Surprise your trick-or-treaters this year by giving them something besides ordinary candy. If you feel like doing something different for your neighborhood children, here are a few suggestions. Some of these options may or may not work for you depending on your budget as they might cost a little more the average Halloween candy, but have value and benefits that put your money into better use.

Note: Some of the suggested items contain links to bulk-pack product listings on Amazon.com. Mouseover the links and images to see pricing and more.

Tricky Treats for Trick-or-Treaters

• Fun Flossers

  Individually wrapped colorful flossers for kids to make dental care a little more fun.

• Healthy Candy

  Vitamin C lozenges or lollipops are yummy and much healthier than than candy corns and gummy bears.

• Snack Size Yogurt, Pudding and Jell-O

  Healthier than candy, though more costly per child. Wholesale packs might be found at Costco, Sam’s Club and similar grocery stores.

• Band-Aids

  Kids are constantly hurting themselves so fun band-aids like the Spiderman Band-Aid can always come in handy.

• School Supplies

  Nice things that they can use in school such as mechanical pencils, pens, erasers, rulers, small notebooks, pencil sharpeners and yellow pencils.

• Financial Education

  Brochures on children’s saving accounts from your local credit union. If you’re feeling generous, you could include a starter penny, nickel or quarter (if you’re feeling very generous) to help them get a jump start on their savings accounts.

• Charity

  Tell your trick-or-treaters that instead of buying candy for them this year, you would like them to help you donate money you would have spent on candy to charities that help poor children or animals. Prepare a sheet of paper for each charity you choose and have each trick-or-treater put down his or her name for one of them. You will afterward donate a 25¢ or 50¢ for every name on the list to each cause.

• Coupons

  If you want to make the Top 10 misers list.

Suggested “Treats”

These were just a few suggestions. Get creative. Have fun. And Happy Halloween!

PS. If you get eggs or dog poo thrown at your front your door, may we suggest Clorox Greenworks All Purpose Cleaner.

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