Halloween can be scary, really scary.

Think about all the candy wrappers ending up in landfills and the flashy costumes bought and tossed the next day.

Think about all the calories that you’ll put on before, during and after Halloween -yes, Halloween candy bowls tend to stay around for days after Halloween.

Doing the right thing doesn’t mean you have to miss on the fun.

Here are some tips for a green Halloween:

1-Costume: Instead of buying a $20 synthetic outfit shipped from China, get creative and come out with the same outfit with things you already have at home. The most common outfits are easy to recreate: a pirate, a nurse, a witch. Use old clothes or stop by a nearby Goodwill Store, where you could even find a used costume. Check out this site for inspiration. This site also has good ideas for home-made outfits for children, although some require some preparation.

2-Office candy: You can’t stop co-workers from bringing in candy, but you can try talking to them about having a healthy Halloween this year. There are tons of tasty snacks that won’t disappoint their taste buds. If no one sounds very exited about the idea, still bring some healthy snacks for them to try. It might change their minds, and it will keep you away from their candy bowl. Nuts and dried fruits are my favorite. Reduce your waste by looking for stores that sell the snacks by weight. Fruits and a few dips will also keep co-workers hanging around your desk (think yogurt, chocolate, peanut butter, just to name a few). Read labels and watch out for calorie-filled dips.

3-Pumpkin carving: Forget about this wasteful activity unless you plan to eat the pumpkin filling. Check out www.pumpkinrecipes.us for recipes and ideas. Make sure the pumpkin is later composted.

4-Education: Talk to your child about healthy and unhealthy candy. The site Greenhalloween.org suggests setting up a point system: they get points for every piece of candy they collect (and don’t eat), and then they get to trade their points for a new toy. If you have small children, you can also agree with other parents to only give out healthy candy, then take your kids only to their homes.

5-Treats: Most children are told not to eat unwrapped candy, so they might not eat dried fruits and nuts. Instead, give out small toys such as playing cards, books or crayons. You can buy certain amount of small toys, wrap each in magazine paper and put them in a tray or bowl. Have each trick-or-treating child pick one prize. They’ll love the surprise factor.

6-More candy: If nuts and dried fruit won’t do, you can always shop at health food stores for granola bars, chocolate-covered fruits and nuts, and organic and nutritious snacks. Make sure that all boxes, wraps and bags are recyclable. Buy bags of loose candy as opposed of individually wrapped candy. You can also make your own granola or chocolate dipped snacks.

7-The day after: Take your time to separate recyclables in their respective containers. Candy can be composted, so just toss away all the candy you don’t plan to eat or you’ll end up eating it. If you got a used costume from a Goodwill Store, plan to take it back. You won’t use it again and someone else could.

8-Share ideas: What do you do to make your Halloween green? Comment below! I’d love to hear what do you.

Image by jeffk