Non-candy treats that trick-or-treaters will love

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SALT LAKE CITY — Imagine your house is the house that can’t be beat on Halloween night.

You can hear trick-or-treaters running around the street screaming, “Wahoo, look what I just got!” Usually, such an exclamation comes after kids get unlimited king-sized candy bars, but could it also come from a healthy treat? Absolutely.

There are a few things kids love more than anything else: candy and free toys. So give them small cheap toys. It’s a win-win situation. You can get by without contributing to their upcoming sugar crash and all the kids, regardless of dietary needs, get a fun and unique treat they can devour or play with.

Although candy is a quintessential aspect of the Halloween celebration, you and your kids will inevitably amass large portions of candy, and then eat that candy in amounts that very well may lead to a stomach ache. While this can be a part of the celebration, you could be that person to add a different, yet no less fun, aspect to their night.

Here are a few really easy and exciting non-candy options for your trick-or-treaters. This list is designed for maximum fun and safety for your trick-or-treaters. All you need to do is fill your basket with something different than the norm.

So, instead of adding to kids’ mound of candy, you can treat them with these fun ideas:

Tattoos, stickers
100 percent juice boxes

A photo posted by happyfamilycrueltyfree (@happyfamilycrueltyfree) on Nov 1, 2015 at 7:57am PST

Mandarin orange cups with sharpie drawn jack-o-lantern faces, says Brittany Poulson of Your Choice Nutrition.

A photo posted by KYLIE (@_stayinghealthy) on Oct 8, 2016 at 9:47am PDT

Little bags of pretzels, whole-grain chips, goldfish or crackers

A photo posted by Shin sol (@ss_oe9) on Sep 25, 2016 at 4:01am PDT

Bag of fun: Add a bunch of non-food treats to a bowl to let kids choose: stickers, crayons, pencils, jelly bracelets, glow necklaces and rings, wax lips and fangs, spider rings, play dough, bubbles suggests Kathy Birkett at Nutrition for the Health of It.

A photo posted by Lilacs&Charcoal MelissaGoyette (@lilacsandcharcoal) on Oct 8, 2015 at 6:36pm PDT

Individually packaged fruit snacks or fruit leather

In addition to providing a wider variety of choices for kids, some kids may not be able to eat those favorite trick-or-treating candies, whether it be due to a food allergy, intolerance or any other reason. Not being able to participate in this traditional activity can be hard for kids with severe food allergies or special needs.

Instead of not having options for all kids, you can provide non-food options and check out the Teal Pumpkin Project. This organization aims to raise awareness of food allergies and promotes inclusion of all trick-or-treaters through the Halloween season by encouraging families to place a teal pumpkin on their doorstep and provide non-food treats for all kids to enjoy.

Now that you have a variety of fun and healthy treats for kids this Halloween season, you get a bonus tip to get kids moving and all tuckered out on this exciting holiday. Set up a small maze or obstacle course in your yard for kids to run through to get to your doorstep, said Jamie Marchetti.

Now you have some great ideas to make the neighborhood trick-or-treaters happy without all the added sugar.