Last year, I threw my first ever zero waste Halloween party. I have always wanted to host one, and finally having my own place, I could! It was so exciting and a TON of fun. All my guests had a blast, which goes to show you can still have fun and be eco-friendly at the same time. But I will admit: It definitely did take a lot of prep work, cleaning, and planning! It was all SO worth it though, and I’m excited to host my second one this year! If you’re looking to host your own Halloween party, here are my tips for doing it low waste!
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How to Host The Best Zero Waste Halloween Party

1. The decorations
You can’t have a Halloween party without decorations, right? But if it’s a zero waste Halloween party, you have to be mindful of what these decor items entail.
The most sustainable thing you can do is reuse the decorations you already have. But here’s the thing: Last year, it was our first year in our apartment – so we didn’t have any decorations.
The was okay with me though – because it made me get super creative and inspired me to make my own! So here’s what I did…

diy decor:
- Paper ghosts: I used scrap paper and salvaged white tissue paper to make these adorable ghosts. I secured them to some twine and hung them up as a wall decoration. But they’d be adorable hanging from the ceiling too!
- BOO! sign: I used upcycled cardboard, black and white paint, twine, and wall putty to make this sign! Then I secured it to the wall right above my paper ghosts.
- Paper bats: I used scrap paper to make these cuties! I attached them to the wall using wall-safe putty. I used them in a few locations, like near my sign and my TV stand.
the tablescape:
On top of these DIY decorations, I also utilized some natural fall decorations too, like beeswax preserved leaves, pumpkins, gourds, and beeswax candles.
The tablescape was a lot of fun to put together: I used reusable linen tablecloth from Bedthreads. I went with a rust-colored linen tablecloth, sage colored napkins, and a forest green linen table runner from Etsy. I also nabbed these adorable pumpkin napkin holders at Home Goods which I can reuse for years to come.
Our dining table isn’t big enough to hold the amount of people we invited, so I just combined it with an extra table loaned to us by Steve’s folks to make it longer. We also borrowed a few folding chairs from our folks!
lighting:
We did have some light fixtures, but these are reusable and were a lot of fun! I got some orange string lights we used to decorate the kitchen space near the snacks. And we also got this cool portable disco-light with adjustable settings and a remote control. I loved having this on while we were dancing – it was spooky-cool!

2. Food, drinks, leftovers, and servingware
Okay so for food, we did two things: Ordered pizza as the main meal, and had snacks and desserts to enjoy throughout the night. I even had a mulled apple cider station with reusable mugs!
main course:
Here’s my reasoning behind pizza as the main course: It comes in a cardboard container that we can recycle or compost. And the pizza itself can be composted, should anyone not finish it.
I also made sure to invest in some nice compostable plates and utensils from Bambu too (use the code GREENIFYME for 10% off your order!). I don’t have a dishwasher and knew I’d be too exhausted to wash all the dishes by hand. Best decision ever, I will say! I told guests to just dump the thing into the compost station at the end of the night (plate and all).

snacks and desserts:
- I made a homemade pumpkin-shaped cheese ball. I used compostable “plastic wrap” and compostable twine to create it. It was the hit of the night! One of my friends thought it was a real pumpkin. I put it on a spread with crackers, pretzels, etc. I also chopped up some carrots, celery and peppers I got plastic-free from the farmers market for dipping.
- I made homemade sour cream and onion dip. We also got salsa in a glass jar. The chips were unfortunately from a plastic bag, but you win some lose some. However, here’s a zero waste chip hack you may want to try: See if your local Mexican restaurant sells tortilla chips! Request them in a reusable/compostable paper bag. I’ve done this before and they are DELISH – I just didn’t get to this time around.
- I made homemade apple cinnamon muffins and also bought some locally made apple cider donuts from my farmers market. These were HUGE hits – practically none left by the end of the night.
- My friends also brought some homemade goodies they made on their own! One of my best friends made these adorable Halloween-themed cupcakes I could not stop snacking on all night long.

drinks:
For drinks, we made sure to stock up on angry orchards, as these come in glass and we know our friends really like them.
But what made this night extra special was my mulled apple cider station. I used locally sourced apple cider from the market to make the mulled cider. In a big dutch oven you just add in some cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, orange and lemon slices. Then you bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes on the stove (or until the flavor is to your liking).
I also had a bunch of reusable mugs guests could use to hold their mulled cider. Many of them were fall-themed mugs I spotted at Home Goods and have since reused an indefinite amount of times. My guests really loved the experience!
Last but not least, of course I had plenty of water (I reuse glass bottles and store water right in the fridge from the sink – NY has some of the cleanest tap water around). I made sure each seat had a real glass cup with a wooden coaster too!
leftovers:
I knew I’d wind up with a lot of food at the end of the night. Thankfully, one of my friends is known for saving Chinese food takeout containers. So I simply asked her if she’d be okay with bringing some to the party. She said yes and at the end of the night, I let people pick and choose what they wanted to take home. They just put it into the upcycled takeout containers my friend had kindly donated!
My tip? Save up takeout containers, or ask people to bring their own!
servingware:
To display the food, I used cute ceramic pumpkin dishware I found on sale at Home Goods. I don’t usually buy seasonal stuff like that, but I figured I’d be able to reuse it for next year’s party! Pumpkin servingware can also be used for Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving, so it stays relevant all throughout the fall.
I also got a wooden charcutier board I reused already several times by now from Home Goods.
As for plates, I used compostable Bambu plates and utensils for easy cleanup. Highly recommend them: Just make sure to use the code GREENIFYME at checkout for 10% off your order!

3. Games + prizes
Of course I created a Halloween playlist on Spotify to dance and listen to all night. I made sure to move certain furniture pieces around so there was enough room to boogie.
BUT…on top of this, I also had some fun games planned and zero waste prizes to go along with it! I downloaded and printed out these adorable Halloween-themed games on Etsy for a few bucks. Most of them were things like word searches, riddles and emoji games. It was SO fun and whoever got all the answers right first, won! They got their pick of which prize they got as well.
I placed all the prizes in this cute little acorn basket with salvaged packaging paper to cushion them. They were a huge hit!

zero waste prizes:
- I made homemade applesauce from apples I got at the market. I put it into an upcycled glass jar!
- A bunch of small-sized zero waste goodies like reusable makeup wipes, beeswax wraps, reusable bags, etc.
- Local raw honey from the market in glass bottles.
- Gemstones I’ve had for a VERY long time (since my teens!) and didn’t have a place for anymore.

4. Costumes
Okay, you canNOT have a zero waste Halloween party without getting dressed up, am I right? Unfortunately, costumes can be incredibly wasteful and one-time wears. So to make mine a little more eco-friendly, I chose to rent the outfit for my costume!
I went as a friendly alien, so I rented an outfit off Nuuly that looked futuristic, metallic and shiny. Then, I made my own alien antennas using upcycled aluminum foil and a headband I already owned. I borrowed shoes from my mom and completed the look with space buns and shimmery makeup (which I already owned as well).
Need eco Halloween costume inspo? Here are some thrift store Halloween costume ideas you’ll love.
Bonus idea: Challenge your friends to wear eco-friendly Halloween costumes to your party too! Encourage renting, thrifting, and DIYs – then award the best crafty costume with prize for best costume!

5. Compost + recycling stations
Man your stations please! One of the simplest things you can do at a party to reduce waste is leave out clearly marked compost, recycling, and trash signs. And, if they aren’t clearly marked, make an announcement at the beginning of the night so your guests know where to put their waste.
You can print out some cute signs and hang them above your stations. Getting creative with these is fun: You can use Canva to make all kinds of fun designs perfect for Halloween.
For our party, we did something kind of funny: I put a big plastic bag into our recycling bin, but told our guests to use it for compost! So any food scraps, bits and ends could go in it. For recycling, we had a metal bucket (which honestly was mostly used for beer bottles and soda cans). And of course, a small trash can for items that didn’t meet those two conditions (far and few between).
The very next day, Steve and I took the big plastic bag full of food scraps to our local drop off location. It was a breeze! And yay for no waste.
So, will you be throwing your own zero waste Halloween party? Let me know your own tips and tricks in the comments below! I’m always looking for inspo.
For more Halloween ideas, here are some tips on zero waste Halloween candy options!
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