Halloween Trick or Treat Alternatives

Every day, and every year, people become more conscious and concerned with artificial foods and candies. There's a growing fear about obesity in young children and so with events like Halloween, who can blame parents whose imaginations go wild at the thought of their child getting about a pound or two of pure candy in a single bucket or sack? Now that Halloween is practically here, many people are seeking alternatives to the teeth rotting candy that children usually get in their trick-or-treating.

Instead of candy, there are a few other kinds of foods you can pass out. Whatever you do, make certain they are prepackaged and not home made. Not only is it illegal to give unsealed foods or candies to the kiddies, its downright mean to risk them getting sick. Even if you didn't deliberately put a drop of cyanide in the cookie, if it's unsealed its subject to all kinds of bacteria and who knows what else. Foods you might like to give out can include, but are not limited to:

-Granola bars
-Cereal bars
-Pretzels
-Raisins
-Mixed nuts
-Prepackaged cookies

For healthier foods, you might want to consider,

-Sugar free gum
-Organic foods
-Sugar free cookies

The older kids may have a better appreciation for granola and cereal, but there are other things that you can give the younger ones. For fun you can substitute the food, or accompany the food, with something non-edible. Personally, when I was a kid I liked to get things that would last me well past Halloween. I loved the little toys I might get and even the pretty plastic packages with Halloween theme pictures. They made Halloween more enduring to me than a piece of candy that is eaten, enjoyed, then forgotten. Here are some alternative things to pass out:

-Stickers
-Temporary tattoos
-Party favors (little toys for kids who are old enough not to choke on them)
-Coins (pennies, dimes, nickels...)

For the past few years, I've passed out little buckets to kids that each held one piece of candy and one toy. These little buckets were shaped like skulls, pumpkins, ghosts, cauldrons, and even Frankenstein and were all found at 99 cent stores in packs of six or eight. The faces of the kids light up seeing these and they walk off feeling like they got more than they bargained for. In a nutshell, give those kiddies credit enough to appreciate more than a Snickers or fat Tootsie roll. More often than not, so long as they get something that adds to their pile of treats, they don't much care whether its unhealthy candy or not.