10.28.2015

The Problem of Halloween

Halloween poses a really big problem.  I'm not even thinking about whether good Catholics (or any Christian) should celebrate this "pagan" day. I'm thinking just about the candy alone.

I don't want to buy chocolate candy and support abysmal labor conditions and even slavery.

I don't want to buy candy that's full of food dye. I'd feel guilty pumping kids full of that garbage.

I can't afford non-candy edible treats like bags of pretzels or goldfish.

I would love to make handmade treats like cookies or popcorn balls.  But that doesn't fly in today's world for fear that I'd be some psycho lacing them with drugs or poison.

I don't want to buy random, practically disposable non-food "treats" because I don't want to encourage our materialistic, throw-away culture

Maybe we should all agree that raw sugar packets are probably the best option for Halloween treats.  Okay?



Totally Legit Halloween Treat. Right?



But really. I live in a neighborhood where we get 200-300 trick-or-treaters, many of whom get "bused in" by their parents from impoverished and dangerous parts of the city.  Ignoring them is not a question in my mind.  These poor kids deserve to have some fun.  Many barely even have costume. I think I'll be opting for lollipops or something along those lines this year. 
What would you do?

5 comments:

  1. We've gotten a total of zero kids the last two years, but if I thought anyone would show up, I'd probably get glow sticks from Michaels. I don't remember the exact price, but I think they were extremely affordable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Same dilemma over here. Apparently Hershey has promised to go child labor free by 2020, so that's something, I guess? I don't know.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Same dilemma over here. Apparently Hershey has promised to go child labor free by 2020, so that's something, I guess? I don't know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a tad delayed here... given Halloween is over. I think there are a lot of things to care about here and they are all good things to care about. But at the same time, we must choose what is most important to us. We can't do it all! To (humbly!) correct Laura above, I believe it is Mars that has made the commitment. That's what I ended up doing, buying Mars candy. (Maybe Hershey's has done it, but I haven't heard). Also, for future years, maybe Oriental Trading company non-food treats? Or something comparably priced.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad to hear we're not the only ones not buying chocolate! If you're avoiding food dye, how about caramels/Cow Tails/Peanut Butter Kisses (though I gather the latter aren't very popular, but you can send all the rejects to me; yum!) Or you could buy a pack of just Cream Soda Dum-dums!

    And yea, Holly's right. I think you can get a dozen glow bracelets for a dollar, and probably cheaper if you buy them in bulk. And you'd be the house kids would remember!

    So, what did you end up doing?

    ReplyDelete