There are a few ways you can keep the Halloween “stuff” to a minimal and still have a really good time. 

Use what you have: This is always my go to! We have all collected stuff over the years and if you get creative you can use what you have to create pretty cool costumes for yourself and your kids. If you have a white sheet you are an instant ghost – might be a bit cheesy but does the job. 

Bake instead of buy. Like I mentioned we don’t really trick or treat so not sure how cool this would be but baking cookies is a great way to reduce the waste of sweet wrappers and if I am honest is much nicer than overly sweet candy. 

Decorate with what you have. Just like your costumes use what you have to decorate with. If you do buy decorations, reuse them instead of discarding them each Halloween. We have party decor that has been used over and over for years. Halloween decor doesn’t really change – its pumpkins and witches so avoid adding too much stuff unnecessarily each year. 

Avoid buying fresh pumpkins! “Research shows that over 8 million pumpkins in the United Kingdom will be tossed into the trash after Halloween” Source. The US is worse! So just don’t do it. Rather buy plastic pumpkins that you can use year after year.