Crowdsourding: What Allergy-Safe Treats Should I Stock for Halloween?

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A photo posted by FARE (@foodallergy) on Sep 20, 2016 at 10:47am PDT

Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I’ve never actually had trick-or-treaters. A combination of big city apartments, grad student housing, and living in countries that don’t do the whole Halloween thing means that I’ve never actually had someone show up at my door looking for candy, let alone allergy-safe treats for Halloween.

I’ve been stocking Halloween candy since high school, though. Every year I buy a big bag of mini Snickers or Butterfingers or something, and then wind up eating the whole thing myself. That is not a complaint, it’s awesome. But this year I have an actual house in a midwestern neighborhood full of kids, and it’s unseasonably warm for October, so I anticipate getting actual trick-or-treaters this year. I plan on trying to get full size candy bars, just because I’ve always wanted to be “that house” with the full-size candy bars, but now I’m also worried about what allergy-safe treats to keep on hand for kids with allergies.

I want to be inclusive and make sure everyone gets something fun, and it’s not really any skin off my nose to stock something extra for kids with allergies or dietary restrictions. So I’m going to go to the Teal Pumpkin Project and print out a picture of a teal pumpkin to let people know I have allergy-safe stuff on hand. But I need to know what allergy-safe stuff to actually keep on hand.

Stickers? My kid is obsessed with stickers. How long do stickers stay fun? Do 10-year-olds like them?

Are there allergy-safe foods? Maybe Nerds or Smarties or Skittles? Honestly, I hate fruit-flavored sugary candies like that. (I’m a chocolate/caramel/peanut butter person.) But do other people like them OK?

I could give Candy Corn, but then I’d have to TP my own house, because candy corn sucks.

So I ask you, people with more allergy and parenting and trick-or-treat experience than I have: What are good allergy-friendly treats to hand out at Halloween?

Also, is it weird to have beer for parents? I feel like that might be weird. I read an essay by a dad about trick-or-treating, and how much everyone loved the cool house that had candy for the kids and a bucket of cold beers for parents, and it sounded like a great idea, but now I’m not sure. Maybe it’s best to skip it. We just moved here. I want to be “that house,” but not “that house,” you know?