Pumpkin Decorating And Fair Trade Halloween Ideas

Bring the harvest season inside with these halloween decorating ideas from Ten Thousand Villages: Pumpkin-shaped lanterns, planters, ornaments and more—always handmade and always fair trade.

Fair Trade Halloween Ideas

1. Throw a few fair trade chocolates in trick-or-treat bags this year. You can pick-up Divine and Equal Exchange chocolates at your local Ten Thousand Villages store and know that you are supporting worker-owned cocoa farms around the world.

2. Pumpkin planters don’t have to be just for plants. Get innovative with our terra cotta pumpkin planters, a festive vessel for Halloween treats.

3. Creepy banana fiber spiders are great for Halloween—in a material that is a natural and sustainable alternative to plastic, the earth will thank you.

Owl Gourd Box

A close relative to the pumpkin, gourds are another symbol of fall. The detail of this adorable little owl is carved by hand and brushed with burning wood to bring out the design. Finished with paint, this plump creature is sure to bring a sense of nighttime autumn wonder.

Waru Leaf Pumpkin Ornaments

Hand-carved from natural wood and embellished with Waru leaves, these tiny pumpkin ornaments are the perfect palm-sized accents for a harvest table feast or a fun and spooky Halloween porch. (just be careful not to leave them out in the rain!)

Pumpkin Lanterns

Stay cozy inside and guide trick-or-treaters your way with a jack-o-lantern that will never spoil. The terra cotta color wash, called “kosh,” is made from catechu and mangosteen extract. Catechu is an astringent, water-soluble substance extracted from the Asian acacia tree. It is used in medicine, in dyeing and in betel-leaf. In Bangladesh, any sort of botanical extract is known as kosh.

These were some ready-made decorating options… and if you’re looking for a fun fall project, check out our post on pumpkin carving with traditional Adinkra symbols from Ghana.