Halloween is just around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited! I’ve always loved this spooky holiday, but I’ve found a new love for it as a mom. I’ve learned Halloween is about so much more than the treats. There’s something truly magical about seeing the whole neighborhood get into the spirit – from the Halloween decorations to kids and parents alike in costumes, it’s always a thrilling adventure. It’s also an exciting time for the kids to fully embrace their imagination as they explore what it’s like to be a superhero or princess for the night. Similarly, thinking of, finding, and creating costumes has allowed me to really exercise my creativity as well. It’s hard to top the cuteness of happy kids dressed up in costumes, or beat the excitement of pumpkin picking and carving!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about raising a vegan family, is that if there is a will, there is a way. Despite what some might think, vegans are normal people, who enjoy the holidays just as much as anyone else. Great news there are plenty of accidentally vegan candy options available which will allow you and your family to participate in the good ol’ tradition of trick-or-treating just like anyone else.
Vegan Candy Guide
There are actually loads of different candy options that are naturally vegan! However, much of the Halloween candy that gets handed out to trick-or-treaters contains milk products or gelatin. The problem is the chocolate that goes into mass-market Halloween candy is never the premium stuff and since milk chocolate is cheaper than dark chocolate halloween chocolate is rarely vegan. However, the growing demand for vegan candy (vegan products in general) is resulting in more and more vegan options being made available! Even target has a growing vegan Halloween candy selection! This year, Target even has its own “Organic Candy” section that has tons of delicious vegan options!
Take a look at the list below to serve as your vegan candy guide. All of the different types of candy on the list you can safely enjoy as a vegan.
- Twizzlers
- Jolly Ranchers
- Swedish Fish
- Skittles
- Lovely Candy Co Juicy Fruit Chews
- Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
- Yum Earth’s Organic Gummy Bears and Worms
- Black Forest Organic Sour Heads
- Unreal Crispy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
- SweetTarts
- Smarties
- Blow Pop
- Pixy Stix
- Bottle Caps
- Dots
- Chick-O-Stick
- Sour Patch Kids
- Mamba Fruit Chews
- Dum Dum Pops
- Airheads
- Blow Pops
- Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Bars
- Atomic FireBalls
- Nerds
- Now & Later
- Red Vines
- Oreas
Non-Vegan Candy Your Child Receives
There are many ways to make this a fun and imaginative experience for your kids so they don’t feel like they’re missing out, but they are able to maintain their vegan lifestyle. Bonus these slick rick parenting moves will keep their sugar levels low and their healthy teeth in tact. Below are our tips and tricks.
Re-gift
There are a variety of ways to rid your child’s trick or treat bag of the non-vegan candy they received. One option is to simply re-give it. The night of Halloween we pick out any non-vegan candy and give it out to trick or treaters that come to us. This works because we have young kids who are finished trick or treating before the older kids start.
The Switch Witch
You could incorporate a fun exchange like “The Switch Witch” into your Halloween traditions. Like Santa or the Tooth Fairy, the Switch Witch visits children while they sleep and leaves a prize in exchange for their Halloween candy bag. During the week leading up to Halloween clu your child into the Witch’s existence and ask him what toy he might like to trade for his leftover candy. He’d still be able to eat some, but the more candy he chooses to trade, the larger his prize will be. The night of Halloween have your child placed his bag of candy at the foot of his bed, and after the child is asleep you make the candy bag disappear and replace with the requested toy. This is a win for non-vegan parents as well. Let’s be real, no kid needs a bag full of candy.
The Witch’s Brew
Let’s create a Witch’s Brew! This is a fabulous learning activity while you sort the non-vegan candy from the vegan candy with your child. Decorate a box, bucket or even the blender and call it “The Witch’s Brew”. Then, you can put all of the non-vegan candy in the “brew”, and exchange it for treats you know they love. They’ll get a thrill out of imagining the mysterious potion magic happening!
Education
We always explain to the kids why we don’t eat certain candy. It’s important to share the ‘why-s’ with your child so they can start to understand. Even for non-vegan parents to share the ‘why-s’ of why we don’t eat large amounts of candy. Even at 3 ½ years old, Sage will ask us “Does this chocolate have cows milk in it?”. He knows some candy isn’t vegan and doesn’t fight giving it up if we say it does contain cow’s milk.
The good news is there are so many different ways to make sure all the treats your child eats are vegan. Some people even give out healthier treats like Annie’s Organic Fruit Snacks or LÄRABAR Minis, bags of pretzels, even baby carrots specifically for trick-or-treaters with special dietary needs. In the comments below I would love to read any halloween hacks you and your family practice.
