Alternatives for Halloween Giving

Halloween - The Harvest Season between summer and winter, has long been the holiday meant to be scary, filled with witches, goblins, spooky creatures, and scary Halloween stories. That was not what Halloween originally was. One of our most popular holidays in America, Halloween is said to go back thousands of years to Celtics of Ireland and Britain. Their new year started on November 1. It was believed, on that night, the dead would return to play tricks on the living. In addition to bon-fires, Jack-o-lanterns were originally gourds Celts used to carve into scary faces. With lit candles inside, they were meant to scare away the spirits.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Halloween/history.htm
Even the U.S. Census has some opinions and statistics on Halloween (2004):
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/002498.html

As far back as I can remember, my brother and I were taught not to eat anything we got in our bags, till our parents checked everything over and threw away anything questionable. Add to that, our trick or treating happened in the 50's and 60's, when most treats were domestic candies. Sweets our folks were familiar with. Now we have the potential for intentional tampering coupled with the lax standards of countries that import foods that do not meet FDA standards. Take for example the recall of Koala's March Crème Filled Cookies, in 2008: http://www.usrecallnews.com/2008/10/fda-2186.html,
And White Rabbit Candies: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/27/business/fi-china27

Today, more and more people are deciding to look for alternatives for Halloween Candies, for their own parties, or for passing out at the front door. So what can you pass out? I used to shop at a great place, called Bonnies' on Main Street, in Ventura, which finally closed this year. The next source for multi-paks and party novelties that jumps to my mind is the great "Oriental Trading Company" which claims to carry "an irresistible assortment of fun, value-priced products for every occasion." http://www.orientaltrading.com

You can still buy locally if you budget wisely and plan ahead. Buy Multi-packs of items meant to be used as party favors such as, packs of 60 mini-Play-dons (http://www.hasbro.com/playdoh/en_US/shop/Browse/Play-Doh/Party-Supplies/_/N-1rZ77ZgtZa8/Ne-8u). If you are on a limited budget or just want to involve your children at home, you may want to create your own play-dough. If you opt to do this, you can use snack size baggies to distribute the home made modeling dough. Be sure to label it with some type of sticky label so recipients know it's a toy, not food. Though I found one edible recipe for play dough: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/7875/recip3.html

Some people like to hand out Fast food restaurant coupons or gift certificates. This site is meant to help people how to understand how to participate in "Street-Giving." And I do not want to detract from the seriousness of homelessness; it has excellent advice which easily translates into Halloween giving. It discusses buying in bulk, and cutting costs in giving. In fact you may want to make some Halloween gift bags, to keep in your car and do some "Street-Giving," and give someone, something much unexpected. I promise, you may feel pretty darn good after such a random act of kindness. And again, the ideas here transfer well to Halloween goodie bags, as well. Allowing your children to be a part of this is a great opportunity to teach about some values and resourcefulness: http://streetgiving.com I have another site, which allows you to focus on buying things made in the USA -http://www.dvercity.com/shopping.html

When I had three children at home, as soon as a holiday was over, I started planning for the next, because we had limited resources. I especially liked this next project, which reminded me of my Christmas Trunks. I had one locking trunk for each child. Starting with the 12/26, "Day After Christmas Sales," I starting gearing up for next year. I stashed goodies and in their trunks till almost 12 months later. I had a treasure trove of gifts which did not bankrupt us. Any time you visit the 99 Cent Store (www.99only.com), or see some other great sales, stock up on school items. Look for the bins filled with fun & low priced pencils, erasers, mini-notebooks, crayons, and stickers. http://www.wahm.com/articles/Creating-Maintaining-a-Gift-Chest.html

Kids still like some of the old standard party items like: temporary tattoos, stickers, small novelty toys, "Slime", miniature magnifying glasses, necklaces, glow-stick products, miniature cards, hair clips and ties, brain teasers, etc.

Here's to hoping you have a safe and Happy Halloween. Remember to dress children in reflective costumes, or give them flashlights to carry so they can cross streets safely.