I posted this last year around Halloween and enjoyed posting this so much that I thought I would post again this year for any new readers:
I would like to share my favorite items I ever got when I went trick-or-treating as a kid and this year I am adding ideas supporting each one for today's times:
#1: Polaroid Picture of myself with cousin and sister: This lady in the neighborhood took a picture of each group of kids and gave it to them as their trick-or-treating "treat" along with a hand-full of pennies that she collected throughout the year AND a can of soda! Wow! What a stop that was!
New Alternative /possibility, no doubt...with Technology getting faster and faster...why not break out the laptop and photo printer and give those kids a photo to keep forever? Or folks with printing docks! Cool! You could limit it to the kids in your neighborhood only, kids you know, or simply kids below a certain age, or best costume! Hey, get creative!
#2: My Aunt (Mom's sis) growing up was our next door neighbor and she ALWAYS (and I think still does) gives out gumball machine prizes. She saves up quarters and other change and goes to the little machines and gets rings, figurines, or whatever is in those machines, and trick-or-treaters (myself and sis and others of course) would get a little bag that had the gumball machine prize along with candy! Another cool WOW!
New Alternative: Why change this one? Save up that change and go get some prizes in those machines!
#3: This is NOT what I got trick-or-treating but it most certainly deserves the number three spot (would be higher if I got it as a kid myself): My Mother NOW (she loves it) goes to Staples, WalMart etc...at the beginning of the school year and buys tons of notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, etc... school supplies! She gives out these EVERY YEAR now to the kids who trick-or-treat her house and they LOVE it! No Candy! Some kids make her a regular stop and one year she ran out of the notebooks and said do you have anymore notebooks? He counted on that...my Mom felt bad, so the next year she stocked up on even more and made sure that boy got his notebook. She is a SMART shopper and gets items seriously less than a dime a piece! She and my sister always stocks my classroom each year with their smart shopping!
Alternative: Again...why change this one...just remember next year at the back-to-school sales to stock up on those one cent to 5 cents items! Seriously...my mom finds deals like that! I am still working towards finding the deals she does....don't know how she does it! :-)
Okay, I love to talk about memories such as this! I hope this might give you all some CREATIVE alternatives at Halloween! Surprise a kid or two!
Do you have a great alternative to candy at Halloween? Share it by dropping your comment in the comment jar!
REMINDER: Get your candy checked each year! Look up local facilities in your area that checks trick-or-treating candy. Like hospitals, police stations or wherever. We always stayed in our neighborhood so no worries, but today, got to be more safe!
Happy Halloween!
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