With fall now upon us, Halloween is just around the corner! It’s an exciting, nostalgic time of the year and I’ve really come to love decorating for this holiday. Lots of kids are already talking about and planning their Halloween costumes and are so excited to go trick-or-treating. I remember being so excited to get home with my heavy pillowcase full of candy and dump it out on the floor to see what I had inside. We usually got to eat a few pieces of candy that night and then pick out a couple of our favorites to keep aside, but then all of the candy went into one big bowl that sat on the top of the fridge. For the weeks following Halloween my mom would toss one or two small pieces in our lunch as a treat and then once all the good things were gone, the rest would get thrown out. I wonder if everyone has a “Halloween candy sorting tradition” similar to this?
While stacks and bowls of candy are great, I’ve also noticed nowadays, that a lot more kids seem to have allergies and or sensitivities to the overly-sweet, usually processed treats given out during Halloween. This, and also that we are starting to look more closely as a society at what we feed our children, and families are trying to limit sugar intake for health or behavioral reasons. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to indulge in a yummy candy bar every once in a while, but as someone who has made a lot of changes in her and her family’s eating over last couple of years, it would be so nice to see a little more variety in the “treats” that are given out. You would be surprised at how excited kids get at stumbling upon the occasion non-traditional candy, when they sort through their loot! Last year I saw a few neat ideas, like water bottles, mini flashlights, pretzels and popcorn, so I thought it would be fun to share a few more alternative Halloween treat ideas that I came across in case your family is looking for something unique and different to hand out this year to YOUR trick-or-treaters!
I don’t know about your kids but mine love anything that has to do with art or being creative. They would love to have these mini Halloween stamps, pencil erasers, small notebooks or pencil packs. They are fun, practical and in some cases less expensive than candy if you buy them in bulk!
These little toys and trinkets would be a fun addition to any trick-or-treaters bag. The glow sticks would definitely come in handy and the bubbles, Play-doh and mini paratroopers are fun toys that would be great to play with the next day.
Each family has their own definition of what “healthy” is, but the snacks suggested below are ones that my family has come to love and would be thrilled to get. They’re also a great alternative to the other typical candy options, and in lots of cases can even cater to kids with some food allergies. A few of these selections run about the same price as traditional candy and others a little more, depending on where you purchase them and how many you buy.
What are you planning on handing out to your trick-or-treaters this year? Do you have some alternative fun ideas that you’ve done in the past or have seen others do that you thought were creative? We’d love to hear!
