Halloween is 27 days away. I'm mostly ready. I have the treats, I have a schedule, I have a plan. I just need to decorate. There are lots of lists out there for Halloween but today we are going to focus on the Must Haves for a great experience as a stop on the trick o'treating route of your town.
#1 An Estimation of How Many Treats You'll Need
Ever since we moved to our house 15 years ago, I've kept a record of how many trick o'treaters we get. After a few years this allowed me to estimate how many treats we'll need. We get 150-200 every year. Couple that information with how much we will give out (1 treat a person, honestly they don't need more and you can save money this way) and I know how much I'm going to need to buy. Then I just watch sales and gather coupons and we have a wonderful assortment, we don't run out, and we feel good about participating in our community and about our wallets.
#2 At Least Two Food Options
While we love chocolate here on The Chocolate Cult, the sad fact is that some people do not. Ever worse, some people are allergic to chocolate. So even if you love chocolate like me, you want non-chocolate options. This means having at least two food treats you can hand out. You could get even more intense with your record keeping and track how many of each treat is chosen by the trick o'treaters who come to your house but as record focused as I can be, I don't even do that!
Of course the final Must Have might undo the need for a non-chocolate treat but still, the kiddies do like an option so two food treats is a good idea.
#3 At Least Two Non-Food Options
Just as some folks are allergic to chocolate there is a huge array of potential allergens in the Halloween themed food treats on the market today. If you can afford it, you can find allergen-free products but I won't lie to you, these are more expensive. When you have 150-200 stop by for treats, that issue can make it unfeasible for you to participate or force parents to go through their kids bags and pails adding stress to their lives and disappointment to the kids' Halloween experience. There are a lot of non-food treats you can find these days ranging from pencils to stickers to silly plastic jewelry. It is all a matter of what you want to spend but they do no need to be more expensive than the candy option. Last year, as part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, we didn't hand out any food items and the kids and their parents seemed to be thrilled. Again just like with food treats, having an option is a good idea particular since the age of trick o'treaters in my community ranges from pre-school to high school. A high schooler might like the fake tatoo but a parent may not want that for their 6 year old.
#1 An Estimation of How Many Treats You'll Need
Ever since we moved to our house 15 years ago, I've kept a record of how many trick o'treaters we get. After a few years this allowed me to estimate how many treats we'll need. We get 150-200 every year. Couple that information with how much we will give out (1 treat a person, honestly they don't need more and you can save money this way) and I know how much I'm going to need to buy. Then I just watch sales and gather coupons and we have a wonderful assortment, we don't run out, and we feel good about participating in our community and about our wallets.
#2 At Least Two Food Options
While we love chocolate here on The Chocolate Cult, the sad fact is that some people do not. Ever worse, some people are allergic to chocolate. So even if you love chocolate like me, you want non-chocolate options. This means having at least two food treats you can hand out. You could get even more intense with your record keeping and track how many of each treat is chosen by the trick o'treaters who come to your house but as record focused as I can be, I don't even do that!
Of course the final Must Have might undo the need for a non-chocolate treat but still, the kiddies do like an option so two food treats is a good idea.
Just as some folks are allergic to chocolate there is a huge array of potential allergens in the Halloween themed food treats on the market today. If you can afford it, you can find allergen-free products but I won't lie to you, these are more expensive. When you have 150-200 stop by for treats, that issue can make it unfeasible for you to participate or force parents to go through their kids bags and pails adding stress to their lives and disappointment to the kids' Halloween experience. There are a lot of non-food treats you can find these days ranging from pencils to stickers to silly plastic jewelry. It is all a matter of what you want to spend but they do no need to be more expensive than the candy option. Last year, as part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, we didn't hand out any food items and the kids and their parents seemed to be thrilled. Again just like with food treats, having an option is a good idea particular since the age of trick o'treaters in my community ranges from pre-school to high school. A high schooler might like the fake tatoo but a parent may not want that for their 6 year old.
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