You may not know me because I stay confined to a lovely decorated work cube most of the time, but there just so happens to be a face or personality if you will, behind this blog. My name is Aaron Fields and I am the Marketing Coordinator here at KSTW Television. One of my many tasks around here is to scour the net and friends calendars finding exciting events so that our viewers will not only be cool because they watch the most awesomest station around (not a biased opinion at all) but also to give them an upper hand on all the happening events around town. Needless to say it is because of this that I was lead to come up with some cool and unusual ideas about how to be Green for Halloween.

    On my quest to come up with some cool ideas on "Green" things to do for Halloween, I wanted to find ideas that went beyond the obvious. By the obvious I mean: Using old clothing to make your costume, 101 ways to salvage your pumpkin or using organic alternatives instead of traditional candy. Don't get me wrong, all of these are great Green ideas; however I wanted some ideas with a little bit more of a creative spin. Immediately I thought "If I want to be green why not try the local earth conscious store". I was so sure that I was going to be in the presence of someone who would be able to give me all their cool ideas for how they decorated their home and what kinds of things I could pick-up from the store that would get me started. I was hoping we could chat about the various recycled material they used for their decorations and what they were planning to hand out to the trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately when I got there I realized this was not going to be the case. Not only was I not able to find any ideas or someone with some ideas, I could barely find anything to get me beyond where I began on my quest. Although there was one ray of hope that I was able to obtain in what seemed to be an almost helpless trip, a post-card with a link to a website known as GreenHalloween.org.

    Filled with tons of ideas, this site is a Green goers dream for being Green on Halloween. You can check out the interactive map that features homes that have decided to be green by handing out organic and or non-candy items. How cool is that! Need ideas if you would like to participate in this new movement? What about a way to indicate to others that your home is a proud participant in the Green Halloween? Yes, this can all be found here as well.

    Creative ideas are all over the place. Want to throw a party? Find ideas all the way from your invitations to your party favors and decorations. Need activities for the kids? You are sure to find something exciting for you and the little ones to enjoy like the "Paper Costume Competition". 

    For those of us that just cant seem to let the more traditional side of Halloween go there are tips on how to dispose of and compost unwanted candy as well as games you can use to have your children trade their candy for special activities.

    To say the least, I was able to get everything I was looking for from this website. So many things I never would have thought of myself were so simple and practical yet so foreign to me. The one thing that I enjoyed the most was a statement to the parents that expressed how important it is to model healthy behaviors for your children and to show them that a Green Halloween is just as if not more fun than traditional Halloween. After all, if the little ones see you having fun, they'll want to have fun too!

TIP: If you are not currently caught up into the Green movement don't worry because there are plenty of us who haven't made that change yet. However a great way to get your feet wet in the "Green" pool could be to start trying out some things centered on the holidays. It could become a sort of tradition if you will. Happy Hallow-green!