Affordable and Healthy Trick or Treat Ideas

Do you aspire (like me) to be the most memorable home for Trick-or-Treaters to come to?  Do you also like trick or treat ideas that won’t give your kids sugar highs and cavities?  If so, here are some fun, easy, and cheaper than candy ideas to help you become the must-visit house on the street.

These projects are all beginner-friendly, and I’ve included some basic instructions for how I put each activity together.

 

This year, we’re not going to worry about peanut butter, food allergies, gluten-free recipes, calories or unhealthy ingredients in our snacks.  Just good Halloween fun for creative kids.  I’d take that over a piece of candy any day!

 

Allow me to show you the Halloween line up:

Mini sketch books, because everything is cuter the smaller it gets.  (Except chocolate)

Free Halloween coloring page print offs, and a few crayons.

Darling finger puppet ghosts.  Who knew ghosts could be so cute?

Adorable little finger pumpkins with jack o’ lantern faces.

Hours of entertainment in the dark with simple shadow puppets and a flashlight.

And finally, bean bags filled with rice (because beans actually hurt pretty bad when you get smacked in the face with one).

Wanna make some? I’ll show you how!

These sketch books need only one simple stitch.  You can do it!

Gather some cardstock.  I know you all have some of that on hand.

I was able to make 1 sheet of cardstock and a small stack of printer paper yield 4 mini books.

 

1.  Cut your paper to the size you want. Fold the cardstock down the middle where you will sew.
2.  With your printer paper evened up, stitch right on that fold.  Keep those papers secure in your fingers while you sew so they don’t shift.
3.  Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end.
4.  Crease all the papers along the previous fold and where your stitch line is.

That’s it!  You will need a new sewing machine needle now, but you can save that needle for any future paper sewing projects.  

Halloween Coloring Pages and Crayons

For the coloring pages, get online and print all the free Halloween pictures you want.

Fold those coloring pages into little pockets.  If you’re not sure how, I recommend watching a quick YouTube video on how to fold paper into an envelope. 

Stick in a few crayons. It doesn’t get easier than that!

Ghost Finger Puppets

For the ghosts you only need a small sheet of white felt and some black paint.

1.  Make a pattern on the fold of a paper.
2.  Give it about an inch around your finger.
3.  Using your pattern, cut the shape on 2 pieces of felt.
4.  Stitch around the ghost leaving the bottom open.  Be sure to backstitch.
5.  These are super easy to mass produce.  Sew them back-to-back so you don’t have so many threads to clip.
6.  Using the back end of a colored pencil, dab it in some black paint and make two dots for your eyes. The pumpkins are just about the same as the ghost.

Just a few more steps. 

1.  Make your pattern on paper.
2.  Cut out your pattern in felt, 2 pieces for each pumpkin.
3.  Cut a strip of green felt for a stem.
4.  Insert the stem inside the pumpkin on the top middle section.  Sew around the edges leaving a small gap for turning and for the finger at the bottom of the pumpkin.
5.  Using paper and a knife, cut out a simple pumpkin face and use it as a stencil for painting. Viola!

If you have an electronic cutter (I own the Silhouette SD) these shadow puppets are so quick and easy.  Just cut your shape out of cardstock, and hot glue it to a stick.  You can make plenty in no time at all!

Of course, you can make simpler shapes with scissors or an Exacto knife.

Trick-or-Treat Bean Bags

Finally, you can make fun bean bag or rice bag toys.  I prefer using rice, as I find it to be a little bit lighter.

I didn’t get a full tutorial for this one, but you basically sew a square up, wrong sides together.  Leave a gap for turning and fill it with rice.  Stitch your gap up.  Not rocket science around here. 🙂

All these ideas don’t have to be just for Trick-or-Treaters.

Group them in a cute package and hand them out at a class Halloween party, give to your grandchildren, your kids’ neighborhood friends, or hand them out as regular party favors.

The children will no doubt be delighted with these healthy trick-or-treat ideas.

And you will have had a lot of fun making them!