Ready to throw an epic vegan Halloween party? Get ready to give your guests a frightfully good time without harming animals or the environment. Follow these 7 party planning tips, and even the trick-or-treaters will want to abandon their candy sacks and join the fun.
You are never too old or too cool to dress up. Challenge your guests to dress their ethical best for a cruelty-free costume contest. No leather, wool, or animal textiles allowed. If you’re hosting a small gathering, you could all take a trip to a second-hand store and pick out costumes for each other. This is a far more sustainable option than browsing mass manufactured costumes at a pop-up Halloween party store. For more tips on vegan and cruelty-free costumes, see here, and for makeup inspiration, check this out.
Awake your guests from the dead with a few rousing libations. For non-alcoholic options, serve kombucha floats (kombucha with vegan ice cream) or “ghoulish” green juice, and “bloody” beetroot-based juice shots. For a chilly night, keep a kettle of Califia’s Pumpkin Spice Latte warm for guests to sip on throughout the evening. If you are serving alcohol, you can definitely spike the Califia beverage with your favorite whiskey or vodka. For wine and beer, make sure you check barnivore.com to ensure your brands are vegan-friendly. Really want to get wild? Vegan jello shots do exist. Just use a plant-based brand that does not use gelatin (crushed animal bones) when making your old college jello shot recipe, like Simply Delish.
Conversation is nice, but sometimes a few games are needed to break the ice and really get the party going. For the active group, bobbing for apples is the most fun cliché party trick you will ever do. It’s already vegan! Once everyone has dried off, start up a game of vegan charades. You supply the options – include vegan activists, celebrities, public figures, and athletes, along with farm animals or names of your favorite vegan restaurants. Finally, end the night with some vegan trivia. It can be as dark or light-hearted as you want to make it. Incentivize your guests with prizes, like a vegan cookbook or a fun pro-veg t-shirt.
It’s a party, so it’s important to keep things positive and friendly. However, if the guest of a guest asks why you’re vegan or why gummy worms aren’t vegan, don’t be afraid to share your views. Answer the question in a matter-of-fact, non-threatening way, and maybe throw in an extra fact that marshmallows aren’t vegan either. You might pique their interest in the plant-based lifestyle, and then you can gush about the positives of being plant-based and bond over vegan food.
Vegan candy is a given, but don’t let your guests subsist off “fun-sized” sugar bombs. Lay out a scary smorgasbord of incredible vegan eats, including “finger food” appetizers, an easy entree, and bite-sized desserts. Try this simple yet satisfying menu: “witch finger” vegan cheese-stuffed breadsticks with “bloody” marinara dip, ghoulish gumbo or pumpkin chili, and vegan candy corn sugar cookies. For more ideas on fun vegan Halloween party food, see here.
Atmosphere can make or break a party, but creating a festive party environment often involves using wasteful or single-use products. Fortunately, with the rise of conscious consumerism, there are a good handful of online stores that specialize in sustainable party decor and serving ware. Try Green Party Goods or Susty Party to start, then get a bit creative and do some digging on Etsy for the cutest eco-friendly decorations you never knew you needed until now. Be sure to stock up on paper straws, or buy a case of reusable straws and give them to your guests as party favors, along with their own mason jars. You can also set the mood with natural candles from Goodlight and plenty of fresh pumpkins and gourds.
What’s scarier than a horror flick? Real life. Numerous vegan-forward documentaries highlight the atrocities of the animal agriculture industry, and on Halloween, your guests might just be up to watch it. Try Earthlings,” “Dominion,” “Food, Inc.,” or “Blackfish.” For something a bit more mainstream, “Ojka” is also an excellent choice.
Become a CLUBKINDLY member today!
This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 6:56 am