Our new neighborhood goes all out for Halloween, so the pressure is on for us to decorate this year!

As you’re probably well aware, Halloween is a holiday that full of Bad Stuff (and nope, not just the candy).

Read on for my tips for avoiding toxins–and have a safe, healthy Halloween!

How to Have a Healthier Halloween

1. Avoid PVC Costumes

Many store-bought Halloween costumes are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). You’ll often be able to identify these by the strong plastic-y smell they emit.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contains phthalates, those pesky endocrine disruptors I’m always talking about. Some of these costumes have also been found to be laced with heavy metals and flame-retardants.

 

If you’re anything like me, sewing a Halloween costume is absolutely off the table. My husband often gets very creative and we do usually cobble together homemade costumes that don’t involve a sewing machine. Here are some ideas that I like, and this brand is great for basics. If I had a baby, I’d toss this (with the matching hat) on him and call it a day!

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2. Choose Non-Toxic Face Paint

Conventional face paints can contain arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead. Here is the face paint I use every year, and this is a fun non-toxic cosmetic glitter. If a costume requires nail polish, here are some fun, toxin-free colors to try.

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3. Swap Out Candy

The amount of sugar in Halloween candy is obviously a big concern, but there are lots of other ingredients that make most candy Bad Stuff: from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives to trans fats and high fructose corn syrup, candy really shouldn’t be considered food at all.

While I would love to say that we hand out raisins on Halloween, I do usually wind up giving out candy—typically these or this (both of which skip the very worst stuff).

When I was a kid, my parents stocked up on what they called “hippie candy,” which ranged from organic lollipops to healthier gum to crackers.

I would bring home all the candy we’d collected in the neighborhood, and then play a game that involved placing a selected piece of junky candy (like a Tootsie Roll) into a bag and then closing my eyes and selecting something from my mom’s bag of aforementioned Hippie Candy in exchange.

Another variation we tried as we got older was just to dump our pillowcases full of candy on the floor as my parents dumped all the Hippie Candy out, too. Then the bartering began!

Somehow, I never felt deprived or bummed out about this; for one thing, I actually liked fruit leathers, and the game of switching was fun. Also, my parents always let us keep some of our very favorite “real candy” (for me, this was always the peanut butter cups–here’s a healthier version of those!).

I’d like to give a special shout-out to Glee Gum for being the only healthful candy that comes in cardboard, not plastic.

And, full disclosure–I am much less strict than my own parents were, so my kids eat plenty of real candy on Halloween. I offer the suggestions above for those of you who are committed to doing better than I am!

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4. Remove Face Paint Safely

When the festivities end, you can clean off face paints with either nontoxic face wipes or plain coconut oil.

 

Bonus: Make a Seasonal Table

I wish I could say I’ve been able to pull this off, but not yet. Still, look at how pretty my mom’s house looks every Halloween—proof that it doesn’t have to be just a time of big plastic spiders!

 

 

 

 

 

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