Three ways to have a more sustainable Halloween

If you are looking for wooden or paper Halloween decorations, or materials for your Halloween crafting, keep an eye out for the FSC logo.

More and more people are taking part in Halloween in the UK each year, but the scariest thing about October 31st is the dreadful waste. 

With so many people now concerned about environmental issues, many are looking for ways to make Halloween more eco-friendly, so we’ve listed some suggestions below.

1. Say no to plastic

A lot of the Halloween decorations and accessories found in shops sand online are produced with plastic, most of which cannot, unfortunately,  be recycled. You can ditch the plastic trick or treat buckets by using paper or canvas bags instead. 

Are you planning some Halloween celebrations? Then deciding to switch over to plastic-free decorations is a great step. 

You can now find many more sustainable Halloween decorations made with wood or paper, which are reusable/recyclable and budget friendly, too. Just remember to make sure they are FSC-certified! Here are some examples:

Paint your own pumpkins – Flying Tiger

Spider decorations – Flying Tiger

Halloween garland – Flying Tiger

Honeycomb pumpkin decorations – Talking Tables

Pumpkin garland – Talking Tables

Halloween cards – Card Factory

2. Reuse your old costumes

Millions of poor-quality Halloween costumes are mass-produced annually. Many of these are made from unsustainable materials, like polyester, which is a plastic. 

What's even worse is such costumes are often only worn once and then packed away in the attic, only to be thrown away in the next clear out. 

For a greener Halloween costume, make costumes out of old clothing, or you can extend the life of the costumes you already have by re-wearing them or by having a costume swap with friends and family. If you do have any unwanted costumes, sell them online so others can make use of them.

3. Make your own

Are you feeling creative or are looking for Halloween activities for children, a quick Ecosia search will bring up countless tutorials for easy DIY Halloween decorations such as paper garlands, tissue-paper ghosts and print-out templates to make your own masks. But please remember to use FSC-certified or recycled paper.

Short on time? Not skilled enough to craft Halloween stuff? There are many sustainable Halloween decorations that are effortless. You can use fallen branches and leaves as decorations or dress up your house and garden with pumpkins and squashes (just make sure you don’t leave them out too long so you can’t eat them!).

These are just a few sustainable Halloween ideas to get you started. If you are looking for wooden or paper Halloween decorations, or materials for your Halloween crafting, keep an eye out for the FSC logo, letting you know they’re responsibly sourced.

Actually, some of these lessons can be applied to Christmas decorations, too. I think many of us will be up for Christmas paper garlands, using found branches as part of your Christmas decorations. 

However, make sure you are fire safety aware with any decorations you use at home.

fsc-uk.org.

Poppy On Safari

Poppy On Safari is a book for children which should be in the Christmas stockings of many children this Christmas.

It tells to story of a slightly dotty cream coloured golden retriever who is called Poppy. Poppy is a typical dog. A tiny bit spoiled and bedevilled by a good dose of canine greed!

But it's all good, because Poppy is oh, so loveable and, as a result, is a well-loved member of he human family.

However, due to a series of unfortunate incidents that occur on a family trip to the safari park, Poppy finds herself running wild and free in the safari park!

Oh, no! Whatever will Poppy do? Luckily Poppy meets a new friend, who is called Harley. Can Poppy and Harley make it safely out of the safari park? 

However, there is an added complication, because Cain the King of the Safari is out and about on the prowl in the safari, too!

Can Poppy and Harley manage to avoid Cain and make it back to safety? However, all might not be what it seems!

This is a great book for both parents and children and ideal for reading together.

It's published by Matador at £9.99.

The Gothengau Colony

The Gothengau Colony is an alternative history or alternative reality novel set in a world where Nazi Germany won the war. It is written by W. F. Logan.

The novel begins in 1946 when ex-Amish, Konrad, is in trouble. Whilst saving the life of someone in Alabama, he had to kill someone else and he must flee in order to save himself from death row.

When he reaches New York he sees propaganda calling on Americans of German ancestry to leave America for a wonderful life in Germany and its colonies.

He leaves America on a boat to Berlin, which was the capital city of the empire of the Third Reich, narrowly fleeing from a hail of bullets from police officers who were attempting to apprehend him.

Konrad is a tall man and is informed that because of his stature, in excess of two metres in height, when he reaches Germany, he will receive a medal called the Giants Cross.

Mention is made to Konrad on the ship that skilled farmers are required at the Gothengau Colony, which is in the Crimea.

Konrad is informed that because of his height he would earn an instant commission in the SS. 

On the boat he soon meets a German American singer called Petra who is slated for a good career as a singer for the Reich. Petra will also play a very important role in Konrad's life.

The novel moves forward to the Gothengau Colony in 1965. A rocket attack from there on Berlin by what the Nazis viewed as terrorists forces Konrad (who is by now a soldier-farmer (despite his Amish background) to concentrate on commanding an SS battalion made up of convicts.

He has to play both sides in a conflict he really wanted no part in, but he has others to think of, including Petra.

But will he be able to rely on the assistance of his fellow German-Americans who he arrived with two decades before? 

And who will become the new Führer to replace Hitler after his death?

This is a well-written and exciting novel that tells an interesting alternative history. 

It is published by Heart of the Bruce at £8.99.

Yotes Court Pinot Blanc

That's Christmas is looking at some English wines to accompany your Christmas feasting. And now we look at Kent's Yotes Court Hands and Heels English Wine Pinot Blanc, 2020.

Wow! Just wow! It tastes of juicy fruits of perfect ripeness and there is an "oakiness" to it, but this is not overly so, light and delightful, in fact. 

It has a good, long finish and this lends itself to a versatility for food pairings and I must admit that my wife and I feel this goes well with seafoods, fish, red meat and white meat. Please just try this and you will see what we mean.

You will be interested to learn that the vines are carefully nurtured all year round, being given individual attention from hand pruning throughout the winter, hand tucking during the summer. They even employ hand harvesting during the early autumn harvesting season. Thus making Yotes Court a genuine sustainable winery.

It's a 'proper' Pinot Blanc, which you will find to be fully and perfectly delightful. Obviously this is another one for your Christmas table.

A single bottle (75cl and 12%) costs £18. Boxes of wines (some mixed) are available from their website at https://www.yotescourt.co.uk/collection/all-products.

Meophams Union Red

That's Christmas is looking at some English wines to accompany your Christmas feasting.

We are now looking at Union Red which is from Meophams Wines of England. It's another Kentish wine which is a delightful red wine.

It's carefully created using a well-balanced variety of grapes, including Acolon, Regent, Triomphe and Leon Millot.

The wine that these red grapes produce is vibrant yet also smooth. It's a nice ruby colour and the aromas it are delightfully fruity with forest fruits like blackberries, delightfully ripe cherries and bramble fruits, too.

Are there hints of a rich, roasted coffee, too? Yes, there are. There are also some delightfully rich tannin notes which really helps make this one of the nicest red wines that I have ever tasted. 

The wine is also spicy and with smoky hints.

And I'm not exactly the biggest red wine lover in the world. Unlike my wife who prefers reds to whites and who really loves this wine.

Ideal, we feel, for red meats, so ideal if you are intending to have a Barron of Beef for your Christmas as an alternative to the more traditional turkey Christmas dinner.

It's priced at a very reasonable £13.95 and is available from their own shop at www.meophams.co.uk.

It's sold in a 75cl bottle and is 11/5%.

English Wines for Christmas Balfour Hush Heath Estate Springfield Chardonnay

That's Christmas is looking at some English wines to accompany your Christmas feasting.

Firstly we are looking at the Springfield Chardonnay which is from the Hush Heath Winery which is based in Kent.

It is a delightful wine, an exceptionally delicate version of the Chardonnay style of wine. 

It's oaked, but not overly so, and the winery points out that this wine is only ever produced using exceptional vintages, using specially chosen clones which are only picked at their optimum ripeness from the wineries Springfield vineyard.

They point out that they employ the cool fermentation technique and use of American and French oak barrels which helps produce a fine wine which has a fine, intense flavour.

It has a lovely "nose" which is pure and delightful and the taste is fresh and delicious, with lovely citrus notes and a nice spiced tone to it, perhaps Christmassy? Making it ideal for your Christmas dining!

Ideal for salads and with fish. However, this is now my go to wine for white meats such as chicken, but especially turkey. Hence an ideal wine for your Christmas dinner.

It's 12% and a 75cl bottle costs £25 a bottle and is available from Laithwaites 

https://www.laithwaites.co.uk/ and from https://balfourwinery.com.

It is also available from other leading wine retailers.

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