Given the high prices of groceries, you may have to boo on a budget this year. Here are some tips for making Halloween budget friendly, even when your kids are gluten-free.
1)Right size your candy purchases. If you have lived in a neighborhood for a while, you probably have an idea how many trick-or-treaters you average each year. Don’t buy too much. You can always limit what each child gets if you see more traffic than usual.
2)Consider bulk pack candy or bubble gum with lots of small pieces when buying for a large group. Bubble gum is gluten-free and can be purchased for as little as $.07 per piece. Dum-Dums® are gluten-free and can be found for $.08 each. Other bulk candies to consider are Tootsie Roll® Midgees $.075 and Charms® Mini Blow Pops® $.05 each. Both are gluten-free, peanut-free, and kosher. Smarties® are a long-standing popular gluten-free choice $.075. If you lean toward chocolate, Snickers® Mini Chocolate Bars can be found for $.20 each when purchased in bulk.
3)Get the neighbors together. There’s economy in numbers. Have several households gather on one front porch. Block your home’s entrance with a decorative spider web that holds a sign telling trick-or-treaters where to find the treats. Create a costume theme and dress up as a group or simply pass out candy.
In my neighborhood, we’d choose the biggest porch and have a signature cocktail. Each household buys less candy, but we’ll still make the kids happy we’re their neighbors.
Don’t worry about children getting less candy. They don’t technically need candy in their diet. It’s much more about them feeling powerful through getting adults to do their bidding, enjoying the costumes and decorations, and getting a treat. They’ll enjoy the experience even if the treats aren’t large.
4)Make a witch, goblin, ghoul, or werewolf photo companion. Use cardboard from boxes. If you’re like me, it won’t take long to amass enough cardboard to create a witch cutout. I have some house paint I can use for the large surfaces and paint markers to fill in the details. Create a few ghosts using white balloons draped with white trash bags and hang them by your cutout. Let all the kids pose with the cutout and ghosts for a photo. An optional takeaway can be a single sticker, sucker, or plastic skeleton.
5)Make crayon bundles. Boxes of 800 crayons would yield 50 bundles of 16, 100 bundles of 8, and 200 bundles of 4. The crayons can be purchased for $.05 each. Secure them together with a rubber band, black & orange ribbon, or string.
Some of us remember a time when it was okay to accept a homemade treat. Having the flexibility to prepare something at home without all the packaging made it easier to keep costs down. If you use these tips to spark your own ideas, you’ll find Halloween doesn’t have to be scary. It’s still possible to provide a good boo on a budget.
Happy Halloween!
Ten Halloween Treats for Any Child – in thriver words (cooking2thrive.com)
Zombie Fun Candy
Halloween treats don’t have to be candy! When I was growing up, favorite Halloween treats included caramel apples, candy apples, and popcorn balls. While these are sweet treats, they’re not candy. As we grew to be wary of our neighbors, homemade Halloween treats gave way to packaged candy that could be examined for tampering. Gradually, the packaging shifted from bulk packed candy corn to small individual packages.
