Making Better Decisions: Healthier Halloween Fun

In our household, we love Halloween. I start asking the kids what costumes they want in advance so I can make sure they’re properly fitted and we don’t have any last minute surprises. Our neighborhood does a fall festival every year so the kids get an extra opportunity to wear their Halloween costumes, eat snacks, and do some fall crafts. Between pumpkin patches, apple picking, and kids’ activities, there’s still an opportunity to make better decisions for a healthier Halloween this year!

Costumes and Accessories

In a Pinterest-perfect world, it would be great to make my kids’ costumes from scratch or upcycle items from a thrift store, but we don’t always have the time for homemade outfits. I usually ask the kids in September what they’d like to be for Halloween and find their costumes online.

To cut down on questionable ingredients and materials I try to steer them toward costumes that don’t require makeup or lots of plastic pieces. If you do need face paint or makeup there are non-toxic options from Natural Earth Paint, or you could get cosmetics from Real Purity or Beautycounter, two brands that avoid harmful ingredients.

When it comes to their Trick-or-Treat pail, I usually let the kids decide what they want to use but since our family is reducing plastic, we try to persuade them to use pillowcases or cloth bags that they can decorate themselves to match their costumes. We’ve also re-used plastic grocery bags in a pinch!

Treats and Sweets

Obviously the big sticking point with Halloween is that it’s all about candy! Luckily, there are some easy swaps you can make that will have your kids enjoying treats without feeling left out, and you can feel better that they aren’t eating tons of artificial colors and flavors.

Brands like YumEarth and Enjoy Life offer special seasonal treats that are kid-approved and made without artificial junk. You can even get an array of organic candy at your local Target, including lollipops, gummies, and sour candies.

Trick-or-Treat will probably leave your kids with a bag full of average sweets, so you have a few options to help promote healthier selections. Your local health food store might offer a swap program where the kids can bring in their Halloween candy in exchange for new candy (usually organic or made without artificial ingredients) or you can do the swap yourself.

One mom I know whose kids have sensitivities to food dyes does this all the time. If her kids get candy anywhere (at the bank, Trick-or-Treat, or at a birthday party), they know they can go to mom for a swap to a treat that won’t hurt their tummy. Kids get used to this and it just becomes part of their normal snack routine. If they’re not used to this, however, Halloween may not be the best time to implement a full-force treat swap - but you can get them used to the idea and swap out a few pieces at a time.

Happy Trick-or-Treating

Have a safe and (relatively) healthy Halloween!