How Do You Handle Halloween Treats

[nvsmom]

I was wonderting how you all plan on handling Halloween in order to keep it gluten-free?

This is my kids first Halloween gluten-free, and our plan is to trick or treat, and let the kids keep some of the safe foods, and trade the rest in to a local dentist who buys kids' candy back from them according to it's weight... I'm assuming my boys will keep the light stuff like potato chips.

I also told them that if they wanted to trade all their candy in, I would buy them their own bag of gluten-free chips or nachos.

Happy Halloween.

[Lisa]

I was wonderting how you all plan on handling Halloween in order to keep it gluten-free?

This is my kids first Halloween gluten-free, and our plan is to trick or treat, and let the kids keep some of the safe foods, and trade the rest in to a local dentist who buys kids' candy back from them according to it's weight... I'm assuming my boys will keep the light stuff like potato chips.

I also told them that if they wanted to trade all their candy in, I would buy them their own bag of gluten-free chips or nachos.

Happy Halloween.

No need to deprive your kids. Here is a safe list of candy that they can have. You might want to swap out some of your own safe candy for their stash they get Trick or Treating, or pick through it (for the food pantry )

Open Original Shared Link

LOVE the dentist idea, too.

BOO!

[Skysmom03]

I plan on going through his bag with him and sort what he can and can't have. That way he will learn what is safe as well!

[deb445]

The promise of light sabers (a trade for the candy) works for two boys - aged 5 and 3 years.

They can eat the chips.

FoodBank gets the rest .

[Mdhriggin]

My 4 yr old daughter is pretty good about recognizing what she can't have, and then we swap gluten-treats with safe treats and I bring the gluten treats to work. I live in a small town and most of our neighbors know us and and the kids gluten issues, so they look out for them.

[mommida]

Let the kids trade some of the bounty with their friends.

Give some of it to the teenager who thought they were too cool or too old to go out begging.

Did they have a friend that wasn't feeling well enough to go out? Give it to them.

We also gave it to teachers before.

[kb27]

My kids took a funny approach to this last night. I have 2 boys, one with celiac and the other without. So the one with celiac systematically traded all of this gluten candy to his brother in exchange for gluten-free options.

After 10 minutes of trading and haggling, all the gluten candy was in the non-celiac's bowl and they each had a pile of gluten-free candy. Then the two of them dumped all the gluten-free candy into a single bowl and agreed to share it all.

I guess the trading was just for the sake of trading. So we now have a gluten bowl and a non-gluten bowl. And everyone is happy.

[Cara in Boston]

I've been trading candy for legos for years now and it works great. We keep enough to have 1 or 2 treats a day for about a week and that is it. They don't mind at all since they usually end up getting something they want even more (Legos.)

Since one is now gluten free, we spend some time sorting and trading (and looking stuff up) so that all the treats he keeps are safe. It is a great lesson on checking ingredients and making good choices.

We then take all the extra candy to the local polling site on election day. The volunteers really appreciate it. It sits out in a big bowl all day and people coming in can just help themselves.

Cara

[Minette]

This was our first gluten-free Halloween as well. My daughter (almost 7) did great with it. If there was a gluten-free option in the bowl, she took it. If she wasn't sure, she just took whatever. Then when we got home, I sorted it all out and replaced the gluten ones with gluten-free candy I had bought previously.

I was actually really surprised at how much candy is gluten-free. (My daughter doesn't seem very sensitive, so we don't worry about shared facilities.)

It also helps (in this case) that my daughter is a really picky eater, even when it comes to candy. I think she was actually hoping to have more stuff taken away and replaced with Skittles!

Our school has a "cash for candy" program where they give the kids $1 a pound -- then the candy gets sent to soldiers overseas. I let my kids keep all the candy they actually trick-or-treated for, but we donated all the extra candy I bought.

[mamaupupup]

We too were shocked at how much candy was gluten free. We did a "Candy for Claire's" trade. I let the girls keep 10 pieces of candy, I took the rest to the foodbank, and then took the girls to Claires...

[Mom-of-Two]

Sooo much candy is gluten free- we did trick or treat last night, came home and made piles- I am lucky that my daughter has such a wonderful attitude and is totally accepting of her diet and never feels excluded- she focuses on the things she CAN have which I think is an amazing quality, she has done way better in her 3 months gluten free than I am doing at 8 months gluten free- children are amazing

We don't do much candy anyway, but I keep a jar of Dum Dum's and other safe treats for those occasions.

I also exclude candy that has been processed with wheat, which not everyone does.

[solstice]

some years I just buy back their unsafe candy---depending on how much they get I give them anywhere from 10 cents to a quarter per treat. My oldest son is a moneyman and very happy with this trade off!