It’s spooky season again, traditionally the 31st October has been celebrated as All Hallows Even, the night before All Saints’ Day has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain. Traditionally people would dress up as evil spirits, light a bonfire and throw animal bones into the flames for good luck. The festivities would also have involved a good spread of seasonal food. Root vegetables such as turnips were carved to ward off the wandering spirit ‘will-o-the wisps’, or to ward off vampires .
Our modern day version of the celebration has some of the same traditions, however the seasonal food has turned into lots of very unhealthy, sugary food. The whole day can turn into quite an expense with decorations, costumes and the all important treats to give out at the door. It doesn’t have to be that way, the important thing is getting together with friends and family and there are plenty of ways to make it fun without blowing the budget, and perhaps make it a little healthier too.
Getting creative in the kitchen is a great place to start. Bake your own pizza and decorate it with spooky faces. Or bake cupcakes and cookies with less sugar, then get creative with the decorations. Peppers can be carved with scary faces and udon noodles make a great dish of worms. Use your imagination, or use Pinterest, but try and steer clear of the expensive ultra processed junk food for a cheaper, healthier Halloween.
Costumes are easy to make at home. Charity shops can provide a great source of inspiration, or rip up old or damaged clothes to turn into a zombie costume. Or you could always have fun wrapping someone in a bandage for a mummy costume.
To decorate your house it is easy and cheap to get creative with scrap paper. Paper chains really couldn’t be simpler – most of us have constructed a Christmas paper chain at some point or another, and this is just a spooky twist on an old classic. If you need to decorate your space quickly and cheaply, you can’t go wrong with strings of paper chains! If you stick to classic orange and black, you might be surprised just how effective these cheap Halloween decorations can look. Or make spiders webs, or bats, or ghosts- the possibilities are endless. The best bit is it can all be recycled afterwards which is better for the environment and your wallet.
So this Halloween, gather around the cauldron, dust off those broomsticks and celebrate the season with friends and family in a healthier, wealthier way. Just watch out for those vampires!!
댓글