Halloween is an exciting and fun event for kids and parents alike. Finding the perfect costume, 
hosting spooky parties, and hitting the hood for trick-or-treats are all part of the occasion.
It’s no mystery that Halloween candies are not healthy for the most part. A recent study revealed that almost 2 billion dollars worth of candy and chocolate is sold each year at Halloween. That’s a staggering amount and this number should grab our attention. With obesity rates rising in Canada, one in four Canadian adults and one in ten children have clinical obesity. The extra calories from Halloween treats are making a bad situation worse.
Candy and sugary treats also affect our oral health; did you know that dental decay, or cavities, is the most common chronic disease of children in Canada? So, what can we do to enjoy Halloween but make it healthier for everyone? We can start by choosing healthy fun substitutes to hand out. Check out the lists below for food and non-food alternatives.
*100% fruit snacks
*Sugar-free gum
*Real fruit cups
*Mini oranges
*Individually wrapped cheese sticks
*Granola bars made with real fruit
*100% real fruit juice boxes
*Box of raisins
*Popcorn
*Stickers
*Temporary tattoos
*Pencils/erasers
*Bubble Wands
*Plastic rings/bracelets
*Toy cars
*Glow necklace/bracelets
*Silly string
*Toothbrushes
Promoting a healthy lifestyle means coming up with conscious ways to reduce or limit candy consumption in your home. After a night of trick-or-treating, take out your favorite candies and donate the rest. Many communities have a buyback program where leftover candies are purchased back.
Get kids involved in some fun physical Halloween activities like scavenger hunts, a corn maze, or broom riding. Dancing and game are also fun for kids, like musical pumpkins, pumpkin decorating, bean bag toss, mummy wrap, or they can sit around the fireplace and tell ghost stories.
With a little thought, Halloween can be about the spirit of having fun, instead of gathering a bag full of candy.
I love the idea of non food treats for the kiddies!! Not sure how they would like getting a toothbrush though??! lol
I like to have non food treats birth fur my kids and fur the trick or treaters. It’s also about moderation. Halloween candy in our house lasts for months because they are only allowed a few treats at a time
I love the non food items, my girls when they went out actually did receive a lot of non food items and they were happy with them, so it doesn’t have to be candy all the time
Now that i have a 2 year old i’m more aware of how much junk there is out there so I bought fruit snacks for the kiddies this year 🙂
I love the non food Items, and my children did like that! But I know my children would not have like receiving healthy food snack. Halloween all about candy and chocolate. Everything in moderation.
I like the idea of Healthy treats for Halloween.
But children like candy.
Thank you
Honestly my grandsons get more excited about non-candy items in their Halloween buckets because it’s something different! Great ideas!
I like the ideas of non- food! That would be a fun surprise that stands out among the endless candy in kids bags. I really like these ideas!
I like the idea of non food options which can also be fun.
I like the idea of non food items, but I am one that always hands out chocolate bars.
I look at it like it’s one time a year but non-candy options are great too.
Lots of great ideas here for Halloween non food items. We don’t get many kids now, not like it used to be.
Great idea of non food items.
Marion
I gave the kids toothbrushes and they didn’t care much for it
Temporary tattoos were a big hit with the kids this year !
These are great ideas. I’ve never heard of a buy back program. That’s fantastic.
I gave out book markers, pencils, crayons and small coloring books.
Such great ideas! I love sugar free gum.
What great ideas, thanks
I read your suggestions for handing out non-sweet treats and treats that are popular but not edible. I think the suggestions are really good ones. Thank you.
Some really good ideas, I’ll have to keep them in mind for next year.
As a parent I really appreciate non-candy treats.
I believe everything can be fine in moderation. As long as you don’t let the kids sit and eat the whole bag of candy, but give them a bit at a time, they should be fine.
A lot of good ideas!
These are some great options! This year, along with the candy, I handed out granola bars and cracker packages! 🙂
Even thou Halloween is over and the custumes are boxed up, the treats are still around, some in jars, some in freezer, and to be honest most downed by the family. The reason I like healthier treats is because any left-overs can be devoured after school or after work (by moms trying to create a wholesome atmosphere). lol thanks
I don’t know how regular trick or treaters would feel,but this is a great idea for my grand daughters.
Thank you for your Healthy Hallowe’en Tips. We had only one incident of a candy that was containing a needle. One is terrible. We, as parents, have to continue to monitor the treats bring home. Sad to say but necessary.
I put out some Halloween pencils, glow-in-the-dark bats, and bouncy balls, alongside mini chocolate bars. The non-food treats went faster than the chocolate!
What wonderful ideas. We tend to automatically go for the candy, partly because it is what is the usual thing. Another issue is the children expecting and wanting candy. I can remember trying to hand out boxes of raisins years ago and having the children refusing them. Having a nice selection of options for them to chose from and not having any candy available is the way to go. It isn’t a problem for us now. We live in the country and haven’t had a trick or treater in over 20 years.
Grear ideas! I will have to remember these tips for next year.
I think the non food items are great for Halloween.
These are really great non-candy ideas, I can make safe gift bags for my son to take into school with him for a snack, even after Halloween same idea just change the themes.
I love the idea of the non food items and the fruit juice boxes! I never thought of that. I think the non food items are great because they will lost longer than the candy.
The non food items are a great alternative to candy. Although I like to give treats and not get tricks back lol.
we did healthy snacks this year! went over great!
Those treats look so great, but alternatives to sugar is so much greater.
I love the non-food option ideas!!