What Can I Give out for Halloween Instead of Candy?

Halloween is traditionally the most candy-friendly day of the year. Trick-or-treaters flood the streets, bringing home (and eating) millions of pieces of candy each year. However, if you expect costumed visitors at your door in October, there are plenty of reasons to consider giving out something other than candy:

• Allergies: It seems that food allergies become more common every year. Children with food allergies have a much harder time on Halloween. You can by providing allergen-free treats on Halloween. If you are interested in doing even more, check out the Teal Pumpkin Project.
• Leftovers: There’s no way to know how many kids will come by. If you buy too many treats, you have to figure out what to do with them. Many of the items on this list are non-perishable, so you could hold them for multiple years in a row, use them for your own purposes, or give them out for other occasions, like birthday parties or holidays.
• Health: Kids often run into a lot of candy on Halloween, and not just from trick-or-treating. Between parties, school events, Halloween night, and the aftermath of leftovers, I’ve seen plenty of kids go through more candy in one week than they should eat in a whole year! Just about everything on this list is going to be healthier for kids than candy. Also, if you happen to end up with any leftovers, your waistline will thank you.
• Uniqueness: Your neighbors are probably going to give out extremely similar treats for Halloween. You’ve seen them in stores - massive bags of “fun-sized” candy bars. You can show kids that you care by handing out something different. Variety, after all, is the spice of life. Do they really need their 14th Milky Way? They do not.

Other things to consider:

• Are you going to get older kids or younger kids? Smaller items can be a choking risk for younger kids, and older kids might be more likely to acquire larger amounts of candy that will weigh down on and smush bananas.
• Are you going for allergy-free? If so, don’t pick any food items.
• Are your neighbors likely to give out candy?
• Are your trick-or-treating visitors likely to be children you see often? Or will you see their parents?

Halloween was pretty fun when I was a kid, but I’ve been an adult for so long that it’s hard to remember what exactly was so fun about it. Fortunately, I was able to ask some people a bit younger than myself to help me make this list. Almost everything here can be purchased online. Hopefully, something on this list tickles your fancy.

1. Glow Sticks

2. Folding money

3. Half dollar or dollar coins

4. Easter eggs

5. Novelty Glider Planes

6. Temporary tattoos

7. Ramen

8. Honey Packets

9. Mini Water Bottles

10. Unpopped Popcorn Packets

1. Apple

2. Green Banana

3. Raisins

4. Dried fruit

5. Cuties

6. Almonds packets

7. Popcorn bags, popped like Pirate’s Booty

8. Mac n Cheese

9. Mints

10. Little Gatorade bottles

11. String cheese

12. Granola bar

13. Chips

14. Fortune cookies

15. Hot chocolate mix packets

16. Cider mix packets

17. Mini marshmallow packs

18. Pretzels

1. Slap bracelets

2. Bouncy balls

3. Plastic bugs

4. Sticky hands

5. Stickers

6. Halloween rubber ducks

7. Fake mustaches

8. Play Dough

9. SIlly String

10. Silly Putty

11. Ball and paddle set

12. Mini slinky

13. Wind up toys

14. Whoopie cushions

15. Lego

16. Toy cars

17. Fortune Fish

1. Change

2. Mini flashlights

3. Keychains

4. Stamps

5. Cheap sunglasses

6. Shuttle Pens

7. Pens

8. Pencils

9. Notebooks

10. Erasers

11. Highlighters

12. Silly straws

13. Socks

14. Chopsticks

15. Hand Sanitizer

16. Chapstick

17. Bumper Stickers

1. Playing cards

2. Seed packets

3. Mini Frisbees

4. Bubbles

5. Chalk

6. Stampers (Halloween available)

7. Toothbrush

8. Toothpaste

9. Floss

10. Bars of Soap

11. Yu-Gi-Oh cards

12. Pokemon cards

13. Books

14. Buffalo nickel

15. Wheat penny

16. Crayons

Finally, here are the 15 worst things to give out at Halloween. These things might not be illegal, and under many circumstances, they will be fun treats for the trick or treaters, but I DO NOT recommend giving them out.

1. Toilet paper: Your neighbors will thank you.

2. Eggs: Your neighbors will thank you.

3. Laser Pointer: Dangerous.

4. Fireworks: Dangerous.

5. Milk: You might be tempted to give out tiny cartons of milk, but between dairy allergies, lactose issues, and the possibility that spilled milk will ruin a kid’s night, better to choose something else.

6. Soap: Dangerous. Kids will eat anything.

7. Anything frozen: Will melt.

8. Rocks: Sad. So sad. Also dangerous.

9. Permanent Markers: Parents will thank you for keeping these at home.

10. Anything You Make Yourself: This will get thrown away. Trust me.

11. Mini-pumpkins: By Halloween night, no one has any need for mini-pumpkins. Doubly true for the full-sized variety.

12. Candles: Some parents don’t want their kids playing with matches or fire.

13. Pamphlets: These will be thrown away. Trust me.

14. Whistle: Kids with whistles will drive their chaperones crazy.

15. Ripe Fruits: Will smush all over everything in a kid’s bag.