I love Halloween. For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed using my imagination. As a child, I’d be the lady knight fighting alongside my brothers or a mermaid at the swimming pool. Nowadays, I’m Wonder Woman on the Fourth of July or Superman in a collaborative story with my best friend. My point is, I never had to wait until October 31st to pretend I was Sailor Moon or a villain from Batman, but holidays, I suppose, make it more socially acceptable to do so.
Some of my favorite memories are of dressing up and trick-or-treating with my brothers – we’d grab pillowcases from our parents’ dresser and dash out the door to earn as much candy as possible. One of the best parts of the night actually came afterward, though, when we’d all sit down in the living room and swap loot with eachother. I was all about Pixy Stix, Twix, and SweetTarts, and the boys loved Twizzlers, Kit Kats, and Starbursts. They probably thought they were getting the best deal when I’d offer five Kit Kats for just one Twix bar, but really the joke was on them because I couldn’t get rid of those things fast enough.
Needless to say, our favorite treats were not the healthiest options. We scorned boxes of raisins and tossed away unwanted spider rings. Want some better ideas for healthy Halloween treats? Check out the lists below.
To Hand Out
- Pumpkin/sunflower seeds.
- Barbara’s Snackimals Animal Cookies.
- Annie’s fruit snacks.
- Cereal/granola bars (I recommend Luna and Clif Kid Z bars).
- FruitaBü Organic Smoooshed Fruit Rolls. Like old-school Fruit by the Foot, but with real organic fruit and no artificial additives or added sugars. My little sister goes crazy for these. You can buy them in natural food stores and many supermarkets, or online.
- Stretch Island Original Fruit Leathers. Similar to FruitaBü, fruit leathers are sweet and chewy strips of dried fruit. You can find it online, in natural food stores, and at many supermarkets.
- Dark chocolate.
- Sugar free gum/ hard candy.
- Snack pack pudding.
- 100% juice boxes.
- Sugar-free cocoa or cider mixes.
- Single-serving packs of nuts (like these Halloween-themed pistachios).
If you’re set on handing out candy, you might want to take a look at this list to see where some of your favorites stand in comparison to others. If you’re interested in a list of vegan-friendly candies, you can find a great list here. Keep in mind, though, that children can also enjoy non-food options, like items you might typically find in birthday goodie bags:
- Glow sticks.
- Lip Smackers chapstick.
- Costume jewelry (plastic rings, necklaces, etc.).
- Small bouncy balls.
- Miniature magnifying glasses.
- Tiny decks of cards.
- Small stuffed animals.
- Pencils/pencil toppers or fancy erasers.
- Markers.
- Stickers.
- Temporary tattoos.
- Crayons.
- Coloring book pages.
- Bottles of bubble solution.
- Whistles.
- Coupons from a frozen yogurt store or juice bar.
Healthy Cooking at Home
- Peanut butter rice krispy treats. I bet you could even use cookie cutters to give them a more ghost-like shape.
- Halloweenie spaghetti spiders.
- Caramel apple pancakes.
- Another great Halloween treat? Snack-o-lanterns.
- Mesclun Meanies make a healthy accompaniment to dinner.
- Chili-filled coffins.
- Katie over at Chocolate Covered Katie has put together a list of some healthy, homemade Halloween treats. She has recipes for York peppermint patties, Reese’s peanut butter cups, cookie dough pops, and more.
- For parties, or simply a festive dinner night for the family, these pages have a great list of healthy ideas: vegetable skeletons, boo-nanas, and Hallo-pizzas, to give you an idea. Apple “bites” are another fun, easy option.
This Halloween, get out and have fun with friends, spend it with family, or sit outside and enjoy handing out treats to the neighborhood kids. Half the fun of the holiday is the social experience of it. Halloween treats don’t only come in the form of what you end up with in your pillowcase or Jack-o-Lantern bucket at the end of the night.
About Demelza Young
Demelza Young is an alumni of Northern Kentucky University. She currently enjoys volunteering her time in her local community, reviewing online content with her cat, and sharing quality recipes.
Great ideas! Very nice write up!
Thanks for sharing this awesome post! Now there s a better way to celebrate Halloween and becoming healthy as well!
This post fantastic, thank you for sharing..
Wonderful ideas! I am going to have to try the caramel apple pancakes! Delicious!!
Some really fantastic ideas in your post Susan! I know Halloween is just once a year and so the kids can sort of spoil on sugar a bit but I prefer going with some healthy options! Some great links in there that I need to visit a bit more!
Thank you for sharing such great ideas. I would love it if people started handing out healthier snacks.
Great information to keep our little ones healthy this Halloween. I love giving out the temporary tattoos also!
great and very creative. i'm sure kids would want to have these
Wow – this a great list. Thanks for sharing!
These sound like wonderful ideas! tasty, yet healthy!! I really like the Halloweenie Spaghetti Spiders!
This is such a fantastic post! I love the idea of giving out the Lipsmackers chap stick. I think I'm going on the hunt to find a good deal so we can do this… along with glow sticks. All kids love glow sticks!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
~Ola
Great post! This year I am doing a mix of both candy and healthy options.
I am so glad I didn't miss this post! How wonderful to actually have this at my fingertips. I am definitely sharing this! I always try to give out either fun gifts and toys or healthy snacks for halloween. Great information. Thanks for the work.
Nice ideas! I want to try a few snacks
I love the handout alternatives. I never thought of the cocoa or cider that is a great idea.
Great post!! I have to say as a Dental Hygienist, I hand out Halloween toothbrushes and little tube of toothpaste!! LOL the neighborhood kids hate me but the parent love me 🙂
If only the healthier snacks were most cost effective! Great ideas though!
Those are all great ideas!
I am looking at glow sticks this year
I love giving things like lipglosses! This year we are giving away small toys! homemade play-dough is always a great thing to hand out!
Love these ideas.
There is a house we visit every year that gives out juice boxes. The kids loves it because they get a drink while walking and they get a little more energized.
Great Ideals… I dont usually give out candy but my kids want to this year.
I hope we get some healthy treats while out trick or treating!