#REPOST

As far as we are concerned, Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season. The next two months are sure to be a blur of activity and excitement.  We hope that you and your kids have a great time celebrating the Trick-or-Treat holiday.

But once the festivities are over, families are left with too much candy, discarded costumes, and a pumpkin on its way to being rotten.

Here are a few suggestions for dealing with all those things ...

Limit the Halloween Candy Eating Frenzy  

Save costumes for next year's National Costume Swap Day

A costume swap can be as simple as getting together with a few neighbors or as large as a citywide event.  Either way, you'll be making a difference in your community by saving resources (and money, too!). Costume swaps not only mean fewer resources are used to make new products, but it also means less packaging, less transportation of the product, and less waste (from products being trashed as they sadly often are!).  Swaps are also a lot of fun and can be a great way to kick off the Green Halloween® season!

What to Do With Your Carved Pumpkin 

If you already carved it as a jack-o-lantern, there are some do's and don't's from PumpkinPatchesandMore.org:

Do:

   1. Put it in the compost heap - it will make good fertilizer

   2. Bury it in the garden - it will decay quickly and enrich the soil

   3. Wash, dry and save the seeds to plant next year (they will grow!)

   4. Wash and roast the seeds - they make good eating.

   5. Dump it in the trash, if you haven't got a garden

Don't:

   1. Use it as a doorstop.

   2. Keep it indoors: it will rot and stain the floor

   3. Put it in the attic for next Halloween

   4. Attempt to eat it or cook with it.