🎃Happy Halloween🎃
Yep, that’s me in the middle.
When I was little my mom had a garden and grew pumpkins. When the pumpkins were still small, my sisters’ and I would each choose one and my mom would scar our names on them. This was 1978, I was 1.5-years old, and mine was the biggest in the garden! I’ve done this a few times with my kids, it’s really fun.
~Tips for a gluten free halloween~
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For some, Halloween is the best holiday. It’s filled with decorations, costumes, scary movies, carving pumpkins, and trick or treating.
For some, it’s hard because not all Halloween treats are safe to eat, but with a few modifications everyone can have a great time and not let gluten steal and ruin all of the spooky fun.
Just a couple quick general reminders.
Some regular and costume make-up does contain gluten. While gluten cannot be absorbed through the skin, any make-up that comes into contact with the mouth should be gluten free.
Play-dough contains gluten, so avoid giving or taking the small mini tubs.
Homemade roasted pumpkin seeds, either as a pumpkin carving party activity or just being served, could be tossed in a spice blend that is not gluten free and/or roasted on a baking sheet that is used for gluten full baking.
~Handing Out Candy~
Purchase a variety of candy so that trick or treaters have multiple options.
Click here for The Celiac Disease Foundation’s 2021 list of gluten free candy, remember that it is important to always check labels as ingredients and production practices can change.
Hand out non-candy options like glow sticks, bubble sticks, LED light up toys, masks, stamps, stickers, small halloween bead kits, or laser finger lights.
Make it clear to your trick or treaters that you have safe candy and non-candy options by participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project. Click here for more information about the #tealpumpkinproject.
~Receiving Candy~
Let your trick or treaters know which candy is gluten and/or other allergen free, so, if given a choice, they can pick the safest option.
Hold a "post trick or treating candy swap!” One of the best parts of trick or treating with friends and family is being able to swap out the candy that you don’t like with the candy that you do like when the night is wrapping up.
Some dentists will gladly exchange candy for money, search your area.
~School Parties~
For parents of younger kids, join the Halloween Party planning group and help coordinate. There are a lot of really fun non-food based activities:
foam/paper pumpkin decorating.
pumpkin painting.
decorate paper bags for kids to collect their prizes.
“Guess How Many” in a bowl with eyeballs or spiders.
costume parade.
scavenger hunts.
pin the mouth on the ghost, teeth on Dracula, hat on the witch.
Poke-a-Pumpkin: put halloween prizes in orange tissue paper covered plastic cups that are arranged on a board like a pumpkin and let kids poke through the paper for the prize.
Halloween Bingo.
Halloween themed ball/bean bag toss.
Not all caregivers can participate in either party planning or being in the classroom during the party, if that is you, reach out to the teacher and find out all that you can about the party. You can either send your student with alternatives, or find out if the party planners can include safe food and treats.
If you are a caregiver and want to help with food, it is pretty easy to either provide a few gluten free options or even make all the food gluten free. Find out if your school is ok with food being brought in from home or if it all needs to be store bought and pre-packaged.
mummy wrap applesauce pouches.
individually packaged GF snacks and juice boxes.
gluten free cupcakes.
kids can make mini grave yards with gluten free pudding cups, gluten free crushed chocolate cookies, ghost Peeps and gluten free gummies. You can also pre-write R.I.P. with frosting, on gluten free wafer cookies to be used as headstones.
veggie and fruit options.
string cheese.
~House Parties~
In a shared gluten free and gluten full party, clearly label what is what and keep them separated, either on separate tables or away from each other on the same table.
Invite gluten free people to serve themselves first or ask to be able to serve yourself first.
If you or you child is a guest, contact the host to see what food will be served and if there will be safe options. If there are no safe options:
bring food from home.
offer to bring something to share, making sure to serve yourself and/or your child first.
Find out if and what types of prizes might be handed out from games.
Include non-food activities and prizes.
Follow trick or treating ideas above.
~General Halloween Fun~
Luckily, Halloween has a lot of amazing experiences and activities that are not food based. Also, the internet is full of amazing Halloween, gluten free, savory and sweet recipes and there are so many gluten free candy options out there, that it is easy to find a lot of options to give out, select from and trade.
The best and most important part is having fun with friends and family.
Happy Gluten Free Halloween
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If you would like additional support navigating living gluten free…
Disclaimer:
While we have more than eleven years’ experience of navigating the world as the parents of a child with Celiacs, we are not physicians, nutritionists, or other licensed medical professionals. The material and content contained in the Services is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for consultation, diagnosis or medical treatment by a licensed medical professional. Please consult your doctor for any medical or health-related questions. The information contained in the Services should NOT be used to disregard medical or health-related advice from a physician or licensed medical professional.