Halloween’s almost here! To help you prepare, this article offers safety tips, candy substitutes, and fun alternatives to trick-or-treating.

Safety Tips for Trick-or-Treating
Here are just a few of the many safety tips for Halloween:

• Increase your child’s visibility by adding reflective tape to her costume and bag. Choose a white or other lightly colored bag for treats. Also give your child a flashlight to carry, so he will be seen.
• Keep costumes short to prevent tripping. Make sure the eye holes of masks are big enough to see through. Since masks have the potential to move, consider painting your child’s face instead. When selecting costume accessories like pretend swords, choose soft and flexible products.
• Be sure to remind your child to walk from house to house, not run. And, only let him go to houses that are known and well lit.
• Always have an adult or trusted teenager go trick or treating with your child.

Fun Alternatives for Trick-or-Treating
Children can still fill up their treat bags without going door to door. Consider these fun activities:

Malls
Contact your local mall. They may have a time scheduled for kids to come in and collect treats from all the stores. You won’t have to worry about automobiles or bundling up your children for a chilly October night.

Neighborhood Halloween Parties
Organize a party for the kids in your neighborhood. You can set up fun games like bobbing for apples or Halloween bingo. You can set up a trick-or-treating time in your neighborhood. Ask trusted neighbors to have treats ready for a certain time. Before the party, all the kids can go door to door together.

Nursing Homes/Senior Centers/Community Organizations
Spread the Halloween cheer by visiting a nursing home or senior center. Some senior citizens enjoy seeing kids dressed in their costumes and passing out treats. Check with your local organization for any planned events.

Your local YMCA or Boys and Girls Clubs may also have safe Halloween events planned.

Substitutes for Candy
Here’s a list of candy alternatives:

Arts and Crafts Supplies
Encourage creativity by handing out any of these materials: crayons, play dough, markers, coloring books, Halloween-themed pencils and erasers, or miniature notebooks.

Games and Puzzles
Make your own crossword puzzles or word searches online. Then print them out on cardstock for a fun alternative to candy. Or hand out playing cards with instructions for simple games like “Go Fish” or “Old Maid.”

Healthier Treats
With the abundance of single-serving packaged foods, there are plenty of candy substitutes to hand out on Halloween. Consider mini boxes of raisins, small bags of pretzels, organic fruit snacks, single-serving animal crackers, or granola bars.

Other Giveaways
You could also hand out popular party favors like bubbles, bouncy balls, noisemakers or temporary tattoos.

Sharing candy
Decrease your child’s sugar intake and do a good deed. If she usually collects a lot of Halloween candy, ask her to donate half of it to a homeless shelter, food pantry or nursing home.

Happy Halloween!