Halloween has come a long way from the days when it honored the harvest and marked the start of the ancient Celtic new year. Once a sacred time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was believed to thin and allow communication with the spirit realm, today's celebrations revel in macabre mythologies and seek the thrill of chills and things that go bump in the night.

More hair-raising still is the amount of money we spend each year turning our neighborhoods into netherworlds. Though spending is expected to drop 15% to 20% this year due to economic horrors, a National Retail Federation survey finds that consumers nonetheless expect to devote an average of $56 to Halloween fun, which will put a hefty $4.75 billion in retailers' goody bags.

That's a lot of candy, costumes, and decorations, and this level of consumption creates a lot of wicked waste that will haunt the environment for generations to come. Here are some tips for a greener Halloween:

• Rather than buy disposable costumes, make your own from old clothes, linens, cardboard, and other supplies you have around the house. All it takes is a little imagination, and that's the point: When children help design and make their own costumes, they're giving their minds a fearsomely healthy boost.
• Organize a neighborhood costume swap. Your old costumes may not fit the spirits in your own boneyard but they'll be just right for someone else. And vice versa!
• If you find you do need to make some purchases, shop for used accessories in thrift stores and use things like packaging-free material from fabric shops and bulk supplies from the hardware store.
• Make your own make-up. You'll keep potentially hazardous ingredients away and have more fun doing it. Just mix 1 tsp cornstarch with a half tsp of water and a half tsp of natural-formula cold cream. Add a few drops of food coloring for boo-tiful face-painting effects.
• If you want to haunt your own house with a Halloween party, exorcise the disposable party supplies and use your regular stuff. If your heart's set on theme-ware, buy reusable items you can bring out each year. For decorations, use things like sheets and recyclable craft paper. Natural items like dry leaves, jack-o-lanterns, and bare tree branches also make an eerie impression. There's nothing you can't make yourself. Check out the legendary Monster List for all kinds of phantasmagorical DIY frights.
• At trick or treat time, convert canvas shopping bags or old pillowcases into goody bags. Kids can have a monstrously good time decorating them beforehand.
• When little ghosts and goblins show up at your own door, offer something better than junk food loaded with sugar and worse. Try one of the new varieties of eco-candy like fair trade chocolate or organic lollipops. Or skip the sweets altogether and hand out useful things like school supplies or bookmarks.

Ideas like these will help your family scare up a howl of a Halloween. They'll leave everyone screaming for more without leaving the Earth shrieking in terror!

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photo: b3nscott