Get crafty this Halloween re-using JASON bottles

By Davina C.

It's that time of year again when we get to indulge all our wildest, spookiest, darkest, fetish desires in name of Halloween (Sunday 31st October). A tradition dating back to All Hallow's Eve - a celebration believed to have roots in Paganism - dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallow), martyrs, and all the departed.

From Halloween activities including trick or treating, carving pumpkins into jack 'o' lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, and pranks to costume, including dressing up as popular characters like 'Mia' in the cult classic Pulp Fiction to witches, wigs, red devil horns and lashings of thick vampire like makeup, Halloween has become one of retail’s biggest selling moments.

Following the lead of its huge popularity in the US, research shows that in the year 2019, the UK spent a whopping 474 million pounds on Halloween, including decoration, food and costume. 

Whilst it's tempting to keep buying new decorations particularly as the kids are growing up, at JASON we've come up with some fun, crafty tricks to make use of old household items, whilst keeping the house spooked all night.

Create a 'poisonous display' using old JASON bottles:

Take some of your old JASON bottles - the JASON Therapy hair bottles shape could work - paint over the labelling and add your own labels of different witches' old brew ingredients. Fill the 'vintage' style bottles, with pop dried blooms for that eerie, witchy effect.

Shop it: JASON Therapy Hair Care Range

Pumpkin jar lights:

Make use of old household jars to create these Halloween luminaries. Use orange tissue paper cut into strips. Mix decoupage glue with water in a bowl, cover the jar with the cut tissue paper strips stuck by the glue mix.

Draw faces and Halloween elements on black paper and cut out - glue the black paper pieces on the front of the jar - dry over night and fill with candles to light. Scatter on the porch or inside around the house.

Avoid food waste:

Did you know 25% (a quarter) of all Brits say that they tend to buy a pumpkin, which means 17 million pumpkins will be bought for Halloween this year? But research shows a majority percentage of pumpkins are not eaten. 

Tips include: when you've finished carving your pumpkin with the kids, be sure to cut the flesh into manageable chunks and store in the fridge or simply freeze the flesh so you can bake at a later date. There are many delicious recipes for stews and soups and pumpkin seed recipes.

Crafty pumpkin games:

There are plenty of games to be had with post Halloween pumpkins. Try pumpkin bowling with the kids. Take any empty JASON bottles - fill them with water and set them up as a 10-pin triangle. Take turns rolling your pumpkin like a bowling ball to see who can knock the most bottles.

If you do decide to dispose of your pumpkin, get creative and turn them into bird hanging feeders, create garden compost, donate to community gardens, zoos.