Halloween treats made with Chinese milk powder.....

There's been so much of this sort of thing lately that the Canadian FDIA has set up a new website

http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/pr-rp/index_e.php

It's getting tricky to keep up with all of the recalls.

I always give out little toys, pencils, colorful erasers etc. The party favor section of places like Target are full of cheap little goodies that aren't poisonous and don't cause cavities. I have no idea what I would do if I had little kids coming home with bags of chocolates.

This year I've got 50 boxes with 7 Red Rooibos teabags each in 'em from Tetley to toss into the bags for mom/dad/parental unit. Love that viral marketing.

Thanks for the reminder about the erasers etc. I've got a bag of pencil toppers that I picked up last year that will be a significant feature of the kiddie giveaways. There are also spider and skull rings, dinosaurs, and some Chiclets.

I don't get a ton of kids here in the sticks, so one year I splurged on troll dolls. I knew they were a hit when the kids kept circling back to get another one.

A lot of countries are banning every item that contains Chinese milk products. That seems like a good idea to me.

I saw a thing the other day where they are finding traces of melamine in meats -- from the feed that the animals are given. Crazy.

That aside, I love Halloween. Mo's taste in sweets runs more to pie and pastry than candy so it isn't a big problem around here. He likes the act of trick or treating but usually dumps his bag back into the give away pot.

We give away candy. I bought about 2,000 mini candy bars to hand out and I'm sure they'll all be gone. We live on treat-street and it is like a huge, roving, party. Some of the kids come up with really amazing costumes. It's a big deal.

We did a lot of decorating this year. We live a block from the school and the classes often take neighborhood walks. Our house made the Halloween wander this year and I've seen a lot of classes outside checking things out.

It really takes so little to make kids happy and excited.

Every year, Jillians candy is 'money'.
She can trade 4 or 5 pieces of candy (money) for a new toy.
I get the toys at Target and other stores dollar section and each day she has the choice of buying a new toy.
The option of eating it ... just isnt there
I do save a sucker or two so that once she has spent all her 'money' she can have -something-

This of course, only works on little ones I bet.