treats

Store Bought Halloween Snacks That Aren’t Candy

September 22, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

31 store bought Halloween snacks that aren’t candy to send with your kids to school.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

The one thing about Halloween that I didn’t fully grasp before becoming a mom was all the sugar surrounding the holiday. Of course I knew a big orange Jack O Lantern bucket would come home filled with candy on Halloween night after a long evening of Trick or Treating.

What I didn’t realize was that there would be school parties and fall festivals and hay rides and trunk or treats that seem to take up the entire month of October. All of these activities seem to center around candy and treat bags and cupcakes.

I don’t mind my kids having treats but 31 days in a row seems a little excessive so I created a list of store bought Halloween snacks that aren’t candy.

Some on this list are healthier than others. I think it is important to remember that these are still treats so it isn’t going to be like giving out carrot sticks but they are an improvement from just pure sugar candies. (And your kids will still like you, not sure about that if you start handing out carrots!)

Check out these 9 Healthy options for your Halloween Candy Bowls.

Store Bought Halloween Snacks That Aren’t Candy

When you need something to take to a school class party, there is not always time to whip up some crafty Pinterest masterpiece.

This list of store bought Halloween snacks that aren’t candy provides at least a slightly healthier option for your kiddos and their friends.

Also, since candy has gotten so expensive, some of these make economical treats to hand out on Halloween night to your Trick or Treating crowd. All of these items are individually packaged if you want to pass out on Halloween or if your school requires the treat to be packaged by the manufacturer.

Savory Treats

Pirates Booty Trick ARR Treat Bags

Ghosts & Bats Veggie Chips

Snyder’s Halloween Pretzels

Halloween Boom Chicka Pop

Halloween Goldfish

Utz Halloween Cheese Balls

Halloween Pringles

Halloween Cheez Its

Frito-Lay Halloween Variety Pack

Pretzel Crisp Minis

Popcorn Balls

Skinny Pop Halloween

Sweet Treats

Sour Raisins – these are so good & my kids think they are fruit snacks

Quaker Chewy Halloween Mini Granola Bars

Welch’s Halloween Fruit Snacks

Sunmaid Halloween Vanilla Yogurt Raisins

Annie’s Halloween Bunny Grahams

Halloween GoGo Squeez Applesauce

Halloween Flipz Pretzels

Stauffers Animal Crackers

Halloween Fruit Roll Up Minis

Little Debbie Brownie Pumpkins

Halloween Chex Mix Muddy Buddy (Peanut Butter)

Orange Water Flavor & Halloween Straw – Tie together with a piece of ribbon for a cute beverage treat

Orange Jello Cup – Draw a Jack O Lantern face on with a sharpie if you want to make it extra Halloweenie

Vanilla Pudding Cup – Draw a Ghost face on with a sharpie

Glow in the Dark Plastic Halloween cup & Milk Magic Straw

Rice Krispies Halloween Mini Squares

Spookylicious Pop Tart – You can probably buy two boxes and give each kid in the class a 2 pack. Now they have a treat for breakfast! (leave it up to their mom to add some fruit, not your problem!) They are also making these Halloween Pop Tart minis this year which I like also.

Chocolate Twinkies with S’cream Filling

Halloween Hostess Glo Balls

Blue Bird Halloween Cakes

Nabisco Halloween Snack Cookies Variety Pack

The kids will still love these choices and you will feel good about adding some variety to the class goody bag, Halloween Party, or the Trick Or Treat bag.

If you enjoyed this list of 31 store bought Halloween snacks that aren’t candy, you might also like these No Bake Ghost Snack Cakes or these No Bake Pumpkin Cupcakes. And if you prefer a non-food Halloween option, check out these 16 Halloween Favors that Won’t Get Trashed.

And after you take care of all the kid stuff, have some “me” time by reading these 45 awesome pumpkin spice products that you can find on Amazon. I know you are in the pumpkin spirit by now!

Non-Food Favor Option

These are a bit more expensive to make so they might not be an option for Trick or Treat handouts if you get a lot of visitors. But they are so super cute for favors, Halloween parties, school parties or to “Boo” your neighbors with kids!

Make these Paint A Pumpkin Kits!

They are super easy, come with a free printable and cost just a couple of dollars per kit to make. Click here for the instructions and printable!

Elf on the Shelf Gifts Under $5

December 7, 2018 by Stacy Craft 6 Comments

Our elf has been hanging around our house for the last 3 Christmas seasons. Lots of days she just moves to a new location and does not do much else. But on a few special days, she brings a little treat or gift to the kids.

Here are several elf on the shelf gifts under $5 that our littlest member of the family has brought to our home in the past.

Also remember, the elf is fun just to find. My daughter (just turned 5) gets the biggest kick out of searching for her every morning. So don’t get tied up in thinking that the elf needs to bring a treat every day.

Ours usually brings a small treat a few times a season.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Elf on the Shelf Gifts Under $5

When thinking about elf gifts, there are lots of options. I like small gifts because well the elf is small.

Also, since it is so close to Christmas, we don’t want to overdo it. But a fun little surprise from the elf is a great way to increase the anticipation and magic of the upcoming holiday.

Here are some of my favorite small elf on the shelf gifts under $5 for your elf to bring.

Breakfast with the Elf

The elf moves at night. So breakfast is one of my favorite elf on the shelf gifts under $5 to bring. I mean, your kids have to eat breakfast so a fun Christmas inspired breakfast delivered by their elf is oh so special.

Your kids will think your elf is the coolest for bringing these special breakfast treats! Throw in a banana or something to add a little nutrition! Of course this is just a treat – I don’t want the organic breakfast police on me!

Christmas Crunch Cereal – This is the breakfast treat that our elf brought this year.

Gingerbread Spice Oatmeal – I am not sure if my kids would eat this but it sounds good to me!

Hot Cocoa & Marshmallow Mini Donuts – I found mine at the grocery store. And can I just tell you, I broke my diet for one of these. And then I noticed the serving size was 4, so I went ahead and had a serving. I got these for the kids and the combo did not even sound that good to me but they are really yummy!

Sugar Cookie Poptarts – We had these at Halloween and they are so fun.

Clif Bar Peppermint Bark – What a fun flavor for a holiday granola bar.

Books from the Elf

The Littlest Elf – What is cuter than the elf bringing an elf book? We read this during our 24 Book Christmas Advent Countdown! It is a cute book about a tiny elf looking for his purpose.

Stained Glass Christmas Coloring Book – This is a small book with 8 pages that you color and then hang in a window for a stained glass effect. Cool concept and great price (especially if you need to get a couple to prevent fights).

A Christmas Celebration Sticker & Activ ity Book – This is by The Beginner’s bible which we own and love. We don’t have this activity book but it gets good reviews and looks like a fun way to remind kids of the reason for the season!

Disney Princess Christmas Eve Coloring Book – With 40 pages, this is a big coloring book of Princesses in Christmas settings. If your little one is Frozen obsessed or princess obsessed like mine, this might be a good choice.

Check out this cool 24 Days of Christmas books Advent Calendar for Kids.

Candy from the Elf

Candy Canes – We did a candy cane hunt this year during our A to Z Christmas countdown. My 4 year old searched around for candy canes hidden in our living room and had a blast. Your elf could hide the candy canes!

LOL Surprise Finders Keepers Eggs – My daughter would probably eat broccoli if it had an LOL Surprise doll on it. I made a huge list of LOL gifts because she loves it so much. The toy in these is very small but it is still a fun little treat and the chocolate egg gets eaten quickly!

Magic Seed & Candy Cane filled Candy – Our crazy little elf did this the other day. She brought two magic seeds (you could use M&M’s, cheerios, dried beans, raisins, tic tacs) and a bowl of powdered sugar. The note instructed that we plant the seeds and wait to see if they would grow. When we got home from school, the seeds had grown into two candy canes filled with candy! So fun and easy.

Hot Cocoa & Snowflake Shaped Marshmallows – We like to do hot cocoa and a Christmas movie a few times during the month of December. I would usually buy this anyway but it is a little more magical coming from the elf.

Other Cute Elf on the Shelf Gifts Under $5

Good to Grow Character Top Juices – My kids go bananas for these.

Frozen $1 Bill – Fill a 4 oz Glad container with water. Put a $1 bill in a snack size ziplock bag and seal it. Roll up the bag/dollar combo and stuff it in your water filled container. The elf will deliver a frozen $1 bill in the morning for the kid’s piggy bank. The elf should sit with an Elsa doll if you have one!

Christmas Grinch Bandaids – Kids love bandaids. Your elf could get into this box of cute bandaids & put a couple on herself. She leaves the rest for the kids. My kids always get bandaids in their stocking too and they are thrilled.

Rudolph PJ Pants – You can find cute pajama pants for $5 at Target. Our elf has even brought Elf on the Shelf pjs for our kids before (but those fall out of the $5 range).

Holiday Goldfish – The elf goes fishing and leaves some special goldfish for snack! Use a toothpick, lollipop stick or even a skewer for the “fishing pole.”

Hopefully this list of elf on the shelf gifts under $5 gives you some new ideas to make the magic of the elf come alive on the cheap!

18 Dollar Tree Gifts from Elf On the Shelf

Check out my other gift guides while you are here to make your Christmas shopping even easier!

We have LOL Surprise dolls and Frozen II gift guides. Stuff your stockings for under $5 for your 1 year old and your 3-5 year old.

9 Store Bought Halloween Party Foods to Make in Less than 5 Minutes

October 12, 2018 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

9 Store Bought Halloween Party Foods to Make in Less than 5 Minutes for busy moms. These DIY Halloween treats will make everyone happy at the school harvest party. No chocolate melting or baking. Just simple Halloween fun.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Holidays with young kids are some of my favorite times. Seeing the excitement with all the decorations and fun treats warms a mama’s heart. But if you have young kids at home, you know that time thing is not always abundant.

You may have high hopes of creating homemade chocolate cupcakes with perfectly hand rolled witch hats made of fondant. But then the 4 year old wants to play barbies, the 10 year old needs to go to basketball practice and the baby needs to well, eat.

So your Halloween cupcake dreams are momentarily crushed. Now you are staring at the grocery store shelves looking for something easy and also cute (probably with a toddler screaming at your feet).

To make the Halloween season go a little smoother, we have collaborated with some great bloggers to bring you 9 store bought Halloween party foods to make in less than 5 minutes!

9 Store Bought Halloween Party Foods to Make in Less than 5 Minutes

My kids probably get more excited about a Halloween Oreo than they would about any fancy dessert that I could create. Note that I said “would.” Elaborate desserts are a thing I enjoyed before kids. No bake, done in 5 minutes are a little more my style these days. Especially since little man has decided to learn to walk and is in to everything.

Here are 9 store bought Halloween party foods to make for your kids school party. These are also great for a fun October lunch or dinner treat.

Mummy Snack Cakes I can’t believe how much these look like a tiny mummy and it took me no time at all to make thanks to my BFF, her name is Little Debbie.

Ghost Snack Cakes A simple ghost face on a delicious white chocolate ding dong is sure to make your kid smile.

Pumpkin Cupcakes These are great because they are not spooky at all. Perfect for a school or church fall harvest party.

Spooky Eyeball Sandwich by Kimspired DIY – Such a fun lunch option for the Halloween season! I make a million PB&J’s a month so why not make it into an eyeball!

Jack O Lantern Mandarin Orange Cups by Mission to Save – Fruit disguised in a Halloween costume is always welcome at my house. Sugar sure is fun but gosh the kids get so much of it this time of year. I want to put these in the lunchbox for school.

Halloween Witch Hat Cookies by Princess Pinky Girl – These cute witch cookies have an oreo base and just four ingredients.

Vampire Donuts by the Happy Family Blog – I know my kids would love the donuts but the bagel idea is another great way to add some Halloween fun to your table with a low sugar item.

Pudding Bat by The Inspiration Edit – These pudding bats are so adorable! If you need a prepackaged item for a class party, this is a unique dessert to send.

Ghost Cheese Sticks & Jack O Lantern Cuties by Sizzling Eats – Great non-candy options to put in a lunch box that are still fun and festive.

I hope these 9 store bought Halloween party foods to make in less than 5 minutes help to get you time for an extra cup of coffee (oh & make your kids super happy)!

If you need some items to send for the class goody bag or your trunk or treat event, check out 31 non-candy Halloween treats and 16 Halloween favors that won’t get trashed.

Thanksgiving Turkey Breakfast Bagel

November 8, 2018 by Stacy Craft 15 Comments

A light and healthy breakfast is just what your kids need leading up to Thanksgiving day. This Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel is a cute and tasty treat.

I have one kiddo that doesn’t like to eat. Like ever. My most popular phrase at home is “eat your food.” But if you make her food cute, she all of the sudden shows more interest. These Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel treats had her smiling at the breakfast table this week.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Thanksgiving Turkey Breakfast Bagel for Kids

Holiday inspired treats are one thing that I always planned in my head for my kids, before I had kids. I wanted to do fun food and paper plate painting crafts. Handprint keepsakes and cutout cookies with homemade icing and lots of sprinkles.

One thing that I didn’t anticipate pre-motherhood is just how busy and tired I would be in actual motherhood. So in reality my holiday treats usually consist of things that I typically have at home and that I can make super quick.

A Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel puts a healthy and fun treat on your table for the kids. You will be giving your kids a fruit, carb source, and dairy in this meal. It is light enough to eat on Thanksgiving morning during the parades on TV but will also keep them full until lunch at school if you make it earlier in the month.

What Do I Need:

Mini Bagels

Cream Cheese (I used a Honey Flavored)

Candy Eyeballs (If you don’t have these, try chocolate chips or raisins)

Candy Corn

Red & Green Apple

Assembling the Thanksgiving Turkey Breakfast Bagel

Fun food, fast. That is what we are after here! To make this cute Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel, start by slicing and toasting the bagel.

Let it cool slightly so that the cream cheese doesn’t slide off the turkey’s body. Once it has cooled a bit, spread the cream cheese on one of the bagels. I spread it on just thick enough to cover up the whole in the middle.

Slice the apples.

Now all you need to do is arrange. Place the apple slices around the edge of your turkey peel side up to show those pretty red and green colors off. Finally, add the eyeball, candy corn nose and trim just a teensy piece of a red apple to make the gobbler. Did you know the “gobbler” is actually called a snood? Weird but true according to this article with 10 things you didn’t (need to) know about turkeys.

My daughter’s only complaint was that the Thanksgiving turkey breakfast bagel needed two eyes and not one. I was going for a profile look. And if I know her like I think I do, she was going for two candy eyeballs. I hope you have fun serving these turkey’s up to your kids.