BOO!

Happy Halloween! I remember Halloween from my pre-teen years. My friends and I would walk as far as we possibly could collecting as much candy as possible. I never ate all that much, my plastic pumpkin would take its place on top of the fridge and eventually my mom would just dump all that candy.
Once, I took my brother, Phil, along as he wanted to go with the big kids. We walked and walked. Phil was a shower that year (think Karate Kid) and his shower curtain hung on an iron ring. After about an hour, we had to stop at a friend's house to call my parents to come and pick him up! He was so tired from carrying his costume!
My favorite Halloween was in 5th grade when I hosted a Halloween party. My parents arranged a funeral home visit (my parents have some interesting friends) and we all got spooked!

When my husband and I had children, Halloween became a cute holiday, with friendlier decorations and sweet costumes. When we learned of our daughter's life-threatening allergy to peanuts and tree nuts, Halloween became VERY scary again. Think about it. Not only is there a risk to eating much of the candy, but there is a big chance of having a skin reaction due to residue on the candy packaging. You know, when the house you visit has someone nibbling on peanut butter cups, they touch the candy and share that peanut butter with you. DANGER!!

We have come up with several ways to still have some fun with Halloween while staying safe.

*Choose a costume with gloves. This is easier in colder climates. Even this year's cat costume involves black gloves. This reduces candy to skin contact.

*Bring safe candy on the journey. Everyone wants to eat candy as they go, so bring some that will be okay. It goes without saying, bring your emergency meds along.

*Trick or Treat in a group. The group makes it more fun which is the point. If you are having fun being all together, than you feel less different. Make sure the group is willing to eat only certain candy while you are all together. Don't forget to bring some Wet Wipes in the case someone forgets.

*Participate in a candy-free Trunk or Treat. This gives you the fun of getting a treat without worries about food! We found high bounce balls, bubbles, fangs, sticky skeletons and more to hand out. Our car will be super decorated, too!

*Trade! I purchase special candies and treats. When our children return home, they can trade their candy for the special treats. This year we have safe candy corn and gummi soda bottles both of which our daughter has never had in her 10 years!

*Choose to enjoy giving! Some years our kids have preferred to be the givers at home. We have baked special treats to enjoy while watching the kids come to us. Make a big deal of decorating your house and create a party feeling there. By the way, we make sure to have allergy friendly treats to give out. This year it will be Smarties, DumDums, flavored Tootsies and Sixlets! (The first 2 are top 8 allergen free!)

I am a huge believer in inclusion. Where there is a will - there is a way! Our kids have never felt left out. It has been important to remember that my "normal" is not theirs. The way we celebrate Halloween has become their normal and they really enjoy it!