How to Have an Allergy-Safe Halloween So All Kids Can Enjoy the Holiday

Tricks and treats for having an allergy-safe Halloween while celebrating this candy-filled holiday with kids who have allergies

By Elizabeth Winchester October 19, 2021

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3. Make a plan for trick-or-treating selectively in the neighborhood. 

Some of your friends may offer to provide safe treats. Carefully discuss with trusted friends what treats your child can eat. If homemade, make sure to discuss the ingredients and steps, including what was used to grease the pan. (For people with certain allergies, this is super important). You could even supply the treats to friends and make a map for your child to follow, like a scavenger hunt. If it’s your friends who have children with food allergies, offer to do this for their children—it’s something the parents and kids will remember always.

FARE’s Top 10-Free Halloween Cookies would likely be safe for a good friend trick-or-treating at your house with food allergies. Always have the parent of the child with food allergies go over the recipe to make sure it is safe for the child to eat.

4. Plan to have a Halloween-themed dinner. 

Make your Halloween meal the main event! From Spooky Chicken Poppers, Mummy Dogs, and Pumpkin Gnocchi to Pizza Dough Bones and Ghostly Cookies, there are many recipes online: 

• Scary-Good Allergy-Friendly Halloween Recipes
• 15 Spooky Halloween Recipes Kids Love

Here’s a sample dinner menu that little monsters with and without food allergies will love:

• Graveyard Layered Dip
• Monster Chicken Fingers
• Mummy Dogs (Make or buy a wheat-free pizza dough to accommodate children with wheat allergies.)
• SunButter Crispy Rice Treats
• Halloween Cake

Many kids’ cookbooks have ideas, and creative young chefs might come up with their own creepy creations. Just be sure to review ingredients and adapt as necessary to accommodate food allergies.

5. Take part in the Teal Pumpkin Project. 

Paint a pumpkin teal, which is the color for food-allergy awareness, and support this initiative that has taken off thanks to Food Allergy Research & Education and mom Becky Basalone, who came up with the idea in 2012. A teal pumpkin displayed at a home signifies that on Halloween, kids can trick-or-treat for non-food items there. 

By taking the Teal Pumpkin Project pledge, you can help keep the spooky holiday fun and safe for everyone. Keep it extra-safe by using separate bowls for food and non-food treats to avoid accidental contamination. Spread the word by posting pictures of your teal pumpkin using #tealpumpinproject!

FARE suggests the following for non-food treats to give out. You can purchase them at dollar stores, party supply stores, and online. Ask your kids if they have other ideas to add to this list!

• Glow sticks, bracelets, or necklaces
• Pencils, pens, crayons, or markers
• Bubbles
• Halloween erasers or pencil toppers
• Mini Slinkies
• Whistles, kazoos, or noisemakers
• Bouncy balls
• Finger puppets or novelty toys
• Coins
• Spider rings
• Vampire fangs
• Mini notepads
• Playing cards
• Bookmarks
• Stickers
• Stencils

Here at NYMetroParents, we've got everything you need to have a safe, fun, and festive fall and Halloween season.  Whether it is pumpkin or apple picking, getting lost in a corn maze, making Halloween crafts or finding costumes and decorations, we're here to help.