas's and she still has a witch that my brother made with a Vim tub. I don't think they make Vim anymore, so that proves how old we are the witch is.

And I make LO's costumes every year. For his first Halloween I customised a sleep suit to make him look like a voodoo doll. I had a knitting needle as the pin.

I can remember trick or treating with turnip lanterns too.

One thing I haven't liked is the decorations I saw in the supermarket the other day. They were called Zombie Baby and it really was a lifelike statue of a baby but with an evil facial expression, empty eye sockets and fangs.

I know Halloween is the time for gruesome images, and I wouldn't have been surprised if this were in some sort of specialist shop or costume shop etc. But it was a bit much for the supermarket and they were on the bottom shelf, so LO saw them too and they scared him. This is the supermarket that works with the charity Tommy's too, so I felt they should have used better judgement on that one and it was quite upsetting to be surprised by it in a place like that.

LetThereBeRock · 07/10/2011 19:47

I don't know any children, or anyone under 40 or so who refers to it as guising here,also Scottish,so I think it varies by area,and they certainly don't sing now,and I'm grateful for that, I just want them to look cute/scary,take the sweets,say thankyou and go. I don't want them screeching on my doorstep.

Anyway whatever it's called I love it. I love all the 'plastic crap' that goes with it too. I remember drooling over all the plastic devil's forks,fangs,witches accessories etc that were around when I was a child,90s,and it's got even better since then. It's one of my favourite holidays,and there's nothing wrong with it imho.

TakeThisOneHereForAStart · 07/10/2011 19:48

Havin - I had a bin bag cape. If you hadn't said you were a kid in the 90's I'd be suspecting you of being my cousin. We had the best time running up and down the street in bin bags and witches hats, singing the theme tune to the old Mini Chedders advert and pretending to ballet dance.

Oh how the neighbours must have hated us! Grin

GreenMonkies · 07/10/2011 19:50

Like LadyEvilEyes I grew up in Scotland and went guising. It's the origin of the American 'Trick or Treat' (or, as it's become 'give us something or we'll throw eggs on your car') and as a result I'm trying to keep our 'British' tradition alive and won't give sweets etc to children unless they are dressed up, and always as them to tell a joke or something.

LindyHemming · 07/10/2011 19:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

floosiemcwoosie · 07/10/2011 19:54

I have bought everything in sight that is tacky and plastic.

I love halloween and intend for the house to be a totally tacky mess

LetThereBeRock · 07/10/2011 19:54

Why would you want to listen to a dire joke or terrible singing?Confused

LindyHemming · 07/10/2011 19:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

banana87 · 07/10/2011 19:56

We don't use any plastic shite for Halloween. I have a trick or treat pumpkin bag made from felt and a pumpkin which we carve on the day.

LetThereBeRock · 07/10/2011 19:57

It's not lovely.It's painful.

I like kids too,but definitely not when they're singing tunelessly on my doorstep. The costume is enough.

floosiemcwoosie · 07/10/2011 19:58

I like to aske them "would you like carrots, cabbages or potatoes?"

Their wee faces are a picture.

LetThereBeRock · 07/10/2011 20:00

That's just evil.

LindyHemming · 07/10/2011 20:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

floosiemcwoosie · 07/10/2011 20:05

I know....i do give them stuff, i just like to have fun with them

chunkythighs · 07/10/2011 20:21

Ever notice that there is always one house in an estate that goes just a little overboard with the decorations. (A bit like an American Halloween movie set).

Me, I take the recession as my excuse to buy nothing Wink.

DrDmo · 07/10/2011 21:30

YANBU. I agree with OP.

I could understand us polluting the air and the sea when we didn't know what we were doing, but now we are pretty much all aware of the damage we are causing to the environment we should at least cut out totally unnecessary things like this.

It's bizarre really. Grown up people buying shiny bits of shaped plastic. Do they really not have better things to do with their hard-earned? It doesn't help our economy to buy more plastic from China in any way, it's just more money sent East.

It does not bode well for us, as a species, that we are so happy to destroy our own living space and channel our resources towards the global retail corporations for the sake of a few shiny trinkets.

Dr. Dmo

soverylucky · 07/10/2011 22:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

duckdodgers · 07/10/2011 22:53

chunkythighs that will be me then Grin

You would hate living next to me OP then, not only do I do the house up but the garden to - complete with gravestones, fake crime scene, cauldrons, lights, hanging ghouls etc etc. My favourite is the skeleton bones Ive got that look as if they are coming up from the ground!!

Ive got so much fake web the house likes it hasnt been dusted for years. Ive got a mist maker cauldron and probably going to get a smoke machine this year.

Its only a bit of fun, my boys and all the local kids love it, I make Halloween cupcakes. Weve also got the giant talking butler that we put at the upstairs window and have a strobe light that flashes on and off, he cost a lot of money so that doesnt get chucked in the bin thats for sure!!

We have built everything up over years and the only thing Ive bought this year is the floating ghost Asda have, couldnt resist it! Each to their own but we have a great time.

chunkythighs · 07/10/2011 23:32

Is there a word equivalent to Scrooge for Halloween? (feel mean now Sad)

TakeThisOneHereForAStart · 07/10/2011 23:37

duckdodgers - If that butler is the one I'm thinking of, my son loves him.

It's strange really. He loves the giant spooky butler but when halloween was over and the same shop replaced him almost immediately with a giant talking Father Christmas he was terrified.

Screamed every time we were shopping and he saw that thing move or speak.

FunkyChicken · 08/10/2011 00:48

Halloween (orange tat), Christmas (red/green/shiny tat) Valentines Day (red/pink heart shaped tat), St Patricks Day (green tat), Easter (yellow and gingham tat), Mothers Day,Fathers Day, Teachers Day, Grandparents Day , plastic 'favours' at weddings that just end up in the bin. Lots of clever marketing/advertising people persuading a large portion of the population to spend money on useless, disposable 'stuff' that we don't actually need to have a good time and that is usually made by people in poor countries not being paid very much. But hey - it will be interesting for future generations to dig up in our landfill sites. And no I'm not a miserable kill joy - I just think we're all very gullible.

aldiwhore · 08/10/2011 00:51

I gather plastic crap BECAUSE it will last for ages... I buy a few more bits every year, same with Christmas decorations. I LOVE it.

I can safely say that none of my plastic crap will end up in a landfill, at least not until I'm dead.

I do prefer homemade stuff, but it goes off too quickly, fond memories of my stinky house last year when I made pumpkins a tad too early.

LordOfTheFlies · 08/10/2011 01:00

I've noticed alot of Happy Hallowe'en banners and tat this year Hmm Confused

It's meant to be fun, a bit scary, and chance to dress up and be a bit lairy.

But Happy ?

aldiwhore · 08/10/2011 01:00

Yeh I don't really get the 'happy' bit.

duckdodgers · 08/10/2011 01:07

TakeThisOneHereForAStart - we got him a a few years ago in Asda, it goes for silly money on Ebay now! Laughing here at your son being scared of Santa and not him.

A funny story from the first year we put him up, he was at the top of the stairs window (then on Halloween we bring him downstairs), I bumped into a neighbour who hummed and hawed and then asked me if my DH was allright - as he stands for hours at the top of the stairs not moving! Quite worrying really as Butler has a green face Grin I had to explain......

Im with you aldiwhore all the way! And so what if it is "clever" marketing or whatever I dont care, we have fun, I dont think thats useless at all. Each to their own though eh.............by November 1st though I cant wait to get all the Halloween decs down - so the Christmas display can get put out Grin!!!