With a little creativity and some planning, you can find fun and healthy ways to celebrate Halloween this year!
For millions of kids and families across the United States, Halloween marks a day full of costumes, scary stories, and sugary treats. Between school celebrations, Halloween parties, and trick-or-treating, kids are given more candy than they know what to do with.
While candy feels like part of the Halloween tradition, consuming too much sugar can have negative health effects, including an increased risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cavities, and other health problems.
Experts recommend that children age 2 and older consume less than 25 grams of added sugar per day. That’s the amount in a regular size Hershey’s milk chocolate bar or 2/3 of a can of Sprite. Children under 2 should avoid added sugars altogether. The most common sources of added sugars come from candy and sugary drinks, so limiting these is important for your child’s health.
This year, help your children have a healthier Halloween. Check out these tips, as well as some fun Halloween-themed recipes.
Tips for a Healthier Halloween
- Eat a good meal before trick-or-treating. Meals with protein and fiber help keep kids full and less likely to overeat candy. This recipe for English muffin veggie pizza calls for whole wheat English muffins, broccoli, carrots, and cheese. Add some ground chicken or turkey to increase the protein.
- Set clear guidelines. Things always go smoother when everyone understands the expectations ahead of time. Decide what you’d like to see this Halloween and go over it before trick-or-treating starts. This could include carrying a smaller basket (not a pillowcase) and stopping when it gets full. It could include telling your kids to choose one piece of candy from each house instead of grabbing a handful. At the end of the night, it could mean asking your kids to go through the candy and separate enough to enjoy one to two pieces each day for the next two weeks and putting the rest away.
- Find fun ways to get rid of some of the candy. Let your kids experience the joy of collecting the candy, but find a fun way to get rid of a lot of it. Many sites collect extra candy to give to hospitals and schools. You could create care packages for troops stationed overseas. You could “buy” the candy back from your kids and offer them fun activities as a trade. Some families use a “candy fairy” who comes and takes the candy while kids are asleep and leaves a toy in its place. You could also save some candy for future holiday baking, gingerbread house decorating, or an upcoming birthday piñata.
- Make Halloween about more than just candy. Halloween fun doesn’t have to be centered around the candy. Start some new traditions with your family this year. Involve your kids in decorating the house or carving pumpkins. Find a local Halloween-themed event to attend, like a 5K run or a walk, a candlelight hike, or check out a corn maze. Start a baking tradition using pumpkin or pumpkin seeds, like this recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds. They’re packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
- Join in the fun. Trick-or-treating can be a great way to get some exercise. Tag along with your kids and get some extra steps in. Your family could set a goal for how many houses or streets you’ll visit. Bring a bottle of water for everyone to stay hydrated, and wear comfortable shoes.
- Find a good balance. Remember, Halloween is one day a year. What your kids eat each day has far more effect than what they eat on the last day of October, so do what makes sense for you and your family. Teaching kids about making healthy choices and eating treats in moderation are great conversations to have any day of the year.
- Offer non-candy treats. You don’t have to add to the candy craze. Think about handing out glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls, Halloween-themed bracelets or rings, glow necklaces, fidgets, stickers, or temporary tattoos.
- Keep the parties healthy. If you’re hosting a get-together or volunteering at your kids’ school, consider healthy ways to celebrate. You could add physical activities like a zombie dance party or a pumpkin toss, and include healthier snack options like homemade trail mix or string cheese and pretzel stick “witch brooms.”
- Look before you eat. Take a few moments to check over the candy your kids collect before they begin eating. Inspect the candy for signs of damage or tampering to the packaging, check expiration dates, and search for anything else that might make the candy unsafe to eat, like a funny smell or a resealed or open wrapper. In addition, if any of your kids have food allergies, read the ingredients carefully.
- Try fun, healthy recipes. Healthy doesn’t have to mean boring. You can make a lot of simple snacks and meals that celebrate the spirit of Halloween, taste good, and provide some good nutritional value. It can be as simple as drawing a jack-o’-lantern face on a small orange clementine or using a couple of chocolate chips to make a “boo face” on a banana. Check out the section below for some healthier, Halloween-inspired recipes!
Recipes for Halloween Fun
- Roasted pumpkin seed snack mix – Combine a crispy rice cereal with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for a healthy and easy snack.
- Halloween fruit salad – Use orange and black fruits like cantaloupe, oranges, grapes, and blackberries to create a festive, healthy fruit salad.
- Pumpkin pie dip – Mix low-fat cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and roasted pumpkin, and serve it with sliced apples, pretzels, or your family’s favorite snack.
- Pumpkin pudding – Use pumpkin and low-fat milk as the base for a festive pudding flavor. Pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamin A and dietary fiber.
- Peanut butter apple monster teeth – Pair apple slices, peanut butter, and sunflower seeds to create “monster mouths” that are healthy and fun to eat.
With a little creativity and some planning, you can find fun and healthy ways to celebrate Halloween this year!