A Halloween party with no food at all. And what’s more, this is a big hit with the kids.

Here are a few things to consider if you’re thinking of throwing your own food-free (and therefore much less scary!) Halloween party.

Venue

If your home is large enough to accommodate the group, perfect. But if you are arranging a larger party, then inquire at the local school board about community use of schools. Schools often rent out space such as gymnasiums to the community. My experience has been that they won’t rent space for private parties, but they will rent space for peer meetings, and if you’re getting a support group together and there’s no food, you can definitely argue that your gathering is indeed a meeting.

Decorations

A true allergy-aware party will be latex-free, so forget the balloons and head to the local dollar store. There you will find tons of inexpensive decorations, from wall clings that give you a dungeon atmosphere to tree silhouettes that can be the inspiration for a cemetery theme. Paint cardboard boxes to look like tombstones. (Think of your guests, though – nothing too spooky for the 6 and under crowd!)

Refreshments

We opt to serve nothing but water since members of our large group have allergies to all priority allergens and many others. Large containers of water are less expensive and more environmentally friendly than smaller containers. Be sure to have markers on hand to label everyone’s cup.

Activities

For small children, cover a table with craft paper and lay out an assortment of craft items such as stickers, foam shapes, pom-poms, markers, crayons and glue sticks. This gives the little ones something to do while they check out each other’s costumes and EpiPen belts.

Older kids might like to watch a scary movie, dance or play games.

We’ve had great success with games such as:

Zombie Tag: One person is the zombie and as s/he claims more victims, they too become zombies. This continues until there is only one human left.

Eyeball and Spoon Race: In the weeks leading up to Halloween, it’s easy to find small balls that look like eyeballs. Or, you can color ping-pong balls to look like eyes.

Wrap A Mummy (or Daddy): Participants in groups wrap willing adults in toilet paper. The ‘mummies’ then race to the finish line and depending on how difficult you want to make it, they can be asked to create something at the finish line, such as to build a skeleton out of paper bones or construct a jack-o-lantern.

Next: Halloween Wands and Loot Bags

Most companies had stopped shipping chocolate bars during the hot summer months as heat affected the quality of the product, but September’s here and so is production!

Enjoy Life makes both dark and milk (rice milk) chocolate bars to satisfy all taste buds!  They also offer chocolate chips for the baking. All products are dairy- nut-, soy- and gluten-free.

Guardian Angel Foods sell the cutest chocolates from hearts, to zoo animals or dinosaurs!  If you want fondue or baking chocolate, they offer that as well.  They boast, “All of our delicious products are made without peanuts, nuts, eggs, sesame, bovine protein and dairy.”

Nonuttin’s Double Chocolate Chunk Granola bar is a granola bar that thinks it’s a chocolate bar (or is it the other way around?)  Either way it’s sure to satisfy both your hunger and your sweet tooth!  Again, this company offers 70 per cent dark chocolate chunks. All products are free of dairy, egg, peanut, fish, sesame, mustard, wheat, sulfite and gluten (certified by GFCO).

South of the border and shipping to Canada are:

Amanda’s Own offers dairy free, nut free and egg free chocolate in bars, shapes (from fancy foil wrapped to cars and puppies) as well as chips for baking.

Divvies offers both Devvine Chocolate and Chocolate Benjamint (with organic peppermint crunched up candies).  Both are made in the company’s-own dedicated facility where no peanuts, tree nuts, milk or eggs enter the doors.

Premium Chocolatiers create the finest truffles and gourmet chocolates to indulge chocolate lovers including those with milk, nut, egg, and gluten sensitivities.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been warning for some time now that imported chocolates are not always safe.

Manufacturers:

http://www.amandasown.com/

http://www.alimentsangegardien.com/guardianangelfoods/food-allergies/productscategories.php?categorie=4

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/our_foods/chocolate_bars.html

http://www.divvies.com/store/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=CDNY

http://www.nonutthttp://www.premiumchocolatiers.com/in.ca/products-for-Canada-International/

http://www.gfco.org/

You may be wide-eyed at the task ahead, but with a little preparation (OK, a lot at first), and maybe a few new tools, you’ll soon be able to make safe, nutritious meals for you and your family.

Yes, you’ve got to read through all those ingredients on food labels. Start with the help of a friend: have one person read the label while the other person checks the list of items to watch for with your allergen. You’ll get the hang of it with a little practice.

Consider too, whether an item may have become contaminated by another item. Did someone use a knife smeared with peanut butter to dig into the jam? It’s not worth it to keep 35 cents worth of jam if there’s a chance of a reaction. Face it, you will throw away food.

Will you keep some allergens in your home for those who don’t have the particular allergy? This is a personal decision that is based in part on necessity, part preference. Can the nutritional requirements of all family members be met on a diet restrictive of all allergens?

Since being prone to allergies in general runs in families, but you don’t inherit specific allergies, some families find that several members have different allergies. To accommodate all, they need to keep some allergens in the home.

If this is the case, special care must be taken to ensure there is no accidental exposure. You can employ:

- Special drink; special cup – Kids love to have their own special items. Having a cup for each child means they won’t drink from the wrong cup by mistake.

- Be alert when handling dangerous foods! Some parents have been known to implement rules such as: “No white liquids when Mommy is tired.” Keeping foods in different looking containers is helpful. If you purchase your soy milk by the carton, consider buying milk by the bag.

- Color code – This is great for the young child who can’t read but has mastered colors. A system of green (OK) and red (not OK) dot stickers works well. They can quickly find a safe snack by themselves and you have a built in system for recognizing which food is safe for whom.

- Label – Storing foods side-by-side can increase the risk of contamination by spills. A plastic container kept in the fridge and labeled with the individual’s name is a handy way of avoiding this issue. Babysitters will appreciate a container full of safe snacks in the cupboard that can be given out. Keep some safe foods at levels the children can reach and store allergens up out of reach.

Next: Safe Kitchen Gear

As the mother of a dairy-allergic 8-year-old, I am often asked: “How can anyone be allergic to milk?” From an early age, we’re taught that milk is good for you. It’s hard for people to fathom living without it, and then you explain that the allergy is not just to cow’s milk, but to a protein in every dairy product. Whether milk, cheese or whey or casein ingredients in a packaged food – it’s all dangerous and to be avoided.

When we registered our daughter for Junior Kindergarten back in 2001, my husband and I heard all about anaphylaxis plans for peanuts and tree nuts. But school officials seemed to have a hard time grasping that milk could be just as deadly to a child allergic to dairy. The school had a monthly Pizza Day, and the allergist had recommended that  our daughter not go to school on those days, as the risk of a reaction from the melted cheese (which smears so easily) was high.

Since she missed many events, I asked the school to reconsider the importance of Pizza Day. To my great relief, the new principal was most understanding and promptly dropped the “day”. Not all parents have accepted this easily, but that’s OK. My primary job is to protect my child physically and psychologically; I want her formative years in academia to be positive. Four years into our journey with dairy allergy and the school, the awareness-building continues. Along the way, we have learned much that’s worth sharing.

Next Page: Keeping the Child Safe