Tricks, Treats, and Safety: Navigating Halloween with Food Allergies

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Tricks, Treats, and Safety: Navigating Halloween with Food Allergies

Oct 1, 2025

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Tricks, Treats, and Safety: Navigating Halloween with Food Allergies

by Caroline Moassessi, FAACT Vice President of Community Relations

Brewing up Halloween fun? Whether at home, school, or work, a little preparation can make Halloween safe and unforgettable for families managing food allergies. Beyond costumes and candy, it’s about creativity, inclusion, and making memories together. This year, let’s bring the whole family into planning safe, spooky fun.

Kick it off with a family Teal Halloween Planning Meeting! It may sound official, but the goal is to spark creativity and build a little Teal Magic together. Choose a theme, map out your plans, and imagine what Halloween night will look like for your crew. Will you dress up and join the trick-or-treating adventure, hand out non-food or allergen-friendly treats, or host a spooktacular party filled with ghoulish games and delights?

Let’s explore a few ways to get started.

Pressed for time? Download FAACT’s You’ve Been Teal Ghosted Kit—your all-in-one guide to Teal Ghosting a friend, neighbor, and MORE! Inside you’ll find step-by-step instructions, Halloween food allergy safety tips, and links to free downloadable coloring pages and activities that mix fun with a touch of food allergy education. You’ll also get quick access to FAACT’s Halloween-themed Pinterest boards, blogs, and podcasts—so you’ll never run out of creative ideas to explore!

Find fun at home. If you want a memorable night without costumes or handing out treats, consider a few of these ideas:

Create a tradition of watching a Halloween movie and eating a special dessert. Gummy worm dirt cake, anyone?
Learn how to do Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance as a family!
Serve a dinner based on Halloween-themed foods, like hot dog mummies or spaghetti with eyeballs.

Party safely. Heading out to a party, trick-or-treating, or handing out treats? Here are a few tips for staying safe:

Print FAACT’s This House Is Teal posters to hang on your window or doors to let trick or treaters know that you have non-food treats available.
Review FAACT’s Halloween Safety Tips Handout with your family to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to safety.
Eat at home first so you can enjoy a party without worrying about the food. Bring your favorite beverage and label your drink to avoid any cross-contact mix-ups!
Offer to bring a dish to share and take your serving before setting it out to avoid cross-contact risk. Or offer to bring your own meal.
Wear a costume with gloves to create a barrier to allergens.
Carry extra wipes to clean questionable surfaces, especially if food is to be eaten by hand.
Create a family rule of not eating any treats until the next day, after you have done the research necessary to confirm treats are safe. NOTE: Small, fun-sized bars may differ regarding ingredients or cross-contact risks from regular-sized bars. Some manufacturers will use third-party vendors to manufacture holiday-themed products.

Rule the school. Tackle school Halloween celebrations with these suggestions:

Offer to help with party planning to provide allergen-safe tips and non-food ideas.
Suggest party activities, such as a costume parade, Halloween-themed games, or a Halloween dance party. Consider ideas that focus on fun, not food.
If food is to be included, work with planners to skip foods avoided in that classroom, and don’t forget other students with special diets.
Create a list of non-food treats and allergen-safe candies to help with purchases.
Explore Halloween-themed foods that are allergen-friendly and fun to make, such as banana ghosts or faces drawn on Clementine oranges.

For workplace celebrations, choose a few tips from above and share ideas that sync with your work environment and coworkers. If people like to place candy at their desks, consider offering a list of items that will help you reduce the risk of cross-contact. Share food ideas for work parties or celebrations, and don’t forget that food allergen labeling laws do not include alcohol.

For Halloween and other holidays, visit FAACT’s Preparing for the Holidays Center for a wealth of ideas and resources. Enjoy your Teal Magic this Halloween! Your FAACT family wishes you and your loved ones a safe Halloween.