Are you thinking about offering something other than candy to trick-or-treaters this Halloween? Let’s talk about Halloween candy alternatives that you can pass out instead!
Is it just me, or has Halloween gotten bigger and bigger every year? It used to be that people would carve a jack-o-lantern for the porch and buy a bag of fun size candy bars and call it a day for Halloween. Now, Halloween is a whole vibe. 10-foot tall skeletons are commonplace and people go all out with what they pass out to trick-or-treaters. Seriously, I think my kids got more full-size candy bars than fun size versions last year. My husband even got a beer!
In this new world of Halloween celebrations, you might be thinking of upgrading your trick-or-treat offerings. You might even be thinking of what you can pass out that isn’t candy. I mean, kids like all sorts of things, edible or not. And wouldn’t it be nice to add a little variety to those Halloween buckets? Non-candy offerings also feel a bit more inclusive for kids who might have special dietary considerations they’re working with like allergies. If this sounds interesting to you, read on for some great Halloween candy alternatives!
Halloween Candy Alternatives
Glow sticks
Glow sticks are great Halloween candy alternatives that serve multiple purposes. First, what kid doesn’t love a glow stick? They’re so fun! The other great thing about passing out glow sticks on Halloween is that they provide a bonus safety boost. One thing that makes this mom nervous about trick-or-treating on Halloween is kids in the road after dark. We always carry a flashlight to calm my nerves, but glow sticks would be such a fun way to calm the nerves of all the moms on Halloween night. The kids will love the glow sticks, sure, but the moms will love them even more!
Stickers
Stickers are also great Halloween candy alternatives, especially for the littlest trick-or-treaters. My husband is very sensitive to what our kids are putting into their mouths that might cause them to choke. He has a whole list of things they can’t consume, especially the 3-year-old. So that means mom and dad get quite a bit more candy than the kids would prefer.
But stickers are never off-limits! My kids love all sorts of stickers. Holiday-themed stickers, stickers with their favorite characters, generic stickers. If it’s a sticker, they like it. If you want to please the littlest trick-or-treaters, stickers are a great choice.
Temporary Tattoos
Similar to stickers, temporary tattoos are crowd-pleasing Halloween candy alternatives, at least for the younger crowd. My kids can’t resist a temporary tattoo. Dinosaur? Bat? Minnie Mouse? They will take them all!
Application station
If you choose to pass out temporary tattoos to trick-or-treaters this Halloween and you really want to be the neighborhood hero, consider setting up an application station. As much as kids love temporary tattoos, they dislike having a temporary tattoo in their possession and not being able to apply it. Setting up an application station removes this frustration.
How do you set up an application station for the tattoos you’re providing? It’s easy! Simply add a few small spray bottles filled with water and a roll of paper towels to a table next to the tattoos. It’s as easy as that to provide sheer joy to a whole neighborhood full of kids. And parents too – I’ll bet the grown-ups will be sporting temporary tattoos as they prowl the streets with their kids!
Pencils
Sometimes I ask myself why kids love office supplies, and then I remember how much I love office supplies. I get it, they’re pretty cool. To capitalize on everyone’s love of office supplies, why not pass out pencils as Halloween candy alternatives?
Tips
If you do go the pencil route, I have a few tips for you. First, please pass out pre-sharpened pencils. This will save your poor neighbors from having to find a pencil sharpener at 8:00 pm when they get home from trick-or-treating and are trying to get super high children in the shower and then to bed. Second, try to have a variety of pencils on offer. Not all kids like Barbie or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but if you offer both, you’ll likely please most of the kids who stop by.
Salty snacks
If you want edible Halloween candy alternatives, but you don’t want to add to the night’s sugar consumption, why not pass out salty snacks? Honestly, most kids love salty snacks just as much as they love sweet snacks, and they would probably be excited about the novelty of something salty and crunchy when they’ve been inundated with sweet things all night.
Tips
If you go the salty snacks route, I highly recommend you go to your local warehouse club and buy the big boxes of single-serve packaged snacks. Some of my kids’ favorite salty snacks are potato chips, veggie straws, pretzels, Pirate’s Booty, and Goldfish. I think you’d be a hit handing out any of these salty snacks. My husband urges you to please steer clear of popcorn, though. It’s a choking hazard for kids under 4.
Fruit-based snacks
If you want edible Halloween candy alternatives to offer trick-or-treaters, but you want a bit of a healthier option, you might want to consider some fruit-based snacks. Anything fruity and individually packaged works here. Think fruit cups, fruit leathers, fruit snacks, applesauce or applesauce blend pouches, or individual packages of freeze-dried fruit. My kids would happily eat any of these items.
Tip
One tip: stay away from fresh fruit. It’s healthy and delicious, of course, but today’s parents grew up at a time when their parents were convinced that sickos were poisoning trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Stick to things that couldn’t possibly be tampered with.
Cookies
Want Halloween candy alternatives that give all the sugar of candy but offers a bit of textural variety to the Halloween bucket? Cookies are a great option! Just like my recommendation for salty snacks, I highly recommend hitting up your warehouse club for individually packaged cookies to offer your trick-or-treaters. My club has a pretty decent selection of cookie and cookie-adjacent products. Sleeves of Oreos, bags of Chips Ahoy, even Graham cracker snacks are available.
Drinks
My kids are always super parched on Halloween night. They’re working hard running from house to house to get all those goodies! I try to remember to bring water bottles with me on Halloween night, but sometimes I forget (or I just don’t want to carry them). I can’t be the only mom who struggles with thirsty trick-or-treaters, so drinks would be a great Halloween candy alternative to offer. Those really small water bottles would be perfect, but juice boxes or small bottles of Gatorade would be nice too.
Candy
You don’t have to offer Halloween candy alternatives. You can just give the kids what they want and offer a selection of candy to the neighborhood kids. It’s one night, it’s not going to hurt them.
Other posts
Are you all in on spooky season? Check out these other Halloween posts:
So, what’s it going to be? Are you going with candy or Halloween candy alternatives this year? Let us know in the comments or over on Instagram @sarainseason.