Organic and Eco-friendly Halloween Treats

8 Responses for "Organic and Eco-friendly Halloween Treats"

1. Erika October 5th, 2010 at 3:52 pm 1

   ok, I think this is my first time commenting here, but I just had to. As someone who has trick-or-treated within the last few years, I beg you: PLEASE don’t give out toothbrushes, floss, or anything like that! My friends and I remembered every house that gave out that stuff and skipped them the next year. If you really don’t want to give out candy, that’s fine, I get it, but make sure what you give out is good. I don’t know anything about those craft packets listed, but as long as they are a bit better than crackerjack prizes they will be great. Stickers, coins, halloween masks, glowsticks, marbles, or pretty rocks would be great. Hey, if your neighbors want to get in on it, you could come up with a joint treat that they would get a little of at each house. Maybe one hands out a plain white masquerade mask, the next one has stickers to put on it, the next one has feathers for it, and so on. There are really cool ways to do no candy at halloween, but I could still tell you the houses that gave out toothbrushes and i’m pretty sure all my friends could too. Sorry for the rant, I love all the other ideas, I just feel strongly about the toothbrush thing. I swear I’m not a troll, and I do love this blog. Happy halloween!

2. rebecca October 5th, 2010 at 3:58 pm 2

   Ha, Erika, I was only kidding about the toothbrushes. I have only heard people threaten to give out dental supplies on Halloween–I did NOT realize it was a trend in the trick-or-treating world! (Personally I have always given out normal candy, contributing to the obesity epidemic as well as pediatric tooth decay.)

   I like the ideas of pretty rocks, marbles, and glow sticks. And I really like the idea of neighbors collaborating on the treat!

3. Erika October 5th, 2010 at 5:44 pm 3

   Oh good, because it was actually pretty common when I was trick-or-treating. Like I said, we learned which houses to avoid, and unfortunately I think some kids even TP’d those houses (not us though). Maybe it’s a local thing? Thanks for all the great ideas though! I’m kinda sad we don’t get any kids where we live.

4. Lynn October 6th, 2010 at 7:24 am 4

   I hear you on the toothbrushes, BUT you never know. I met a little girl, about five years old who, when I asked her what her favorite item is to get at Halloween, looked at me wide-eyed and said, I LOVE getting a new toothbrush and toothpaste! So there is no accounting for taste!

   That’s why the idea of giving CHOICES is terrific. We suggest you fill a bowl with all sorts of things and give each child the choice of ONE. It’s amazing how kids will get into doing this. You make it special by letting them know they get to choose one special treat. Most kids in our experience then really value what they are getting.

   Giving one of whatever saves money AND helps kids have a healthier holiday.

   I’m one of the founders of Green Halloween and of course you can get dozens more ideas at the website. I won’t give it here because sometimes that’s not allowed in responses. But if you’re looking, do check it out.

5. Larisa October 6th, 2010 at 9:15 am 5

   Last year I had an assortment of toys available–crayon packs in Halloween-themed boxes for preschoolers, stretchy frog toys and glow-in-the-dark bouncing eyeballs for the older kids. All of the kids seemed happy to get them and one actually said how relieved she was not to be getting yet more candy! This may or may not be green, but I bought stuff in bulk online from Oriental Trading.

6. Lauren October 6th, 2010 at 5:42 pm 6

   I had found the Green Halloween website a while ago so I took a page from them. (thanks for your great info)! Because I have a child who has severe life threatening food allergies and can basically eat nothing that is given out at Halloween, in order to promote a green Halloween and provide an alternative to food we bought crayon rocks. They’re cute natural rock shaped crayons. I gave them to a 5 year old for his birthday and he thought they were “way cool”. So I bought some Halloween fabric on sale at a store for a few $ and am going to sew a little bag (in like 5 seconds) and I’m tying them with a little ribbon (from my ribbon drawer). Each kid will get one crayon rock in a reusable fabric bag with info about the crayon (so they don’t eat it). If they want a colouring page they can take one as well. For the kids under 3 I’m handing out some stickers. Hopefully I won’t be known as the ‘bad house’ in the neighborhood but we’re trying to do something green, somewhat affordable and not food to provide kids with food allergies an alternative!

7. Melinda March 16th, 2011 at 6:32 am 7

   I liked getting toothbrushes at Halloween, and it made sense after all the candy we received.

8. Roxanne March 25th, 2011 at 10:39 am 8

   My husband and I hand out Sun Chips snack bags. Here’s why:
   Sun chips are made with solar energy, the bags are recyclable and the chips are multigrain. Kids and parents are fans and we have kids yelling down the block, “Hey, they got chips over here!!” Frito Lay, the company that makes Sun Chips, is dedicated to using sustainable methods in their manufacturing. So, we feel comfortable giving them out. We buy a couple of the 50 packs at Sam’s Club, so it’s a little more expensive than buying from Oriental Trading. However, Sun Chips is an American based company, so not only are we supporting sustainable methods, we are supporting American jobs!