This year, I decided to throw a Halloween party at my house. Having committed myself to living an environmentally conscious lifestyle for a few years now, I wanted to explore how I could throw this party in a sustainable way, without compromising on the theme. I pursued creative decisions when it came to the decorations, food and games, by trying to balance sustainability, functionality and spookiness. I believe that the result was an entertaining night spent with friends, without having to buy niche decorations, single use plastic, or any other items that would lose their purpose after this one night.
Decorations
Starting out with the decorations, I focused on repurposing materials I already had laying around. There was a cardboard box in my closet which was calling my name for this event. I chose to transform it into a haunted house, which would not only serve as a decorative piece, but also as a game with the guests. More on that later. Here is the process of cutting up the box into a house shape, then painting it.
I also decided to repurpose some wine bottles that were laying around the apartment by sticking a candle in each one and lighting it up. It was truly a fancy yet eerie way of keeping the lights dim and in the mood. The wax also began to drip on itself, making very interesting shapes.
In addition to this, I painted some scary faces on tangerines, as if they were mini carved pumpkins. Then, I placed them all around the apartment. Not only did they serve as decorations, but they were also edible. Most of them were eaten up by the end of the night. What’s better than an edible decoration?
Food
Speaking of food, since I really enjoy cooking, I decided to cook up a bunch of Halloween themed dishes. I decided they would all be plant-based and seasonal, which is the type of diet considered by many to be the most environmentally friendly. Of course, food being such a personal topic, this was not a strict rule, considering that there were many dishes brought by other guests. However, I felt that overall, the food also reflected the mindset in which I chose to tackle the event, and the effort to make those adaptations were minimal.
The box-turned-haunted house had multiple purposes: in the beginning of the night, it was simply a decoration, but it later evolved into a Halloween-themed game. The principle of the game was that it contained the “body parts” of a murdered family, and each participant had to find them and guess the part they were touching. Hearts, intestines, brains, eyes and ears were nothing but tupperware boxes filled with peeled tomatoes, overcooked spaghetti, boiled cauliflower, grapes, and dried apricots which I threw in my compost at the end of the night.
The instructions for the game were written on the back of a paper bag I had kept. The functionality of it was great, because I could hang it over a nail on the wall or a door handle.
It was surprising yet satisfying to see that such a simple concept would yield such funny and entertaining reactions. Not all the boxes fit in the “haunted house” so I had two extra boxes act as the “garage” and were passed around the room so that people didn’t have to wait too long by the house. Those boxes I had also kept from earlier that week. It turns out that cardboard can be a very versatile tool.
Costume
Last but not least, I want to write about my costume. This year, I dressed up as Jennifer from the cult horror-comedy Jennifer’s Body. I also did not want a single-use costume, so I purchased a second hand white dress which I tweaked to match the character’s outfit. Since I like sewing and making clothes, this was lots of fun. I got my fabrics at Mercat dels Encants.
this is the process of making the dress
I added white fabric and black lace on the dress, then I splattered it with watercolor paint to mimick the blood on the character's dress. I was hoping that by using watercolor, it could potentially be washed out, so if I ever want to wear that dress for other occasions, I could easily do it, probably with the help of a little bleach. I haven't tried doing that yet, so I am not completely sure it will work. Usually, watercolours are the easiest paints to get out of cltohes, though.
All in all, there were still chip bags and beer cans at the end of the night, but the point was trying to minimise the quantity of waste without compromising on the fun. With every party comes a clean up, but I believe that we need to learn new ways of creating that waste, and this occasion was a fun experiment. It was also a successful experiment, and the way I know that is because it didn’t feel any different than a normal Halloween party. The cheap decorations, excessive plastic cutlery and meat heavy dishes were not missed. It resulted in me feeling personally satisfied and accomplished.