Oh, yes!!! October is here – which means cooler weather, pumpkins a-plenty, ghosts and goblins and of course Halloween!

With all the seasonal goodies popping up this month, Active Family Project( AFP) has teamed up with family food expert and AFP Play Council member Laura Fuentes to offer some tips and tricks for a fun, healthy and active Halloween season for you and your family. Laura is the Founder and CEO of MOMables where she helps parents make fresh school lunches and food their kids will love.

AFP is a health and wellness effort focused on helping to empower you with the tools, information and activities your family needs to enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle.

TIPS:
– Get into the Halloween spirit early, without focusing too much on one night of trick-or-treating, which often means candy! Instead, make snack-time fun and nutritional throughout the month, and get the kids involved in the prep. Try putting a celery stick into a clementine to create a pumpkin, add chocolate chips to the top half of a banana to create a ghost, or create your own healthy “witches brew.”

– After dinner, take walks as a family around your neighborhood to enjoy all of the decorations neighbors have on display, especially the carved pumpkins and spooky scarecrows. Start talking about Halloween night and planning out the route you and your children will take for trick-or-treating to get some evening activity.

– Upgrade the health factor of your Halloween stash by handing out non-candy alternatives like individual drink pouches, small pretzel bags, raisin boxes, popcorn bags, glow sticks, Halloween rings, Halloween stickers, and mini water bottles. If you want to offer candy, try healthier options like honey sticks or fruit leathers.

– Set limits for the amount of candy your child can eat each day. And, to reduce the Halloween stash altogether, consider “buying back” some or all of the remaining Halloween candy. Instead of offering money, consider tokens they can trade in for a fun family activity like a day at the zoo, a park outing, ice skating or a trip to the indoor pool!

Find places to enjoy family fun near you here: www.ActiveFamilyProject.com.