Halloween. It’s all about the candy, right? Well not long ago, kids in costume had just as much fun procuring pennies for a worthy cause as they did grabbing fistfuls of treats. Why? Because doing good deeds is fun and meaningful, even for the youngest of the bunch. So this year, consider trick-or-treating-for-good in lieu of (or in addition to) trick-or-treating-for-goodies and see what all the excitement is about.

• Change for Children
• Reverse trick-or-treating
• Trick-or-treat for UNICEF
• Trick-or-Treat for Food Allergy
• Sight Night
• Books For Treats
• The Halloween Candy Buy-Back Program
• Treats for Our Troops

How does your family put the “meaning in the greening” on Halloween? Do share the good!

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Looking for more ways to green your holidays, celebrations and every-day? Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of  Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®. Connect with Lynn and Corey on Facebook and Twitter.

2012 Green Halloween® Blogfest

Halloween is fast approaching, and we here at Green America are doing our best to support a Green Halloween® – one that is healthy for you, your families, and our planet. Since we know that you care about kids, families and the planet, we’d like to invite you to participate in our Green Halloween® Blogfest that will be taking place from Wednesday October 24^th to October 31^st. We hope that our invitation inspires you to share your own ideas about having a Halloween that is both fun and healthy.

For this BlogFest we would like to put a spotlight on the health concerns that have grown around traditional treats that are handed out on Halloween. Halloween is big on fun, but unfortunately, it is also big on unhealthy traditions. Many moms and dads worry about the impact of this holiday on the health of their kids and the planet. There is growing awareness and concern for the connections between children with diabetes, food allergies, and obesity and the presence of processed ingredients, hidden sugars, synthetic chemicals, and artificial colors in our food system.

On the flipside of this, it is easier than ever to find helpful information and make healthy choices. Green Halloween proudly advocates for this and supports a Halloween that is easy, affordable, fun and oh yes, healthy. Green Halloween encourages families to give out healthier treats and non-food “treasures” to trick-or-treaters, and luckily, there are now many awesome options available this Halloween. Green Halloween itself has partnered with these great organizations, whose missions support the Green Halloween goals of showing families that it is possible to keep the fun, while losing the unhealthy, un-Earth-friendly traditions.

We hope that you will join us and share your ideas on what a healthy Halloween means to you. Share with us your thoughts and tips on:

• How do you make Halloween healthier?
• Why is it important to think about health when celebrating Halloween?
• What the challenges are to making Halloween healthier and more Earth-friendly?
• What are your favorite ways to “Think outside the {conventional} candy box” and provide alternatives to traditional candy? Do you do treasures, have traditions like the “Switch-Witch”, or provide healthy alternatives?
• Your tips for managing the amount of the junk candy your children consume at Halloween?
• How has your environmental ethic or interest in health framed your celebration of Halloween?

It’s not about telling parents how they should celebrate – it’s about inspiring them to make choices that make sense to their families, their budgets and their schedules. And when many families make healthier and more sustainable choices for Halloween – taking even the smallest of steps – big impacts can be made for the short and long term.

Please join us in celebrating a Green Halloween.

To participate you can:

• Write your own post based on our questions. You are more than welcome to use GreenHalloween.org as a resource, clicking on the tags at the bottom of this post are a great place
  to start. We also recommend clicking on the links to our sponsors below as well. They perfectly exemplify what we are all about at Green Halloween and are a great inspiration.
• Update a past blog post that you have written that fits with this topic. (Now is a great time to remind people about your work and bring a new audience in on your tips and ideas)
• We can provide you with an original Green Halloween post for you to repost as is, or personalize yourself. (Just contact GreenHalloween@GreenAmerica.org for this)

Other Instructions

• Post a link to your blog post in the comments below, so we can read it and promote it.
• Green Halloween(R) is a registered trademark, so the first time it is mentioned in your post, please be sure to include the registration mark
• If you are on Twitter, share your post on there. Please include the Hashtag, #GreenHalloween
• Your Blogfest entry should mention that is a part of the 2012 Green Halloween® Blogfest, and link back to this original signup post so that people reading your post can find our other entries.
• We encourage you to check out each other’s blogs, comment, and provide feedback.
• Don’t be shy, any entry, no matter how big or small, is welcome to be a part of this.
• Have fun, write about what you believe, and read the work of others with similar interests.
• Connect to Green Halloween on Facebook and Twitter
• And please feel free to pass this on to other bloggers you think might be interested.

What’s in it for you?

• We will have a page on GreenHalloween.Org with links to all participating blogs
• We’ll do our best  to support your post with Tweets and via Facebook, and of course you’re welcome to post on our Green Halloween Facebook page
• If we receive media calls from anyone interested in hearing from bloggers, your name and blog will be added to the list (if you choose)
• Grow your profile, increase your network, and share your work with a new audience
• You’ll feel great having supported this effort to make a difference for parents and planet!

Any questions, requests for posts/photos/resources, or support are more than welcome. We are here to help! The best way to ask questions is: GreenHalloween@GreenAmerica.org

Lastly, We’d like to extend an invitation for you to join us for a #GreenHalloween Twitter Party on October 22 from 9-10pm EST. There will be plenty of inspirational ideas for those of you having trouble getting started on your post!

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Green Halloween is a non-profit, grassroots community initiative to create healthier and more Earth-friendly holidays, starting with Halloween. It began in the Seattle area in 2007 with backers such as Whole Foods Market and was such a huge success that in 2008, the initiative expanded nation-wide. In cities across the country, volunteer coordinators are turning their city’s Halloween holiday
healthy and eco-friendly, but many are also raising money for their own, local nonprofit beneficiaries via the initiative. Green Halloween, as of 2012, is a program of Green America. Green Halloween is possible because of their partnerships with Honest Tea®, Lara Bar®, Stretch Island Fruit Co.^TM, Endangered Species Chocolate, Plum Kids, Unreal^TM, Applegate® , Cascadian Farm®, Surf Sweets®, Bitsy’s Brain Food^TM, Brainard’s Natural Remedies®, and Glee Gum^TM.

Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982. Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace— to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. We work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.

Every year at our daughter’s school they have classroom Halloween celebrations. Families are asked to send in a snack for the class to enjoy, thankfully in our school there is a requirement that half the snacks be healthy, this helps to balance out all the sweets. Being the “Today I Ate A Rainbow” family we always sign up for bringing in a healthy snack and this veggie skeleton is one of our favorites! The best part is when I pick up our platter at the end of the day it’s always empty while there are still trays of cupcakes and other goodies still uneaten!

Here are the simple directions to make a Rainbow Veggie Skeleton:

You’ll need the following items:

• Head of cabbage or iceberg lettuce
• Zucchini slices (rounds)
• Bell Pepper slices (cross-cut)
• Celery stalks
• Sugar snap peas
• Carrots (peeled)
• Broccoli florets
• Cauliflower florets
• Cherry/Grape Tomatoes
• Healthy dressing of your choice!
• Olive slices

Step 1. Line half of small bowl with lettuce for the skeleton’s hair; fill with dressing. Place at one end of large tray or baking sheet for the skeleton’s head.

Step 2. Cut vegetables the arrange them on tray to resemble skeleton’s body

* We added the fake spiders for a little extra fun

Halloween parties can have a balance of sweets and health…by spending a little extra time you can make veggies just as fun as any junk food! You can also get the best bow stabilizer.
Happy Healthy Eating,

Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

by Corey & Lynn

Want to know how the Mexicans spend All Soul’s Day and celebrate the dead? Some of our amazing friends from the original Green Halloween NYC extravaganza are hosting a dynamic, destination-driven event that demonstrates the “creativity over candy” model deliciously.

The La Calaca Arts Festival, taking place in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (Nov 1-4, 2012), conjures themes of life and death, ancient and new, through art, music and culture.

Programming for the festival will take place at venues throughout the city over the four days, including a large interactive art exhibition in Parque Juarez for adults and children. During the day, lectures, workshops and guided tours of traditional altars, costumed processions and decorated cemeteries will be featured – along with installations and performances organized by local artists, non profits, and cultural institutions. In the evenings, visitors will experience the exquisite culinary options in San Miguel, while the world’s largest stringed instrument, the ‘Earth Harp’ is played in the city’s center. A large closing celebration featuring live musicians and performers – both local and international – will culminate the event on November 3rd.

Yep, you read that right. What a sweet treat: America’s Got Talent finalist, William Close (Earth Harp) will be performing for thee days during the event.

Follow La Calaca Festival on Facebook or check out www.lacalacafestival.com

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Lemon and orange slices exfoilate and polish your skin naturally!

Make sure you hit your T-zones! Your forehead, your nose, and chin to soak up oils.

Mix Egg, milk, and Honey for an easy, breezy face recipe!

One of the best ways to start the New Year is by refreshing your skin during the winter months when skin becomes dull, dry, and often tired looking from rounds of Christmas and New Year’s parties.  Here are three easy recipes for taking care of your largest organ that will cost you practically nothing!  Cheers to that!

Milk and a Washcloth: 

Take a washcloth and soak it in a bowl of milk then ring it out.  It’s best to use cow, goat, or buttermilk for smooth and supple skin.  Microwave for 30 seconds then place on face for ten minutes or until the washcloth cools.  This aids in both soft, smooth skin and is effective for getting rid of age spots since it lightens skin pigmentation.

The Breakfast Mask:

This little mask requires a blender and a little tender loving care!  I use this mask almost everyday because it is gentle and helps reduce redness, dark eye circles, and acne.  I’ve even started my teenage daughter on this regimen to gear her through the teenage years.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of boiling water
• a drizzle of honey
• 2 TBSP milk
• 2 TBSp coffee grounds
• 1 teaspoon of Greek yogurt

Pour the oats into the blender and soak for a couple minutes in the boiling water.  Then add the additional ingredients and blend well.  Cake on face until dry then use a washcloth to exfoilate.  You can even keep leftovers in a separate container that can be heated up for 40 seconds for the next use.

Waterfall:

Take a common everyday vaporizer, preferably the warm heat model, then steam your face for at least 15 to 20 minutes.  After steaming your face, which opens the pores, then splash ice cold water onto face to close them.  Then moisturize as usual.  Prior to doing this, spend the day drinking an entire gallon of fresh water by the jug.  This will purify your skin from the inside/out. 

Blogger Laurali Star can be found on her blog, Charming Laurali Star, and on her site, The Damsel in the Attic, where she sells handmade and vintage clothing and accessories.  Another fab way to help reduce, reuse, and recycle!  Check it out!

Click here to see how to make art latte. There are some unique arts made in this particular review im about to show you.

Green Halloween® is a nationwide non-profit initiative started by mother-daughter team Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell. In 2010, Green Halloween became a program of EcoMom® Alliance and has events in cities across the U.S.