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Create Your Own Safe Fun Halloween Party For Your Neighborhood.

By Melissa Shrader Editor/Publisher Loveland Macaroni Kid October 10, 2018

,A few years ago we though it would be fun to invite some of our daughters friends over for a Halloween party. 

Me, being who I am, wanted to do something a bit different

I knew some of the kids had food allergies and some were celiac. I struggled a bit thinking of what kinds of foods and treats we could offer that everyone could enjoy. I was thinking of what each kid's restrictions. One was allergic to nuts, another to strawberries and the last was celiac. I opted to do a fruit platter - no strawberries, and a meat and cheese platter.  I did want to offer something fun for the kids but I really didn't like the idea of treats. Not just because of the diet restrictions, but also for the simple fact that Halloween is known for excessive candy. While I was considering some options for the party, I was also speaking to some mom's and they wanted someplace safe to take their kids that wasn't packed. They didn't want to fight crowds or stand in long lines just to enjoy a few moments of a short game in order to get a tiny candy the kids won't eat.

That's when I decided to do a Halloween Trick or Treat party. 

This is what I did: I wanted to have stations for each item I was giving out. I limited food to healthy options. 

I decided how many kids would be invited and decided how many items I wanted each kid to take home - I had a budget to keep within so I kept it very simple. The other thing that was important was that the items the kids leave with be quality enough they would want to play with them and the items would not break and most importantly they would not be too expensive. 

So I went to some dollar stores and some other online sources for bulk items. I chose some great little stuffed animals (tiny ones you can hold in the palm of your hand), sticky cling hands, and some Halloween animal masks. I had the theme as Zoo and kids could dress as they liked. I set up little trick or treat stations and had the kids go around while parents helped pass out the goodies. I found a couple "safe" candies to have too. The kids loved it! So did the parents. 

As the years have gone on I've modified the party a bit. Mainly because the Halloween Trick or Treat party has grown. 

We now invite our daughter's friends, our family, and neighbors with kids. We ask parents to bring 1 small non-candy treat and we set up stations through out our home for each different item, and we have a parent man the trick or treat items. One parent per station works best. And we have 2 parents as greeters at the door. We welcome our guests, and we say goodbye at the end of the evening. We have a healthy snack area and we have a couple of treats too. Treats are mainly fruit with restrictions still taken into consideration. Two parents watch the food and replenish as needed.  The kids leave with a bag full of fun items and the parents are happy they have a safe non-candy place to enjoy Halloween. 

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