Tips & Tricks for a Healthier Halloween

October 30, 2013 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign

A veggie treat for Halloween!

By Mark Bishop, Vice President of Policy and Communications

Halloween is tomorrow, and while this may be a time for us all to let loose a bit, we don’t have to turn our schools into a candy free-for-all! Just last night my son’s school held a great event – a Halloween Boo-k-tacular Reading event. Kids came after school to participate in activities which included a book walk (kids got the chance to win a free book!), create paper spiders with the names of their favorite authors and books; and more. But what really got me excited was the creativity for including healthy snacks.

When the evening event began, the organizers pulled out a student created tray of veggies with dip shaped as a skeleton, one arranged as a Frankenstein head, and even a jack-o-lantern with guacamole pouring from his mouth! It was adorable, and I was happy to see that both kids and adults enjoyed the healthy options.

And even more exciting for me, was how it just wasn’t a big deal. No one complained about lack of candy. A number of parents mentioned how appreciative they were to have healthy options, as to not ruin everyone’s dinner that evening. And the students who created the trays got lots of recognition for the great work.

There are tons of great ideas for healthy Halloween treats out there for anyone to use in their schools, so we’re not at a loss for ideas. What we do need are parents, teachers and principals to take that step to support healthy options.

Did you see any healthy Halloween celebrations in your school? Let us know! Tweet @healthyschools and tell us what you're doing for a healthy Halloween.