CLOSE
October 7, 2011
172 Comments

Real Food Tips: 20 Ways to do Halloween without candy!

Whoever said you “had” to hand out candy on Halloween anyway? Trust me kids will be getting PLENTY of candy this month regardless so it wouldn’t hurt, and it actually might help, if you break up the monotony by doing something a little different. I personally kind of like to be different (let’s just call it “unique”) anyway. And let’s face it…bags of candy aren’t exactly cheap either so some of these alternatives might cost the same or even less for your Halloween night handout. Most of them will last a lot longer, too!

Also, a quick thanks to all the wonderful facebook fans who helped me come up with these great ideas!

Creative alternatives for trick-or-treaters…

  1. Packs of mini play dough containers
  2. A mix of inexpensive Halloween-themed toys from a place like Michael’s, Oriental Trading, Target or Wal-Mart (pictured)
  3. Miniature bottles of water or all natural juice boxes (love this idea because we are always thirsty when we’re out and about trick-or-treating)
  4. Spooky collection of Halloween “frights” like plastic eyeballs, rubbery rats, and fake fingers
  5. Light-up glow sticks, which can usually be found in a pack of 15 at Michael’s or Target for only $1 (that’s what we’re going to give out this year!)
  6. Halloween pencils and mini activity books or pads of paper
  7. Toothbrushes (big kids might turn their noses up to this, but my children happen to think new toothbrushes are fun)
  8. Mini Lara Bars and/or packs of raisins
  9. Inexpensive little books from thrift stores, garage sales, or the dollar store
  10. “Birthday landfill” as one facebook fan called it, which is basically a collection of all the little gizmos and gadgets from party favor bags throughout the year
  11. Temporary tattoos and/or stickers
  12. Small bags of microwavable popcorn
  13. Fruit leathers (made with 100% fruit)
  14. Homemade crayons made in muffin tins in the oven (google it)
  15. Local apples…they are currently in season so why not!

What do to with all the candy that your kid does get…

  1. Allow them to keep a few pieces and then trade in the rest to you for a quarter each…then off to the toy store or dollar store! (This method can be used all month-long or even all year-long)
  2. Keep it simple – just offer your kids the choice to trade in all their candy for a trip to the toy store or for something else they’ve been really wanting like a trip to Monkey Joe’s
  3. Leave the bulk of the candy out on the front porch for the mysterious “Halloween Witch” who will miraculously leave a non-candy surprise (like a game or a toy) in its place…tell them the “better” the candy the “better” the surprise!
  4. Ship your candy off to the troops
  5. Or combine the best of both worlds – find a local dentist who participates in a Halloween Candy Buy Back Program because they will give you something in exchange for the candy and also ship it off to the troops for you!

If you have any other ideas or suggestions please leave them in the comments below.

Reader Interactions

172 Comments

  1. But, he stayed true to his music and lived long enough to
    write over 800 songs and hear his musics ascend from the first row pews to
    the choir stand, where it previously had been banned.
    More music is being consumed on more devices by more listeners than ever before in history.
    American country singer Luke Bryan released the official “Drunk on You” music video on his You – Tube page today.

    Reply

1 … 13 14 15

Show More Comments

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Thank you for subscribing!
You will receive a subscription confirmation email shortly (check your junk mail or "promotions" tab if you don't see it) and will be redirected to your submitted comment in 5 seconds.
Sorry, there has been an error.
Please ensure you have entered your name and a valid email address and try again. If you still have trouble, please contact us at [email protected].

You May Also Like These

Reader story on 100 Days of Real Food
Eating real food has helped me break free from dieting. I’ve learned to tune into my body and eat foods that work for me and tune out the latest diet fads. I don’t have to memorize a new set of diet rules every couple of months.

Read More >
In case you've seen these apple sandwiches around, but have no idea how to make them...this is for you! First, you'll need... Required Supplies: An apple (of course!) Some nut or seed butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter Large knife, small table knife, an

Read More >
Almost every day on Facebook I share the school lunches that I pack for my daughters and almost every day there are a lot of questions about these lunches. Everything from "Where did you get that container?" to "Can I get that recipe?" to "Where's the protein?" But lately I've been noticing quite a few questions asking what these carefully prepared lunches actually look like come lunchtime - especially after they've been tossed all around while in their backpacks and since "liquidy" foods like yogurt or applesauce are involved. Let's face it, no child keeps their lunch bag or box in one perfect position all day, and that is certainly something I would never expect of my own children. So when I was having lunch with my daughter at school yesterday I (risked looking like a lunatic and) took a bunch of pictures for you! :)

Read More >
French Toast from 100 Days of Real Food
The key to this recipe is definitely the bread. One of the most important lessons I hope people take away from this blog is that you must always read the ingredients label (if it is processed enough to have a label) before buying/eating anything. For years I bought my husband Arnold's “Whole Grain

Read More >
In a mere 36 hours our petition asking Kraft to remove artificial food dyes from their line of macaroni and cheese has gone viral and now has more than 170,000 signatures. I am so taken aback by the instant and widespread media attention on this topic, which I think indicates how this much-needed change in our Food Industry has been imminent for some time. One of the big guys just needed a little push in the right direction, and I hope this is it. I want to take a moment to share that this petition is honestly much bigger than just macaroni and cheese or even Kraft. There are many large US companies that use artificial dyes – as well as other additives – in their food products here that are not used overseas. Everyone from General Mills to Kellogg’s to Pepsi, and of course Kraft, have formulated safer, better versions of their products for other countries and this petition is a vehicle to let these companies know it’s time for American consumers get the same. Our petition in particular is focusing on an iconic food product like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese because we thought this would be the best place to start to generate public awareness. If Kraft, the largest US-based food company, takes the lead here by voluntarily removing potentially harmful – yet unnecessary – artificial food dyes our hope is that the others will follow suit. Whether or not you buy or eat this product think of those who do (the average consumer assumes products on the grocery stores shelves are completely safe and seldom reads ingredient labels). The UK version, which we made and sampled ourselves, is dyed with natural colors (paprika and beta carotene) and looks and tastes almost exactly the same. This is not about taking away anyone’s beloved mac and cheese. Here’s the bottom line: Artificial food dyes are derived from petroleum, they require a warning label (or just aren’t used) in other developed countries due to health concerns, and they add NO value to the foods they are in whatsoever. These dyes are purely for aesthetic reasons only. Check out my post sharing the 7 reasons I hate artificial dyes for more information.

Read More >
Chocolate Pecan Pie from 100 Days of Real Food
When making a new recipe I like to see how many steps I can skip without negatively impacting the end result. This pie is a perfect example of not only skipping a few steps, which I’ve deemed as unnecessary :), but also substituting (most of) the refined ingredients for whole ones. I replaced the

Read More >

Copyright © 100 Days of Real Food | All rights reserved

Thank you for sharing!

Come check us out on Facebook or Instagram too!
Follow

Send this to a friend