Trick-or-Treating

[residualvisuals]

I'm not a mother yet, but I will be one day and was just wondering, with Halloween coming up...

How do the vegan parents out there handle children wanting to go trick-or-treating with their friends? There's soooo much non-vegan candy out there.

[missbettie]

i've often pondered this myself, its my major concern on bringing kids up vegan...

but around here kids aren't really trick or treating anymore anyways...

[residualvisuals]

i've often pondered this myself, its my major concern on bringing kids up vegan...

but around here kids aren't really trick or treating anymore anyways...

Really? They're all over my neighborhood. And a lot of them are thankless brats. We usually go to a party or turn off all the lights and pretend we're not home.

[RubyDuby]

I was wondering what I could hand out? It's our first year in this house so don't really know how many kids to expect, if any.

[residualvisuals]

I was wondering what I could hand out? It's our first year in this house so don't really know how many kids to expect, if any.

Vegan pamphlets?

[RubyDuby]

not bad! hmmm...

[missbettie]

maybe when we have kids we can throw a vegan costume party for them rather than trick or treating. i'm sure the parents would feel better anyways than them going door to door to get candy from strangers?

[Panzer]

I heard Mars bars are vegan, Ive never seen them . Are they vegan?

[emmapresley]

i can't be doing with trick or treating..or trick or treaters..they are usually thankless brats..and especially the older ones who think they can tie a bin liner round their shoulders, gurn menacingly at you and expect a sweaty mitt full of booty. lil gits.

i'm editing here also..cos it does seem really insane to let kids out on the prowl randomly knocking on doors asking for money and sweets?!!? escorted around several well known neighbours is one thing..AND..there should be a ban on 1) more than a group of 5 kids..2) any kid older than age 10 going..3)going knocking on doors after a certain time. i suggest 7pm. GAH *grumpy old woman*

if you're staying in, offer them apples and packets of raisins. i guarentee they won't come back. if you are going out trick or treating, take some stuff with you..then when you knock on the poor unsuspecting people's doors they will have the pleasant surprise of being offered a treat (apple or raisin anyone?)..i've only been trick or treating once with the mini since being vegan..and that was because we were at a friends house for some cobbled together doom filled bash. she didn't really have much in her swag-bag at the end of it all, but when we got back to the house, on seeing everyone tearing into their overflowing bags of absolute shite, she didn;t seem to be that fussed. it's all cack anyhow.

[emmapresley]

I heard Mars bars are vegan, Ive never seen them . Are they vegan?

are they chuff vegan!
they're milk chocolate and gloopy beige caramelic nougat thingies.. oh..they say noooo-gaaah!! there are vegan versions of them though kicking about..via the net, i'm sure.

[Sunkist]

Give them some fresh fruit,..we always gave out bananas ..I gave out some Larabars last year

[RubyDuby]

if you're staying in, offer them apples and packets of raisins. i guarentee they won't come back.

You're too funny.

I've somehow managed to never be on the giving side of the door so haven't developed a distaste for it yet. My dogs will be barking all night regardless so if we're home we might as well participate... don't think I'll do apples and raisins- we're advised against handing out fresh fruit and I don't like raisins enough to eat the leftovers...

[residualvisuals]

I heard Mars bars are vegan, Ive never seen them . Are they vegan?

If the Mars bar is produced by the Mars company, then no. Mars creates M&Ms, and a huge variety of other candies that are actually tested on animals. For no good reason... we already know too much chocolate is bad for us! The studies have been done

www.marscandykills.com

[RubyDuby]

All of those check-out aisle candy bars have milk in them... even the dark chocolate ones.

[Panzer]

If the Mars bar is produced by the Mars company, then no. Mars creates M&Ms, and a huge variety of other candies that are actually tested on animals. For no good reason... we already know too much chocolate is bad for us! The studies have been done

www.marscandykills.com

My god thats horrible what they do to those animals , I never knew.. Thank you .

[residualvisuals]

My god thats horrible what they do to those animals , I never knew.. Thank you .

I should have mentioned it is a PETA site, and I don't always trust them. But if they're putting forth the effort, there has to be an inkling of truth to it. So I'm perfectly happy avoiding the candy.

[Enchantress]

I suppose if I had kids who desperately wanted to go trick or treating with their friends I'd let them go, then have them give anything non-vegan away. I'd make sure to stock up on tons of vegan, sugar-filled crap they could have, so hopefully they wouldn't feel too deprived. Although children tend to be fond of throwing tantrums for no good reason, so who knows if that would work.

[residualvisuals]

I suppose if I had kids who desperately wanted to go trick or treating with their friends I'd let them go, then have them give anything non-vegan away. I'd make sure to stock up on tons of vegan, sugar-filled crap they could have, so hopefully they wouldn't feel too deprived. Although children tend to be fond of throwing tantrums for no good reason, so who knows if that would work.

You think the kids wouldn't scarf down the goodies while Mom's not looking? I remember being a kid.

Mom: "Now don't eat those until you get home." *turns to talk to another parent*

Me: NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMmmm...

[Enchantress]

I suppose by the time they're old enough to go trick or treating without parental supervision they'd be able to understand the reasons for being vegan, and can start making their own decisions about what to eat.

[residualvisuals]

True, I wasn't vegan as a kid and all I thought was "OMG chocolate."

[Panzer]

I suppose by the time they're old enough to go trick or treating without parental supervision they'd be able to understand the reasons for being vegan, and can start making their own decisions about what to eat.

This is my outlook on children as well. I let them choose their own lifestyle as far as what they like to eat.

[veganf]

We let them trick-or-treat. When they get home, I tell them to go wash up while I put their bags in another room. Meanwhile I toss in a dozen or so vegan items. Then they dump out their stash and go through it, and we put all the non-vegan stuff out to give away at my husband's game store to gamers who want it and they keep the vegan stuff. Usually there are another dozen or so vegan items from trick-or-treating, so all together it's still quite the haul!
I add stuff like raisins, mini pretzel bags, granola bars, temporary tattoos, lollipops, vegan dark chocolate squares, fruit leather, vegan gummy candy, etc. The older 2 kids know I add stuff now, but they're totally cool with it, and happy that they have so many things to choose from...they are allowed to have a few things ASAP on Halloween night, and then choose one item after dinner each night until it's gone.

[BLady81]

Like the pp, we usually get some vegan candy and switch out some of the non-vegan stuff to give away. I really don't mind too much what he eats, especially Halloween. I usually go by the rule that I won’t buy non-vegan items for him, but if it is given to him I don't mind. He is still young and I want him to learn to make his own choices as he grows. I don't want to be overly pushy and thus turn him off to it.

[Sarabi]

If I were giving away treats for Halloween, I'd choose gummy bear vitamins. They taste as good as any candy, with a twist: they're nutritious. lol Not to mention they don't have gelatin in them.

[jamesfamily]

My kids never go trick or treating. Kids don't do that round here. Instead I put on a party for them and friends, where we carve pumpkins and play games. I usually make a vegan cake for a treat.

If my kids want to go trick of treating when they are older then I would let them, but I wouldn't encourage it. I will explain that the idea seems to be 'give me sweets or else' - not something I really want my children to learn.
I always remember the one time we ever got kids (or should I say teenagers - they were about 15!) knocking at the door. I was heavily pregnant at the time and had nothing to give them. They dragged our bins onto the driveway and spread our rubbish all over the place. I spent the next day clearing it all up. Just what a heavily pregnant woman needed to be doing!!!

[xwitchymagicx]

WE GET EGGS THROWN AT OUR HOUSE!!! And they won't go away, they sit on the wall glaring at the window, or knocking for about an hour, shouting through the letterbox.

And that sucks Jamesfamily...omg...selfish badwords.

[Blue moon]

I never answer the door on that night! I utterly disagree with demanding things from strangers. Don't see what right anyone has to come and pester me at home demanding I give them anything or else.

Not that we get kids round our way asking for sweets, it's adults, with and without kids, who want money in notes!!

[Sarabi]

Well, the phrase is "trick or treat." One time I told a guy, "I haven't gotten any tricks yet," and he picked up a can from the table behind him and sprayed me with silly string. So you could always play a trick on them. :P

But I understand your sentiment. Halloween is yet another heavily commercialized holiday where unoriginal people usually go out and buy pre-made costumes... the concept of a witch is sexist, and it's like gratuitous gore and horror. Maybe someone somewhere should sit down on Halloween and watch some factory farm videos. But not in a commercialized way because that would normalize it.

[timberly]

If the Mars bar is produced by the Mars company, then no. Mars creates M&Ms, and a huge variety of other candies that are actually tested on animals. For no good reason... we already know too much chocolate is bad for us! The studies have been done

www.marscandykills.com

oh no, i diddn't know this either! i'm from the town where all the mars candy on the east coast is produced and since they took gelatin out of skittles i've probably eaten pounds of them! gross!

i bought myself a bag of peanut chews. theyre made by just born, i hope they don't test on animals. just born makes my favorite jelly beans also that don't have beeswax or gelatin.

yummy earth organic lolipops are a year round favorite and whole foods is selling them 60 for $4.99 which got me to buy a bag.

[sparklingsights]

I was going to post the marscandykills link as well so I'm glad someone else did. I think a lot of people expect charities and cosmetics to test on animals so we know to avoid it... but a chocolate bar company? WTF?! I was completely floored when I discovered that site. It makes me feel so sick.

No input about the trick-or-treating thing... I never thought about it because I don't have children and haven't trick-or-treated since being vegan... but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for helpful ideas!

[Mahk]

Mars is a company made of hundreds of sub companies. By law pharmecuticals and medications must be animal tested and as it turns out Mars owns some of those.

As for "testing chocolate bars on animals", I kind of doubt it and don't trust PeTA to get the details right especially when they fail to site their sources for independent verification. Mars states:

"Snackfood, Food, Petcare and Drinks

In the development of our snackfood and human food and drink products, as well as our products for dogs, cats, birds and horses, we do not undertake, support or sponsor research that harms animals....When necessary, we conduct human clinical studies to substantiate the health benefits claimed on our snackfood, food and drink products."

Link

For anyone who doesn't care and still wants to boycott all Mars companies here's a list. Included is a major organic health food brand I see often here in the US , "Seeds of Change".

[cruelkitti]

I like halloween, and i loved it as a child. Around here, and everywhere I've lived, it's been pretty mutual...generally, older people sit on their front porch or keep their front door open with their porch light on and hand out inexpensive candy to little kids that are thrilled to be dressed in a cliche costume.
I can't imagine being rude to a household not passing out candy, nor have I ever witnessed that...generally, if a household does not want to be bothered, their front porch light will not be on. I haven't been trick or treating with my children since becoming vegan, it seems, every year, I've had to work late or something, but I still buy or make a costume and buy them candy.

I plan to take my kids trick or treating this year, if I can, and I don't see how that's bad in any way. I don't think that I'm teaching my children that it's okay to ask a stranger for candy. I don't think that my daughter will degrade any genders with her costume, and I don't think my kids are old enough to care if hipsters think they're being original or not with their costume...
Kids like to dress up in costumes, and walk around in a neighborhood where countless other kids are also dressed in costumes, and I think, once a year, there's nothing wrong with that...
The households that pass out candy enjoy it as well, some even go so far as to spend a lot of time decorating their front porch, playing scary music and thinking of creative ways to pass out candy.

[Sarabi]

Now I'm a "hipster" because I don't like the lack of originality that comes with commercialism? I'm not telling you or your kids what to do or judging you at all; I don't even have much of an opinion on it, nor do I think it's particularly important of an issue. We all belong to a commercialized culture to some extent. But there's no need to throw labels on people just for critiquing something. Not that I really care about what a "hipster" is; I just don't see why a label is necessary to express disagreement.

[missbettie]

i don't think she meant anything by it. labels are everywhere unfortunately, i mean...we have attached a label to us...Vegan

[leedsveg]

My 92 year old mother remembers celebrating All Saints Day (the day after Halloween) as a religious festival, at her school in the 1920s. She similarly remembers celebrating Christmas, Whitsuntide and Easter as religious festivals.

As an atheist, these festivals mean nothing to me.

lv

[Buddha Belly]

I'm prepared to believe Easter may of, once, been religous. But Christmas!!! You must think we are stupid. Christmas is the time of year to celebrate light entertainers in hour long snow themed episodes. Does not the bible say:
and it came to pass that the Lord bade Morecombe and Wise to dance a merry Christmas dance. Lo! He thought it was good. Genesis 24:8

[puca]

I am going trick or treating... Lucky for me, I have a face that doesn't require a mask to be scary.

[cobweb]

All Hallows Eve/Samhain was originally a pagan festival of the dead, just like 'Christmas'/Winter Solstice was a celebration of lighter days to come.
Christians just nicked these things and adjusted the details to suit themselves .

[sparklingsights]

But Christmas!!! You must think we are stupid. Christmas is the time of year to celebrate light entertainers in hour long snow themed episodes.

Hehehee

[harpy]

I was wondering what I could hand out? It's our first year in this house so don't really know how many kids to expect, if any.

If I'm going to be in I usually get some small bags of vegan sweets from the health food shop (footballs etc) and dish those out. It's chocolate, they don't care if it's vegan. One year though I forgot to get any so I gave them small tangerines and got disgusted looks back so Emma's idea might work


This year I'm planning to be out at a concert which is also a good solution.

[BlackCats]

Does not the bible say:
and it came to pass that the Lord bade Morecombe and Wise to dance a merry Christmas dance. Lo! He thought it was good. Genesis 24:8

I am usually out having fun or hiding indoors with the lights switched off when brats knock at our door on Halloween.

[leedsveg]

Reading the postings, I seem to detect more enthusiasm for Halloween in our friends over The Pond, than at this side. Twenty years ago, I don't remember seeing much, if any, Halloween produce in supermarkets. Now supermarkets, especially Wall-Mart Stores, sorry Asda, appear to be overflowing with Halloween tat. At least it's keeping Chinese workers in employment. They must think we're bonkers.

lv

[missbettie]

i love halloween. I'm actually working at a halloween store right now.

[veganf]

As an atheist, these festivals mean nothing to me.
lv

As another atheist--a family of atheists--they mean a lot to us: FUN!!!! I love celebrating lots of things, doesn't mean I have to be religious to join in a good time.

[leedsveg]

As another atheist--a family of atheists--they mean a lot to us: FUN!!!! I love celebrating lots of things, doesn't mean I have to be religious to join in a good time.

I just wish religion had never been invented, then there would be no misunderstandings about the difference between "Christmas" and Christmas. No problem at all in people enjoying themselves, good for you.How accepted is atheism in your community?



lv

[harpy]

Reading the postings, I seem to detect more enthusiasm for Halloween in our friends over The Pond, than at this side. Twenty years ago, I don't remember seeing much, if any, Halloween produce in supermarkets. Now supermarkets, especially Wall-Mart Stores, sorry Asda, appear to be overflowing with Halloween tat. At least it's keeping Chinese workers in employment. They must think we're bonkers.

lv

I was brought up in Scotland and Hallowe'en was quite a big thing there (in the 60s, I'm talking about). There was even something similar to "trick or treat", called "guising", if I remember correctly. The "tat" was homemade, with hollowed-out turnip lanterns (instead of pumpkins) etc.

I'd be interested to know if they still do all that or whether they've gone over to the American system of Hallowe'en.

[bradders]

the pragmatic solution is to let the kids go trick-or-treating in the normal fashion but swap the items with other kids for vegan ones. Not ideal but it is something of a solution.

The dressing up for all hallows eve was around long before Americanisms slipped into British culture. It's a case of them giving it us back with a few changes.

In Ireland we have hallow e'en in a similar form but on St Stephens day we also have the rather awful tradition f the wren. Thankfully means trick or treat in the daylight on boxing day rather than killing a wren for the most part. Though a caged effigy or even a real wren, either alive or dead may be paraded in some areas.

I remember penny for the guy as a kid and the bonfire etc in England but not sure if kids still make the effigy of a dead catholic terrorist/ freedom fighter (who by the way wasn't burned but hanged, drawn and quartered).

[Buddha Belly]

I just wish religion had never been invented, then there would be no misunderstandings about the difference between "Christmas" and Christmas. No problem at all in people enjoying themselves, good for you.How accepted is atheism in your community?



lv

are there any figures for how atheists there are in the UK.

[puca]

I don't see why an atheist would want to celebrate Christmas unless they're hardline capitalists or something.

[xrodolfox]

I *love* halloween. Love it.

We're an athiests too.

we also switch out vegan candy for the non-vegan candy and dispose/give away the non-vegan stuff later that night.

Candy is fun.
Tricks are fun.
Costumes are fun.

Life is too precious, and too short, not to celebrate all the darn time. I love Halloween.