Alternatives to Halloween Candy
Fri, October 29, 2010 
Although we indulge in lots of yummy treats, my husband and I feel strongly about not allowing our 5 year old to eat traditional candy. There is just no redeeming nutritional value and we have come up with far too many yummy treats to throw in the towel simply because of Halloween. So how do we handle the whole Trick or Treating tradition? So far our son has been too young to really understand it, but this year he's in full force wanting to join the rest of the troops. What to do, what to do? We will be joining in with all our dear neighbors and friends, collecting candy like the best of them, but instead of eating the candy, the candy has a monetary value. My son is very excited by the challenge of collecting it rather than eating it. At the end of the night he will trade each piece in for coins and he will also get a fun surprise bag of edible treats from us. This fun bag includes Pretzels, Annie's Bunny Chews, Sun spire Sun Drops, Annie's Organic Honey Grahams, and lots of trinkets too! We have tested out this approach when he goes to birthday parties (when there is a Piñata), he spots candy, his heart jumps and sees a earning opportunity! This may not always be successful for us as he gets older and more independent, but while it's working, we're going for it. We also realize this may not work for every personality or family, and we are interested in how you handle the candy frenzy.
Please leave a comment below and share your experience.
There are so many fun things out in the stores these days that offer healthy, inexpensive fun alternatives to passing out traditional candy. Some of our favorites are:
- Mini play dough
- Small bags of pretzels
- Mini character decks of playing cards
- Packs of bouncy balls
- Small packs of Annies organic Bunny Fruit snacks
- Mini puzzle sets
- Seasonal pencils
- Pumpkin erasers
- Pumpkin bubbles
- Stickers
This year we are invited to a Halloween party and will not be home to answer the door for Trick or Treaters. Our son enjoys delivering treats to his friends.... so we have assembled treat bags ahead of time to drop off to special friends the morning of Halloween. Inexpensive lunch sacks are perfect for this, attach a label and some ribbon and whalah! Super easy and fun, and the best part is watching your child proudly knock on the door of a special friend to deliver a treat!
We at Nurtured Path are wishing you a safe, healthy and Happy Halloween!
Please tell us your Halloween plans, and how you handle the candy frenzy, do you go with it or try out an alternative approach?
Reader Comments (3)
I remember those labels.....fun old times
wow, what a great idea! Love it!
wow, what a great idea! Love it!