Phew. We made it! We made it to November 1st. I anxiously await this day! Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays but it is also one that stresses the living day lights out of me! In our quest to zig and zag peanuts, tree nuts and dairy, this day can really cause me to sweat. Not to mention being in the cold air–an asthma trigger! I just want to make it through without an asthma attack or allergic reaction plain and simple. We’ve done everything from hosting our own Halloween bash complete with hot buttered rum for grown-ups & hay stacks to trick-or-treating and never reaching or looking into the bag but handing it to the next kid who knocks on our door (with a promise of a cool toy to my kids), to allowing safe candy from friend’s houses and taking trips out of town. The bottom line is that no matter what, I worry as my children’s major allergens and triggers are circulating the night air on October 31st!
- Halloween 2011- food allergy friendly treats
The reality is that unless my children are actively touching or putting the candy in their mouth, we are just fine. I used to worry about them feeling left out until I realized that they were reveling in parties with all safe foods, they enjoyed handing out our “treats”, which were prizes not candy. Let me tell you, kids love to see something different in their trick-or-treat bags. Last night we gave out cool drinking cups, funky eye glasses and Japanese erasers! We don’t get many kids, so we tend to be very generous. Bottom line: what kid doesn’t like a trip to Disneyland to visit Mickey and relatives? Or a visit to a cool Da Vinci exhibit with a pal instead of trick or treating.
Hope your Halloween was good too!
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..