31 Oct MDIO’s Healthy Halloween Party

How this mommy RD prevents candy chaos!
What are you dishing out this Halloween? This mom and RD started celebrating early. Last Friday we hosted our first annual “Healthy and Haunted Halloween Party!” I wrote about planning such a party in early October for Modern Mom’s magazine. You can download their app to get detailed instructions for making it a really good time for mummies and their ghouls.
Here’s the scoop on our sweet and spooky celebration. My boys’ treat was to have the party; the trick was that it was healthy…and the kids didn’t even know it!
The Healthy and Haunted Halloween Photo Book:

With the help of my boys’ sitters, we made this party happen at a local NYC park—with a permit and liability insurance, of course! First we prepped and cooked the food at home. Then we loaded our double stroller with party supplies and pushed our way to the park. We decorated the picnic tables and started the task of filling each container with water and two apples for “personal pail apple bobbing!”

*Please note that I created “personal pail apple bobbing” because the cold season is upon us and there are just
too many runny noses! Individual buckets dispel concerns about spreading bacteria and getting any other ghost’s germs. It’s a good idea to host this event at a location with an easily accessible water supply to fill the pails. We were not so lucky! Thankfully, with the help of the sitters and parents, all 20 buckets were filled in a timely fashion. The children loved bobbing for apples…even the kids missing their front teeth!

For snacks, we served pumpkin bread with dark chocolate chips and whipped pumpkin cream cheese for dipping. Tip: In keeping with the autumn theme…carve out a mini pumpkin, remove the interior flesh, and fill with dip.

After letting the kids run freely all around the grassy park, it was time for our “mummy wrap.” All of the boys grabbed partners…and an adult to supervise. We raced to wrap our ninjas and super heroes in toilet paper (consider using environmental friendly green toilet paper). Here we are in action. The best part was that the kids all joined in to clean up the used mummy wrappings.

And then, dinner was served: Meatballs (lean organic turkey) on sticks, vegetarian lasagna, plus fruit and vegetable platters. Everyone ate at his/her own pace. Beverages were kept simple and easy by providing water only.

After the kids spent more time running around and chasing each other in their costumes, it was time to play Pin the Hat on the Witch. Everybody loves this game! Even me…

Have I mentioned candy yet? No! And that’s because there was no candy…and there were no complaints about it either! To teach moderation—that “sometime” foods can be eaten in smaller amounts some of the time—we handed out party bags filled with organic air-popped popcorn mixed with candy corn. The final Halloween touch: festive skeleton ribbon ties…

Special thanks to Laura, Erica and Jenna for making this party such an unforgettable, and haunting, experience!!