25 DIY Halloween Treats That Trick-or-Treaters Will Love
When my daughter was five, I took her trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood. Sparkly wand in hand, she trotted up to a door and rang the bell. A very nice old man explained that he had run out of treats, but asked her to wait while he checked his kitchen. He came back with a large bag of prunes. Although she politely said her thanks, the look on her face was priceless.
Don't be the prune guy. Give out one of these great ideas instead.
(Note: I usually have two types of treats to give to trick-or-treaters at my door: homemade for children and parents who know me, and therefore don't have to worry. And then wrapped candy or non-edible treats for children whom I don't know.)
1. Spooky Hands
Purchase food handler gloves, and fill the fingers with bulk candy. Tie off with orange or black ribbon.
2. Candy Lei
Get some orange or black lei netting, and fill with candy. (Place a candy in the netting, tie off, add a candy, repeat). Tie the ends and give a spooky aloha!
3. Bag it Up
Small orange paper bags are easy to stuff with that bulk candy. Add a ribbon or close with a Halloween sticker.
4. Blow it Up
Orange nine-inch balloons, stuffed with a few pieces of bulk candy, easily become very cute pumpkins using this easy DIY technique.
5. Borrow From the Ballerinas
Buy a yard or two of tulle, or netting, and cut into 6" squares. Place a few of those bargain candies in the center, gather, and tie with contrasting ribbon.
6. Classic Caramel Apples
Did you think caramel apples would be difficult? Well, I'll confess: I did. Wrong! They are easy, fun, and kids, both big and small, love them. I like them with just the caramel, but as you can see in the video, you can add all kinds of decorative items. Make sure you wash your apples to get the wax off, dry them well, and choose apples that are very firm and on the smaller side.
7. Easy Popcorn Balls
A seasonal classic, popcorn balls, are inexpensive and fun to make. Put the finished ones in these orange cello bags and tie with black ribbon.
8. Spooky String Cheese
For those looking for sugar-free options, get out your markers. Purchase string cheese in a bulk bag and draw spooky faces on the cheeses, making tiny ghosts. I found it is best when the plastic wrapper is very dry, so wipe them down before attempting to draw.
9. Frugal Spiders
These Tootsie Pop spiders always appear at Halloween, and I'll admit to letting them hang around for a while because they really are cute. As the enthusiastic lady in the video says, check 99 cent stores for supplies.
10. Cereal Killer
Look for extra-cheap "krispie" cereal and make these delicious pumpkin treats.
11. Play-Dough
What kid doesn't love play-dough? I'd include a little label with a bag of this homemade play-dough just to make sure nobody tries to eat it (although the recipe seems to safe).
12. Glow-in-the-Dark Slime
Even adults love to play with this gooey glowing slime. This blogger kindly included the cute labels to go with!
13. Smiling Spiders
I really and truly do hate spiders, but if they are smiling like these pom pom spiders, they aren't so bad.
14. Fold It Up
Origami and I just get don't along, but some people really love it. I won't post my attempt, which looked nothing like the one in this video, but these Origami pumpkins are really cute, aren't they?
15. Good, Clean Fun
Ever made your own blowing bubbles? These are sure to delight all the kids who come to your door. Try a bubble recipe, and you can even buy bright, inexpensive containers for your solution.
16. Witches' Hats
I love that there are creative people out there who say hey, let's take a cookie and a Hershey's Kiss and make some witches' hats. This kind of stuff just never occurs to me, so I am tickled every time I see something like this.
17. Very Twisted
Dollar Stores are a super place to get big bags of pretzels. Then, dip them in chocolate and decorate. I love the salty-sweet combination. Apparently, so do a lot of people — we went through an entire "test" pan of these at work last week.
18. Peanut Butter Ghosts
Being a big peanut butter lover, I was excited to see the use of Nutter-Butters as ghosts. Simply dip into melted white chocolate, and add bits of chopped licorice for eyes, nose, and mouth. Let the chocolate dry and then bag up.
19. Bark! Bark!
I'm a sucker for all the types of "bark" out there, this Halloween bark being no exception. It looks nifty all chopped up and bagged in clear cello bags, with bright ribbon.
20. Sorry, Candy Corn Haters
I know you are out there, but I ADORE candy corn and eat an entire bag all by myself every Halloween (I always offer to share, but no one takes me up on it). What do you think about fudge candy corn?
21. Pumpkin Oranges?
Just get out a marker and draw faces on clementines, tangerines, or other smooth-skinned citrus delights.
22. Orange O'Lanterns
Who could resist these jack o'lantern bowls, all filled with fruits of your choice?
23. Franken... Kiwi?
This food blogger is an artiste! I can't stop laughing about her Frankenstein kiwi creation, which is almost too cute to eat.
24. Sort of Seedy
Aren't the seeds the best part of the pumpkin? Clean most of the "guts" away from the seeds and soak overnight in salted water. Drain well, toss with a little olive oil and garlic salt, and roast at 300 degrees until crispy.
25. Boo-Nanas
You can easily substitute carob chips for the chocolate in these ghost bananas. Look for firm bananas, or your ghosts will be mushy.
What are your go-to halloween treats?
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Remember most parents will not let their kids eat strangers' homemade treats now, and will simply throw them away. Try handing out something like glow sticks from the dollar store.