A recent survey on the Circle of Moms invited us to share hints for alternatives to candy on Halloween. When we had the chance to participate in this question, it was thrilling. We enjoy the Halloween celebration, even if we have issues with the candy, from both a diet and also a fair trade aspect.
The first year we did alternative Halloween, we knew everyone in our neighborhood. It was a brand new development and we had few trick or treaters.We bagged up homemade cookies and put an address label on the bag, knowing that as soon as our neighbors knew who it was, they would be at ease.
As our neighborhood grew and we subsequently moved, we needed to be more clever.
We light a big fire in our fire pit to welcome and warm the Trick or Treaters. We've served hot apple cider and toasted marshmallows. As a gift, we have given coins good for ice cream at a local ice cream shop, cards good for a movie rental, and we've also given away small toys. The candy just gets to be too much for everyone.
Another concern with distributing candy is how the chocolate is sourced. Both Hershey's and Nestlé have run into problems for using cocoa sourced with child labor. Hershey recently committed to sourcing 100% of their cocoa from fair trade farmers by 2020, but until then, the chocolate can be from anywhere, including those that utilize child labor. Nestlé promises more fair trade chocolate products chocolate products by pledging to make more chocolate products with fair trade cocoa when fresh supplies become available.
With such loose commitments, most chocolate from these giants still will be sourced with child labor, which in my opinion, is not the best way to celebrate a holiday for children.
For more ideas, visit the Circle of Moms.
1 comment :
I love the idea of the bon fire. I live on a Cul D Sac so we set up a tent and all the neighbors on our street get together to give our treats. Last year, I gave fruit juice gummies... No Sugar added.
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