Kandi Traxel
The Country Marketplace General Store
If you are like me, you don’t want little ghosties and goblins,
door to door visits turn into a visit by the tooth fairy! Or worse,
a visit to the emergency room of your local hospital!
Here are some healthier alternatives to giving out candy, and
some tips for being safe on Halloween night. Use your imaginations
and I am sure that you can come up with tons more!
Halloween Pencils
Spider Rings
Character Erasers
Bookmarkers
Apples & Oranges
Stickers
Fruit Snack Packets
Raisin Packs
Children’s Flavored Lip Balms
Store Brand Juice Drinks (Less Expensive that Name Brand)
Plastic Cups (Character cups from Wal-Mart with Jack-o-lantern
Faces, Bat Faces, etc. are 5/$1)
Small Fun Pads (With coloring pages & puzzles)
Character-Themed Notepads
Temporary tattoos
Scour the local dollar stores and the clearance bins at Wal-Mart
and K-Mart and you can find some very good deals. One year I gave
away small storybooks that I had gotten from a Wal-Mart sale bin
for 10 cents each. They were The Ugly Duckling, The 3 Bears, and
some other titles. (Give these to the younger kids and save the
pencils and temporary tattoos for older kids.)
Whatever you do decide to give out, make sure that it is pre-packaged,
tightly wrapped and safety sealed, (with the exception of fruit
of course!) Gone are the days when you could find a couple of
popcorn balls in your bag when you dumped out your loot on the
living room floor!
Stay in neighborhoods that you are familiar with! Visit the home
of relatives, church members and friends! Many stores and malls
give out candy as well, so those are also a safe bet!
Many Churches have alternative parties on Halloween Night. Most
will advertise ahead of time, so be on the look out for those.
They are a safer alternative to more “traditional”
activities.
Carry a flashlight at all times!
Use face paint rather than masks. (Masks can be difficult to
see thru)
If your child has a dark-colored costume, using some glow-in-the-dark
paint, spray stripes on the back and front of the costume. It
will be invisible in the light, but glow brightly outside in the
dark! You may also use white or glow-in-the-dark tape.
Drive slowly down city streets! Small children DO NOT look both
ways!
Discourage older kids playing pranks, “egging” houses
and cars, and DO NOT buy them silly string! It is flammable and
almost impossible to remove once it has been sprayed! Entire towns
have outlawed it due to the damage it can cause!
After the fun, dump the candy and inspect each piece for signs
of tampering. Throw away any loose candy, badly wrapped candy
or anything that looks suspicious. Check fruit carefully for any
suspicious marks. Cut it up and check for any type of discoloration
or unusual odors. Wash and peel it when you can.
Have a fun and safe Halloween!
Kandi Traxel is a stay at home mom and the owner of The Country
Marketplace Web Mall and General Store
