Alternatives to Handing Out Halloween Candy
Giving Kids Healthy, Homemade and Fun Treats on October 31st
Sep 20, 2009
Halloween is all about handing out candy, but some parents are looking for healthier alternatives or just something different. Here are some ideas to fill the candy bowl with fun options that kids will love.
Home-Cooked Food and Fruit for Halloween
Once upon a time it was more common to hand out fruit and homemade goodies. But nowadays, many parents throw away such treats if they don’t know who they came from. If a family lives in a small town or close neighborhood, then homemade treats and fruit can still be handed out. Or, homemade treats can be made and handed out to close family and friends who come to the door.
Some easy to make treats include Rice Crispy squares, popcorn balls or sugar cookies. They can be made with a Halloween theme by adding orange food coloring and decorating with orange and white icing to make them look like pumpkins. If parents are looking for something healthier to hand out, they can make carrot or pumpkin muffins.
Good fruits to hand out are ones that have natural wrappers such as oranges, apples and bananas. A fun thing to do with oranges is to take a black felt or use black tape and put a jack-o-lantern face on them.
So people don’t forget where the homemade snack or fruit came from, put on stickers or tie on strips of paper or tags that say where the food has come from. For example, “Happy Halloween from the Banks family on Creek Street!”
Healthier Halloween Options
Some parents want to hand out healthier options than candy. There are a lot of prepackaged options available. Some ideas include cheese and cracker packs, cheese strings, granola bars, sesame snacks, fruit bars and fruit leather. Dried fruit like raisins or cranberries are sold in mini packs or boxes, as are a variety of nuts and seeds. Fruit in small cans or plastic cups are another option. Juice packs or drink boxes could also be handed out.
(If handing out food with seeds or nuts, it might be good to make sure to ask kids or their parents if they are allergic to nuts before handing them over. Having some nut-free options could also be helpful.)
Dentist-Approved Halloween Goodies
People have many different reasons for not wanting to hand out candy, and one is to protect kids’ teeth. Some dentists already do this, but parents can do it too. Try handing out dental floss, toothbrushes or mini tubes of toothpaste.
Give Kids Halloween-Themed Handouts
Who says people have to hand out something to eat? Get Halloween stickers or temporary tattoos to give out to trick-or-treaters. Pencils, erasers and small pads of paper also make nice handouts and it is possible to find ones with Halloween colors and designs on them. Other ideas include light sticks which are great for kids to have so they can be noticed in the dark and balloons which can be in orange or black. Draw faces on the balloons like a jack o'lantern face on the orange balloons and a skeleton face on the black ones. It's also possible to find balloons with Halloween designs on them already.
More Stores Offering Alternatives to Candy for Halloween
Many of the larger chain stores are offering other treats besides candy to give away for Halloween. Mini playdough containers, mini Disney playing cards and Halloween magnets are some of the things one can find at such stores. Shops like Costco will allow shoppers to buy a large quantity of these items at fairly reasonable rates.
Get Creative with Trick-or-Treat Treats
Especially younger kids, might like something totally different. Dress up as a tacky tourist and hand out shells to trick-or-treaters. Or give kids options from above. Parents could even make up a Halloween Wheel and let kids spin to see what Halloween treat they win.
Here are a variety of Halloween handout ideas for parents to choose from. Families can give out homemade snacks, fruit, prepackaged snacks, dental floss, pencils, erasers or a mixture of all these options.
Also check out What to Do with All that Halloween Candy? and Thanksgiving Activities for Kids and Family.
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