The nightmare of Halloween 

Halloween has slipped into Australian culture in the past 20 years. Every year there is more and more paraphernalia in the shops related to Halloween. 

Halloween is a marketing juggernaut. 

In 2019 Australians spent $159 million on chocolate and lollies for Halloween 

On top of this, there is money spent on plastic decorations and disposable costumes.

The commercialisation of Halloween is predatory marketing at its finest. It prays in the idea that Halloween is fun and if you don’t participate in this highly commercialised venture, then you are a wowzer. A scrooge. A meanie.

It’s fun for kids the story goes. 

And they are right

👻 Dressing up is fun

👻 Hanging around with your friends is fun

👻 Playing games is fun.

This can all be done without the onslaught of processed sugary food that our children are negotiating every single day.

The snack food companies will say

👻“But its just one day”

👻“Everything in moderation”

👻“Do some exercise to run it off” 

A cautionary tale-They make the food addictive. Children can't moderate it. They do this intentionally, on purpose, and then blame you for eating "too much"

But we can make Halloween fun with real food. 

Here's a couple of ideas 

Vegetable skeleton-How cute is this! a great way to get kids to eat veggies 

Spider Eggs-These are made with chopped olives

 -

Ghostly bananas 

Monster pancakes

The traditional Halloween costume was an old sheet (recycling at its finest) and decorations were pumpkins- fantastic biodegradable 

So Cadbury’s, Nestle, Peters, Mars, Woolworths, Coles and Spotlight.

How about you stop marketing your shitty products to our easily impressionable children?

How about you take some responsibility and stop with the onslaught of cheap and nasty products that end up in landfill?

And parents please be mindful Halloween in Australia is driven by industry who are marking a fortune selling products that make us sick buy “tricking” us into buying “treats” 

In 2019,  $159 million was spent on junk food for Halloween in Australia. 

Just let that sink in.