Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet, Give me Something Safe to Eat

Ahhhh, Halloween.  When I think of what Halloween meant to me as a kid, I think of two things:  costumes and candy (not necessarily in that order).  The feeling of your bucket getting heavier and heavier with perhaps the most treasured substance known to child.  I remember looking forward to getting home and dumping it all out just so I could marvel at my bounty.  There would be the piling of the candy, maybe a few bartering transactions among siblings, and finally, the bag would go to a well thought out hiding place to keep my brothers and parents from raiding my stash.

I remember warnings regarding dangerous candy.  If I remember correctly, the suggestion was that there might be crazies out there who would inject your sweet treats with toxic substances that could only be detected by the naked eye of a parent who should check all candy before you partake.  I’m sure this was a real risk for some, but in my small town where I personally knew every resident whose door I knocked on, it was a bit out there.  How could my trick or treats be contaminated with anything dangerous?  Please!

It’s interesting how quickly your perceptions can change.  Every piece of candy that goes into my daughter’s trick or treat bag this year will require examining and most will not pass inspection.  We will be removing any item with peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, any other tree nut, egg (including nougat, candy corn, many candy bar fillings), dairy (goodbye chocolate and anything creamy), not to mention coconut.  We will undoubtedly be left with a small pile of safe sugary sweets and a very large pile of offenders.  After wiping down the wrappers of the safe candy to ensure that nothing touched a partially open offender while in her trick or treat bag, we will anxiously let her choose something to try, Benedryl and Epipen in hand.  Talk about a good time!

The question is, how do I make this fun for her?  So far, it hardly sounds like the foundation for fond childhood memories of one of the most exciting days of the year.  Since this will be our first year of true greedy unadulterated candy seige on the neighborhood, I need a plan.  

What better accessory to a great Halloween plan than Goblins?  Here goes.  We will be visited by four Goblins on Halloween night.  You guessed it!  One for each allergen.  We will divide the candy into bags to be left out for each of these goblins, trying to make them as even as possible since many candies will contain multiple Goblin delicacies (i.e. allergens).  We will leave out the bags, clearly marked, for the Goblins and we will expect some kind of compensation.  I’m not sure what these Goblins will be bringing yet, but I really hope they know what they’re doing.  A child’s Halloween memories are at stake.