The holidays are all about celebrating acts of giving, making it the perfect opportunity to make your gift giving smarter this season. There are so many amazing businesses out there that give back when you purchase one of their products. These companies are tied to doing good somewhere in the world every time a purchase is made. Read on for my 4 favorite gifts that give back – and if you hurry you can still get these goodies by Christmas.
1. Warby Parker Glasses Eben and I both wear glasses and love the stylish, affordable frames from Warby Parker. For every pair of glasses that you buy, a pair is donated to a person in need. If you don’t wear glasses, that is alright – Warby Parker also offers fantastic sunglasses.
2. Feed Bags I have been familiar with FEED Bags for a very long time – I remember first seeing them in Whole Foods back when we lived in Georgia! FEED Bags come in a huge selection of styles and sizes and with each purchase a portion of the proceeds go towards feeding the children of the world.
3. TOMS Shoes Most likely you are already familiar with TOMS shoes – for every pair you purchase a pair is donated to a child in need. With a great selection of shoes for everyone on your list, TOMS is the perfect holiday gift!
It’s no secret that many people who celebrate Halloween do so by getting together with friends and getting into the spirit of the spooky season. For many of those who celebrate, creating a unique costume that showcases your individuality is the biggest appeal of the holiday altogether. But instead of heading to the nearest chain store to spend money on an overpriced costume made of cheap and wasteful materials, consider taking some extra measures to ensure sustainability while maintaining creativity makes all the difference in your costume’s environmental impact. Here are just a few ways to keep Mother Nature in mind while preparing your Halloween costume.
Skip The Synthetics One eco-friendly rule of thumb when shopping for Halloween costumes at big box stores is to look at the labels and do your best to avoid synthetic and toxic materials.
“Halloween costumes are supposed to be fun-scary, not scary-scary. Yet, store-bought costumes are often made up of nonrecyclable petro-chemical based plastic and synthetic fibers,” writes Laura Bailey on Wilderness.org. “Those Halloween costumes can include one of the scariest plastics — polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a soft plastic and known carcinogen that releases harmful toxins in its creation and breakdown.”
Instead, look for costumes with natural materials and fabrics if you’re shopping at a big box store. Better yet, you should consider looking into small businesses that may specialize in eco-friendly products. There are currently around 27.9 million small businesses in the United States, and many shoppers may be surprised at the number of eco-friendly products both small and large businesses are now incorporating into their inventory. Don’t hesitate to take up your inquiry with a store employee, as well.
Consider A DIY Project If you consider yourself to be the crafty type, you can easily purchase some organic or otherwise eco-friendly materials and create your own costume. Sales of organic non-food products in the U.S. were up 8.8% in 2016, meaning there are more options than ever as far as styles, colors, and materials. If you have the resources, you can make a DIY version of any costume you find in a big box store, and you may even spend less doing it!
Incorporate Recyclable Elements Finally, whether you buy your costume from a store or make it yourself, try to incorporate some reusable or recyclable materials. About 60% of the U.S. population, or about 148 million people, have access to a plastics recycling program. Similarly, if you have any young kids who may be participating in trick or treating festivities, be conscious about the bag or container they’re using to stash their sweet treats.
“Avoid the ubiquitous bright orange plastic jack-o-lanterns that have no chance at ever breaking down in a landfill. Instead use reusable shopping bags, canvas totes or the ole pillowcase trick. A funky thriftshop handbag can add a fun twist to a green Halloween costume as well,” writes Bailey.
Ultimately, it doesn’t take much to make a few small changes toward sustainability. By keeping an eye out for reusable and organic materials, you and your family can enjoy all the traditional festivities of Halloween while doing your part to preserve the Earth’s resources.
I love fall – it is my favorite season. Have I mentioned that before? Ha! I love the colors, textures, and would always find myself crafting with Eben more during the autumn season. Gosh, I miss that! With that being said, the artwork really piled up around here. Many pieces were photographed and recycled, however there are pieces that we love so much we kept and displayed them.
Here are 4 fall inspired art projects that we have enjoyed over the year and thought they might inspire you this autumn:
1. Baker’s Twine Apple
Whenever I work with baker’s twine, it seems like I am left with a few scraps that I keep for craft projects. I recently came across an amazing baker’s twine apple project that would be perfect for those leftovers. I adore it!
2. Button Art
If you have a large button collection – this is the project for you! I love the different colors and sizes – I think it would be fun to do a set of four, one for each season, arranged on a wall together. This would be a perfect project for children of all ages too!
3. Leaf Prints
Eben loved this project because it incorporated a nature walk and pigment paints. This is a project that we tend to make over and over again each fall. It’s easy, a fun way to get our hands dirty and the perfect excuse for working together after school.
4. Alphabet Leaf Animals
Again, this is the perfect fall project for kids! It gets their creative juices flowing as they arrange the leaves into different animal shapes. I have to admit, Eben is much better at this than me – he is fantastic as seeing things that I never would. Are your kids like this?
My family loves Halloween, it is our favorite holiday! You get to dress up like anything you want, decorate your home with pumpkins and ghosts, spend time sipping hot apple cider with family and friends, and then, there are the goodies! Oh my! What’s not to love?
Well, I am not a fan of treats packed full of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup or the tons of non-recyclable candy wrappers! Instead, I like to choose goodies that are good for my family and the environment!
Read on to learn my favorite 6 healthier sweet treats for Halloween and give a couple a try this year!
1. YumEarth If you are looking for yummy, natural, and organic sweet treats that your whole family will love, look no further than YumEarth. All of their Halloween goodies are incredible! These yummies contain NO artificial colors, flavors, or high fructose corn syrup. These are a staple at our house during Halloween. We are huge fans of the pomegranate pucker lollipops! And all of YumEarth’s goodies are gluten-free and vegan too! Perfection!
2. Bitsy’s Brainfood If your child loves cookies (who doesn’t?), put these treats on your grocery shopping list! With yummy flavors. They are baked with veggies! We love them!
3. Unreal Candy I have to admit Eben loves a sweet treat – and while we like his sweet spot to be satisfied with whole fruits – he enjoys a candy treat here and there. Unreal Candy fits that bill! We were talking about making our Unreal Candy caramel apples last night. Made with NO artificial colors or flavors, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and NO GMO’s! We keep these on hand for the trick or treaters, as ice cream toppings, and even used them (but up) on our caramel apples this year! They are available at your local retailer and taste better than their toxic-chemical counterpart.
4. Plum Organics You may know Plum Organics for their certified organic foods for babies and toddlers, but now the company is offering goodies geared especially for the older kiddos! The new certified organic goodies include applesauce mashups! Yummy for Halloween and every day!
5. CLIF Kid Every year a Halloween favorite at our home is CLIF Kid’s Full Moon Brownie organic Zbar! These are perfect for everyone in your family! Not only are the Zbar’s certified organic, but they are also the yummiest chocolate brownie bar sprinkled with white chocolate chips! Packed full of 12 vitamins and minerals, 8 grams of whole grains – these are the perfect treat for that added boost of energy before your children head out to trick or treat! We pack these for our hiking and paddleboarding adventures.
6. Homemade Organic Treats One of my favorite Halloween treats is those that you make with your children! This October, Eben and I have made organic vegan pumpkin carob cookies, vegan peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and vegan peanut butter cups! I like to make our own treats because I can ensure that we are only using the freshest, organic, vegan ingredients and it’s a great excuse to spend a day with my favorite person!
How about you – what healthier Halloween sweet treats do you choose for your littles?
Halloween is my favorite holiday – mostly because it is an anything goes, don’t hold back, get as creative as you want, holiday! I have been adding a little spookiness into Eben’s snacks by getting creative with fruits and vegetables. He seems to enjoy these “sweet” treats just as much as a sugary alternative – maybe even more. Read on for 5 spooky fruit and vegetable Halloween treats that I have used as inspiration for celebrating the holiday with my healthy kid.
#1: Jack o’Lantern Fruit Plate
This may be one of the easiest treats in the bunch – simply peel, cut, and arrange a selection of organic strawberries, clementines, blueberries, and grapes and you have a Halloween treat that is sure to please everyone! + Jack O’Lantern Fruit Plate + via Wholesome Dinner Tonight
#2: Veggie Skeleton
Looking for a fun way to get your child to eat more vegetables this autumn? Look no further than this adorable veggie skeleton. This, along with the Jack O’Lantern Fruit Plate would be perfect for your child’s class Halloween Party or your family’s spooky get-together! + Veggie Skeleton + via Feeding Four Little Monkeys
#3: Pumpkin Oranges + Banana Ghosts
Yum! These goodies are definitely calling my name – I bet the bananas would be even better if they were slightly frozen! These would be great for a kids party – just grab and go.
#4: Apple Teeth Treats
While these little yummies might take a little more time to prepare – I bet they are worth all of the compliments you would get at your Halloween party.
#5: Halloween Sweet Potato Fries
I want to whip up a batch of these yummy sweet potato fries to go with Halloween dinner. Not only does my family love them – but the spook factor will win them over for sure.
