With Halloween quickly approaching, I know a lot of families with food allergies are trying to plan a great evening for their children without encountering any allergic reactions from unsafe candy.
When I first found out about my son's food allergy, I knew that life would be different for our family, but for some reason I totally forgot about Halloween. A few months ago, I saw an article regarding Halloween and food allergies. I immediately felt so sad for my child and ran to my husband saying, "What are we going to do about Halloween?" This is one of my favorite times of the year and I want my children to have the same experiences and fun memories that I had when I was a child. Then I decided to ask some other mothers who are in the same situation. Suddenly my feelings of pity for my child turned into excitement for what we were going to do this year and all the new memories that we would create. I had some wonderful suggestions, like just staying home and handing out candy in costumes, doing a scavenger hunt with safe candy and little tinker-toys or having a big Halloween party with family and friends, or going to Canada to trick-or-treat in a nice neighborhood (most of their candy has peanut/nut free symbols). Another option would be to let your children go trick-or-treating and teach them how to sort through their bag and eliminate any unsafe candy. This suggestion may work for some families, but if your child is very sensitive to peanuts then this may not work. My son has had a reaction to snacks that have been in the same bag as other sealed candy bars containing peanuts. The reaction wasn't severe, but I still want to avoid even minor reactions if at all possible. I know that a lot of people pass out mini Reese's Cups, which are wrapped in loose foil. I would be worried about about cross contamination if my child had these next to his "safe" candy.
My Favorite suggestion is the Peanut Goblin or the Halloween Fairy, which I thought was a fantastic idea. It sounds like a lot of fun and I know the kids will enjoy it. I think everyone
wins in this suggestion. Check out this blog link for more on this suggestion: Peanut Goblin
No matter what you decide to do with your family, be safe and try to make the best decisions that will work for you and your family. You can start your own tradition and still make it a very special evening for your family. Some of us celebrate holidays and traditions in different ways. Your child will never know the difference unless you make a big deal about it being different. Make the evening special and I know you and your children will have very fond memories of Halloween together.
When I first found out about my son's food allergy, I knew that life would be different for our family, but for some reason I totally forgot about Halloween. A few months ago, I saw an article regarding Halloween and food allergies. I immediately felt so sad for my child and ran to my husband saying, "What are we going to do about Halloween?" This is one of my favorite times of the year and I want my children to have the same experiences and fun memories that I had when I was a child. Then I decided to ask some other mothers who are in the same situation. Suddenly my feelings of pity for my child turned into excitement for what we were going to do this year and all the new memories that we would create. I had some wonderful suggestions, like just staying home and handing out candy in costumes, doing a scavenger hunt with safe candy and little tinker-toys or having a big Halloween party with family and friends, or going to Canada to trick-or-treat in a nice neighborhood (most of their candy has peanut/nut free symbols). Another option would be to let your children go trick-or-treating and teach them how to sort through their bag and eliminate any unsafe candy. This suggestion may work for some families, but if your child is very sensitive to peanuts then this may not work. My son has had a reaction to snacks that have been in the same bag as other sealed candy bars containing peanuts. The reaction wasn't severe, but I still want to avoid even minor reactions if at all possible. I know that a lot of people pass out mini Reese's Cups, which are wrapped in loose foil. I would be worried about about cross contamination if my child had these next to his "safe" candy.
My Favorite suggestion is the Peanut Goblin or the Halloween Fairy, which I thought was a fantastic idea. It sounds like a lot of fun and I know the kids will enjoy it. I think everyone
wins in this suggestion. Check out this blog link for more on this suggestion: Peanut Goblin
No matter what you decide to do with your family, be safe and try to make the best decisions that will work for you and your family. You can start your own tradition and still make it a very special evening for your family. Some of us celebrate holidays and traditions in different ways. Your child will never know the difference unless you make a big deal about it being different. Make the evening special and I know you and your children will have very fond memories of Halloween together.
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