Striving for a Happy Halloween -

by Emily Betzler October 11, 2013 1 Comment

Oh how I love fall! The change in weather, the changing leaves, the change in wardrobe (I ♥ COZY!), the food, and the overall mood and feel of the season. As much as I hate to admit it, there is one part of fall that I am just not that crazy about - Halloween. This may surprise you considering how much I LOVE PARTIES and really any reason to dress up, be silly, and have fun. But Halloween has never done it for me and as a parent my lack of passion for the holiday has increased :/. Something about my kiddos running around, knocking on people's door, demanding candy, combined with the environmental impacts and over consumption associated with the holiday, makes it seem so contrary to the values I want to instil in my kids.

In addition, as a family we are striving to glorify God in all that we do and Halloween always makes me ponder the question "How can we be in the world but not of the world?"

I find this question hard because, I really do want to celebrate and make special Halloween memories with my kids but I know I need to stay true to what God has been working on in my life right now. So, I have been reflecting on different ways to make our Halloween celebrations align a little better with our beliefs and how God is calling us to live right now...a little bit more bought beautifully, if you will! The three main things I am re-thinking are costumes, candy, and our traditions.

The scary side of costumes~

I have to admit that I never really thought much about Halloween costumes and their impacts until this year. A little research revealed a few things I had never thought of:

1. The environmental impacts resulting from the mass product of Halloween costumes are huge!

Last year Americans spent 2.2 billion dollars on Halloween costumes, most costumes were only worn once, not created in sustainable manners and not made of recyclable materials.

2. The materials that many of the commercial costumes are made of are not eco-friendly or safe.

I was surprised to learn that many costumes contain PVC (a soft vinyl material). PVC is hazardous and creates and releases dioxin during its use and breakdown. Dioxin is the main ingredient in Agent Orange and is thought to cause cancer, reproductive problems, and immune system damage. Gross, there's no way I want to be dressing my kids up in that!

A Bought.Beautifully Costume Philosophy~

1. Avoid buying new commercially produced costumes. Buy used costumes or swap with friends.

In all honesty, I think this should be really easy for everyone to do! Think about all your friends with kids and the kids in your community there has to be tons of costumes that can be passed on or shared, instead of thrown away. This year I am going to pay attention to costumes that I think are cute and that Hudson or the little lady would like, and them I am just going to ask the owner if I can buy or swap with them when they are done! Easy-peasy, right? If asking your friends and family isn't your thing you can check out used clothing stores or if you live in a bigger city, you are in luck, because - National Costume Swap Day is gaining popularity and is TOMORROW!!! Click here to see if there is a swap near you.

2. Make our own costumes!

I must be honest, I am no seemstress, so this idea seems a little bit daunting to me and there are many other things I would rather be doing during this season: apple and pumpkin picking, baking, walking in leaves, than trying to navigate my way through sewing and creating a costume. However, after spending a little time on the web I found tons of great options that could be pulled together with minimal or no sewing and using mostly items that can already be found in our closets or house. Check out these cute ideas -

For more ideas and Halloween inspiration check out my pinterest board ~ Stay tuned or subscribe below, on Monday when we will be discussing the not so sweet side of candy.... & nbsp;
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