There is nothing like a holiday or celebration to really highlight just how much having food allergies as a kid stinks. Halloween is definitely one of those. Not only can our kiddo's really not eat anything out of their candy bags but there are some of us who have munchkins that can't even go Trick-or-Treating because of a chance encounter with a peanut butter cup.
So I had an idea. And yes, I am the very FIRST person to ever think of this. So please sit down to admire my brilliance.
You did note the sarcasm right? I realize sometimes I think that it comes across but it doesn't and I don't want anyone actually believing that I think I'm the first person to come up with this. Not that I stole the idea from somewhere or something but I just figure that surely this has been done. You know?
Now that you have basked in my intellectual prowess we can move on to the idea.
Trick-or-Treating with no food.
Hit up Oriental Trading Company for a 50 gallon drum of those fun little prizes they give away at carnivals. Put those in the Trick-or-Treat bowls instead of candy. Families that want to participate in a Food Allergy Free Trick-or-Treat could post this sign on their doors. Organizations could use it too. How much fun would a Trunk-or-Treat be with only toys as giveaways instead of junk food? Parents with kids without food allergies would love this too! No month long debate about how many pieces of candy they can have every night. Instead a bag full of cheap toys to play with.
So please feel free to grab this poster from this blog post or send me an email at funkyfoodtrisha@yahoo.com and I will email you the jpeg. I am intending this poster to represent Trick-or-Treating that has NO food present. But people make mistakes so if you see this sign double check before you let your kiddo dive into the vat 'o goodies.
I do need to brag on my friend, Ronica Castro. She is an extremely talented graphic designer who did my new Funky Food logo(check out the Facebook Page) and she generously donated her time and skills to make me the Food Allergy Free Trick-or-Treat poster. Check out her webpage for more details on her business! ronicacastro.com
Want to do something special for your kiddo with food allergies? Try making homemade lollipops! They are crazy easy and can be made entirely out of cane sugar or honey.
Candy Recipe
Corn-free Corn Syrup Recipe
Candy Coloring Recipe
How wonderful! Thank you for sharing, I'll be passing this around for sure. We like to leave our candy out on Halloween night and the great pumpkin comes and replaces it with toys and those lollipops from the 'healthy foods' section of the grocery store. The name escapes me right now...Good Earth maybe?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of food free Halloween! My college is in a neighborhood that isn't safe for trick-or-treating so we host a carnival on campus with games and activities for the kids. I bet you could find a community group or even other families and have a similar carnival without food as another alternative to trick-or-treating.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to have stumbled upon your site!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter recently had a 3rd birthday and (like Halloween), food was expected. We made a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free cake for the celebration at home, but I was NOT about to make that effort for play group (sorry, there IS a limit to my budget)... So, I made crayons! http://writeonjana.com/2011/10/05/allergy-safe-birthday-treats-making-homemade-crayons/
This is a very good idea. I think though that we will do both. I cannot have tree nuts or peanuts. I cannot touch tree nuts and am careful touching even the wrappers. I think we will use the sign and have a bowl of small toys like you describe, and have candy. This would allow all the kids to get what they want. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of little (non-food) prizes instead of candy. Our almost-two-year-old (who's allergic to hundreds of foods at present) went trick-or-treating for the first time last night. We traded him blueberries for candy when he was done, and he loved it... but this might get a little more tough as he gets the drift of the holiday next year (and after). Holidays in general, which focus on food, will be a challenge, but I think if we get creative enough (with ideas like you've presented) we'll make it work without any let-down moments for the kiddo. Btw y'all, check out my blog (wherein I've written about our food allergy journey, and the successes we've had treating this stuff with Traditional Chinese Medicine) at www.alt-mama.com. :-)
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