Ten Eco-Friendly Halloween Decoration Ideas Using Items Found at Home

Ahead of Halloween, celebrated on 31 October, decorating a home does not require buying new plastic decorations that end up in the bin after the holiday. The sustainable lifestyle brand "Paguro Upcycle" has compiled ten ideas for making ghosts, lanterns and other decorations from materials people already have at home, while saving money.

Halloween decorations are often used for only a few days a year, so buying items meant for short-term use creates unnecessary waste. The alternative is upcycling: turning seemingly useless items into new decorative or practical products.

Decorations from old items

The brand suggests turning empty tin cans into lanterns: patterns are punched in with a nail and hammer, and an LED tea light goes inside. It is a safer option than an open flame, especially near fabric decorations or pets. Old newspapers can be cut into bat and ghost garlands, and old white sheets can become ghosts that can be stored for next year.

Cardboard boxes can be made into gravestones, but cardboard does not withstand rain, so outdoor pieces are best brought indoors in wet weather. Cereal boxes can become window silhouettes, while old thread and yarn can make spider webs that can be reused. Empty glass jars filled with dried plants, pine cones and homemade labels turn into "mysterious" containers.

Natural materials and pumpkins

Instead of plastic decor, people can use leaves, pine cones, acorns, chestnuts, apples and oranges. Untreated natural materials can be composted after the holiday, and the fruit can be eaten. Pumpkins can be decorated with fabric scraps, ribbons and paper shapes rather than carved, so they can be used for cooking.

If a pumpkin is carved, an edible variety should be chosen. The flesh can be made into soup, purée or pie, and the seeds roasted. If a carved pumpkin has sat at room temperature for a long time, its flesh should no longer be used for cooking.

Other tips

Celebrating in a greener way can continue with reworking existing clothes or finding a costume at a second-hand shop, using a fabric bag to collect sweets and reusable tableware at parties. "Paguro Upcycle" stresses that traditions need not be abandoned; a little creativity and existing resources are often enough.