As a child, I couldn’t wait for Halloween. Transforming into a princess or superhero was thrilling, and the best part was coming home and dumping my loot onto the kitchen table.
As a parent of a food-allergic son, however, I quickly realized that celebrating Halloween could pose a serious health risk. Still, I didn’t want him to miss out on the same thrills and giggles from the beloved autumn night. So over the years, I’ve come up with a few tricky tips to keep the fun in Halloween for children with food allergies.
Have a nice dinner first. On a full stomach, there will be less temptation to sneak a piece of candy.
Stash a few pieces of safe candy in your pocket. When the other kids inevitably indulge along their route, your child will have something safe to enjoy and won’t feel left out.
Keep the essentials with you. Don’t leave home without a cell phone, flashlight, wet wipes and, of course, the epin- ephrine auto-injector.
Consider supplying a few neighbors with pre-filled sealed treat bags. When your child rings the doorbell, the neighbor can pass out the safe loot and you’ll be certain that he’ll get to keep some of what he has collected.
Choose costumes with gloves if your child is extremely contact-sensitive.
At home, pass out toys. I usually hand out low-cost toys or trinkets. If I do buy candy, I choose something like Smarties, which is safe for multiple allergens. (Keep in mind, though, that Halloween-sized candy sometimes contains different ingredients than its full-size counterpart, so read the labels even on familiar brands.)
And what about my favorite part of the evening: coming home and dumping the candy stash onto the kitchen table? Here’s how to handle it:
0-2 year-olds: Forget the candy. An adorable costume, a juice box and a few safe cookies will do the trick. At this age, it’s a treat just to answer the door and pass out trinkets – as long as the trick-or-treaters aren’t scary monsters.
2-4 year-olds: Most kids this young can be fooled by one of my favorite tactics: the “Bait and Switch.” Give your child a plastic pumpkin for trick-or-treating. When you return home and while your child is busy washing his hands, swap the plastic pumpkin with an identical pumpkin that you filled ahead of time with safe treats.
Next Page: Ages 5 and up
momoxmochi
Great article! I love how you are still capture the fun of Halloween even with the challenge of food allergies. All holidays seem to be so food centric, and I like how you found a way to let you kid still participate in the fun, but keep him safe too.
allergyapparel-Theresa Marie
Thank you for the ideas. I love the focus, attention and suggestions based on different ages.
-Theresa Marie Green
allergyapparel.com
zimbalison
Great article. Hallowe’en has become a special holiday for our 8-year-old peanut/treenut allergic son because we bring all of the candy he collects immediately to a local children’s hospital, and he gives it out to the kids while still in costume. We have safe treats for him at home.
hpafs
As far as I remember, when I did go trick or treating, I’d go with my sister, and she’d give me all the candy I could eat, and I’d give her all that I couldn’t. Eventually, I saw how much she ended up with in the end, and grew out of trick or treating at a very young age (maybe 9). However, I always still had a lot of fun watching scary movies, and handing out candy while wearing a costume that I had time to perfect.
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