No prunes this Halloween!

Don’t try this at home …

Several years ago, on a health-food kick with very bad timing, I decided I would not hand out candy to the neighborhood spooks on my doorstep Halloween night.  No, I had such grand visions of healthy alternatives.  I thought everyone – kids and parents alike – would really appreciate something that wouldn’t give them the typical candy hangover.

I set out in search of small, individually wrapped, non-perishable, non-allergenic and low-sugar foods: fruits, jerky and even vegetables.

All I found were … prunes.

Little individually wrapped prunes.  At first I balked, but as I stood in the grocery store aisle scratching my head, the idea slowly grew on me.  Prunes would help the candy move through faster, right?  And they are naturally sweet, rich in some kind of vitamins and maybe even antioxidants.

Fast-forward to Halloween night.  Needless to say, the prunes were not a hit with anyone except Laura’s mother-in-law.  Dejected and embarrassed, I turned to her for my only comfort as she reassured me that as a kid she would have been thrilled to get prunes in her trick-or-treat bag.  Thanks, Sally!

Fortunately, I now know where to go for non-candy handout ideas, and I’ve collected a few of them here for you:

• Vampire teeth
• Spider rings
• Bouncy balls
• Halloween party-themed party favors
• Stickers
• Temporary tattoos
• Bubbles
• Rubber bugs and snakes
• Fake jewels from a craft store
• Quarters (yes, money!)
• Dollar theater gift certificates
• Granola bars or cereal bars
• Fruit roll-ups
• Pre-packaged Goldfish crackers or pretzels
• Factory-sealed single serving baby carrots or apple slices
• Cheese sticks
• Popcorn balls
• Single-serving trail mix (try Trader Joe’s “Just a bite”)
• Toothbrush and toothpaste travel packs or dental floss ($1 at Target)

That last one may be a little too far down on the “downer” scale like prunes.

But there you have it! You can get the toys at a party store or perhaps even the local dollar store. Make sure any foods are factory-sealed or the parents will surely toss them. Keep any perishable foods in the fridge right up until the first ghoul rings the doorbell.

And if you’re looking for Halloween treats for the babies and toddlers in your life, you’ll love this list at About.com

I hope you have lots of smiles from your treat ideas, and that nobody thinks you’re playing tricks on them! And if you have a favorite treat that’s a Halloween home-run, we’d love to hear it!

Happy haunting,
Shelley