Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Arts and crafts

Discover knitting, crochet, scrapbooking and art and craft ideas on this forum.

Budget and waste friendly Halloween

11 replies

coffeeneeded · 30/09/2024 13:15

I'm throwing my first Halloween party this year. Can you please help me with budget and waste friendly ideas for it?

I'll obviously be making some foolish treats but it's more the decoration side of things.

It feels so wrong to go to the shop and buy a load of plastic crap just for 1 day.

Thanks in advance

OP posts:
Geneticsbunny · 02/10/2024 08:17

I would try to use paper and card as much as possible, at least it's recyclable. Maybe cut some bathroom shapes out and hang them from the ceiling with cotton. Streamers over doors with crepe paper? You could make "bloodied bandages" with loo roll and red food colouring.

Firesideblanket · 02/10/2024 09:08

I’ve seen someone on instagram making cornflour ghost garlands similar to these. I was thinking of doing something similar. Just need a ghost cookie cutter or create a template to cut around.
Also seen ghosts cut from old books and hung around which I think look cute.

Budget and waste friendly Halloween
lmhj · 02/10/2024 09:17

Apples
pumpkins carved and the inside made into soup

DaveWatts · 02/10/2024 09:28

If you think you're likely to hold other parties in the future you could go the other way and make some quite nice decorations eg halloween fabric or felt bunting that can be reused again and again.

Mini decorative (real) pumpkins are good as they often can't really be eaten anyway but can be composted (or kept all year round, they last forever! I've only just got rid of last year's)

Twigs & branches brought in from outside can be put up over doorways/pictures etc with white wool wound around to look like spiders' webs

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 02/10/2024 09:31

When the kids were smaller we made Halloween shapes out of a spare bit of black card. They've lasted for years.

We put them up on the front windows and then put orange kraft roll (also has lasted for years if taken down carefully) up covering the windows.

With a light behind it the house looks very spooky from the outside.

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 02/10/2024 09:32

We also have some plastic decorations but these also have lasted for years and years.

Another thing I do is cover the lights at the front of the house with orange plastic. My electrician okayed this though.

DaveWatts · 02/10/2024 09:38

You can also get washable window marker pens for drawing on glass, good option for mirrors etc too

Button28384738 · 02/10/2024 10:26

I was in the USA for Halloween a couple of years ago, they have pumpkins everywhere but not carved ones, just all sorts of different sized and coloured pumpkins sometimes with fairy lights around them. Looked so pretty and also uncarved the pumpkins last for weeks so if they want they can eat them after Halloween.

You could also do bowls of apples or pine cones, they look nice and autumnal

Also seen someone pick branches from outdoors, spray paint them black then hang Halloween decorations on them - looked really good

coffeeneeded · 08/10/2024 21:11

Thanks all. Some good ideas here. Going to go to hobby craft and see what I can find.

OP posts:
SarahTaylor7 · 09/10/2024 16:01

You could try some paper based diy crafts that after the party you can just recycle. Baker Ross Creative Station blog has loads of upcycling craft ideas which are so easy and I often make some with the kids. These Halloween Paper chains and paper plate witch hats are great!!
https://www.bakerross.co.uk/craft-ideas/kids/halloween-paper-chains/

Budget and waste friendly Halloween
Camembertcufflinks · 09/10/2024 16:20

We have accumulated good quality durable Halloween decorations, and crocheted some over the years. We treat them like Christmas decs and get the same ones out year on year. The kids choose a new one each year to add to the collection, but on the proviso that they will be reusable for several years at least.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page