Not So Spooky Halloween Ideas
It might be spooky and scary outside, but Halloween can be a fun, safe, and delicious time to be gluten-free! You can easily find safe gluten-free candy and treats, along with non-food treats, to help celebrate this holiday. But first, you have to know how to navigate Halloween!
Always, always, always read every label, every time. What are common candy ingredients that may contain gluten? Off the bat, you can rule out all of the things that would obviously contain gluten-like wafer chocolate bars or chocolate covered malt balls. Next, look for gluten that may be more difficult to find, like the ingredient ‘barley malt’ in chocolate. And then, you’ll have to look for the really sneaky things – like cross-contamination. That’s when the candy might be touching gluten or near gluten at some point during the time it’s made. Things like peanut butter chocolates might have different shapes for Halloween. These may be made in different factories than their other chocolates. Their normal candies might be labeled gluten-free, but their holiday-shaped or holiday flavored candies might not be labeled gluten free. An adult can always help you understand if your candy is safe or not. This is why it’s so important to read the labels – always, every time.
But what if my candy doesn’t have an ingredient list? Oh no! One of the hardest things about Halloween is the individually wrapped candies. A lot of people buy candy in big Halloween bags that have a bunch of individually wrapped candies. These candies and chocolates often don’t have ingredients listed on the side of the wrapper, because it’s on the bigger packaging only! This makes it extra hard to figure out if the candy is safe. And when you don’t know the ingredients, you shouldn’t eat it. You can throw out this candy, give it to someone else who is not gluten free, or put it aside for an adult to look into later.
We are really lucky to have a lot of options for safe Halloween candy, chocolate, and treats. You can find safe gluten-free Halloween candy at most grocery stores. Even stores like Target have gluten-free (and even food allergy friendly) Halloween candy. You can also find gluten-free Halloween candy that is certified gluten-free!
If you’re new to gluten-free or looking to do something new this Halloween, try these ideas!
Switch Witch
I just love going house-to-house in my neighborhood and getting Halloween candy from everyone! I love seeing how every house is decorated, and seeing all of my neighbors dressed up. But some-times it’s a bummer if the majority of the candy you collect isn’t safe to eat. That’s where the Switch Witch can come in! There is a rumor that if you leave all of your gluten-filled Halloween candy overnight on the kitchen table, the Switch Witch will come for a visit. She’ll use her magic broomstick to fly away with all of that gluten candy, and replace it with gluten-free candy, or non-food treats by the next morning!
Trunk or Treat
If you have a gluten-free group in your area (like a Generation GF support group), you can host a safe candy Trunk or Treat. You’ll dress up just like Halloween night and everyone will drive their cars to a park or school. Each family will bring a bunch of gluten-free candy, chocolate, treats, or non-food items. They set up a Halloween display in their car’s trunk with the safe candy. When everyone arrives, it’s just like trick or treating – but instead of going door-to-door, it’s going car trunk-to-trunk! Everyone leaves with safe gluten-free Halloween treats.
Teal Pumpkin Project
Years ago, FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), an awesome organization fighting for those with food allergies, started the Teal Pumpkin Project. This shook up Halloween everywhere. Families were finally able to identify safe trick-or-treat spots by looking for teal-colored pumpkins outside of houses. Putting a teal pumpkin outside meant that you had food allergy-friendly or non-food treats to pass out at Halloween. Since then, the project has gotten even bigger! Your family can put your house on an interactive map online to show your neighbors that you have friendly treats. You can find houses near you to visit that have safe food or non-food treats! While the project was originally meant for kids with food allergies, it’s become a way to find safe gluten-free Halloween stops too! Think about making your house a Teal Pumpkin Project house this year!