Countdown to An Allergy-free Halloween!

Halloween is just around the corner, folks! And food allergy families are gearing up for this scaaaaaaaary holiday. I know it's tough not to get completely freaked out by the potential hazards that are lurking in every tricky treat. My own experiences have been very positive, with non-allergy families being incredibly mindful of treats they are supplying, our kids schools being ultra-aware, and my kid doing his part to stay safe. But let's not get complacent, shall we?

Here are some helpful resources for you as you kick off the holiday season!

Halloween Site
Thanks to our friends at Gateway FEAST, we just found out about a great new site called ALLERGYFREEHALLOWEEN.ORG. On the site, you can download a door sign that indicates your household's allergy-friendly status, learn about "safe" treats, and sign up for alerts and reminders.

Halloween Events
Speaking of Gateway FEAST... they are hosting yet another great event, the 2nd annual Halloween Trick-or-Trinket, a food-free event for food allergy families in the St. Louis area. It's going to be a great time for the whole family, including Carnival Games, The Magic Storyteller, Chris McBrien, and It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Movie. So if you are near the Gateway City, go to the Gateway FEAST Facebook event page for more details and to RSVP!
And if not, find out from your local support group if there are events like this in your city.

Halloween Treats
The Sandlers of Divvies have introduced new chocolate bars with no dairy and nuts and made in their dedicated facility. There's still time to get these in before next week... along with their Halloween Jelly Beans!

Halloween Food Safety Tips
And a few closing tips from our Be Aware. Be Safe. bulletin that is distributed the preschools:
• Have non-food treat options for trick-or-treaters
• Place treats in places that cannot be reached by young children without assistance
• Ask teachers before bringing in special Halloween goodies to classrooms
• If you are hosting a party, ask if there are food allergy concerns on your invitation
• Be aware—ask a parent or caregiver before offering food to any child
• If you see a Check My Tag shirt or any other alert device on a child, be extra vigilant!

Happy Halloweeny!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Trinkets for Halloween

My kids are counting the hours and minutes until Halloween! It's truly amazing how this event has become... the extravaganza that it is. We've already attended two parties, and two more to go before it's all over. Fortunately, one of them was a Trick or Trinket Halloween party. Yes, the kids had a great time, even without any food or candy.

Hosted by Gateway FEAST and sponsored by Dey, the event was held at a local playground and included a reading of Alexander Goes Trick or Treating by a local teen with a peanut allergy, a clown and a magician. There was pumpkin painting, coloring pages and simple carnival games so the kids could win non-food prizes.

It was really nice to see the kids respond to the story and to realize that there were lots of other people who are allergic to nuts and eggs and milk, just like them. Tanner took particular note that this "big boy" (a high school freshman) carried an EpiPen too!

As I noted last year, Halloween kicks off the season of the "candy-on-the-coffee-table" season, a time when us parents of food allergy kids have to be extra vigilant.

I'm redistributing our bulletin from last year, that includes tips on how friends and family can help us minimize risks. Be sure to download it and spread it around, along with your holiday cheer! BeAware.pdf

Allergy-free Trick or Treating!

Halloween is just around the corner and parents of kids with food allergies are bracing themselves. It's a challenging season, when candy is being shoved (pretty much non-stop) in kids faces. It's the first year my little guy has been really excited about the holiday. He has been walking around for days with a pumpkin flashlight singing, "I loove Halloween! I'm going trick or treating this day!!!"

Some parents, like members of the Gateway FEAST group have taken matters into their own hands. Rather than face the inherent anxiety of trick or treating, they have created their own Allergy-free Halloween Party.

The event will take place at Cadet Park Pavilion, next to CBC High School, 12625 N. Outer Forty Drive, Town and Country on Saturday, October 27 from 2-5pm. The event will feature carnival games, use of the playground, a clown, face painting, and more allergy-free activities!

If you are in the St. Louis area, be sure to check it out! For more information, visit www.aafastl.org or e-mail feast@aafastl.org