How Do Holidays Change With LPLD: Halloween

I don't think I ever thought about it concretely when we were newly diagnosed, but I think in the back of my mind, I was so scared that my girls would never get a 'real' holiday now that we knew they had LPLD.  What a sad thought!  And a reasonable thought!  But the good news is, we have been having big wonderful family celebrations for years now, and my LPLD girls love them every bit as much as any other kid.

So, how do we make it work?  Since we're going through Halloween right now, I'll share that.

Trick or treating:  LPLD kids get used to eating differently, and that's OK.  And it applies to Halloween candy, too! 

\~1 and 2 year olds usually aren't big enough to walk AND hold a heavy candy bucket, so you are usually in charge of the bucket (if not also holding the kid).  So, you carry your own bag of candy from home that is completely fat free, and surreptitiously switch out candy given to them at neighbor's houses with safe ones.  A kit kat for a skittles, a snickers for a twizzler, etc etc.  Those chocolate ones might just end up in your mouth, by accident!  And even if your kid notices and asks, it's a good time to enforce the 'parent tax' that I think is an important part of receiving any holiday treat.  Mom or Dad get a bite or a piece of your good stuff sometimes, and that's the way it is!  I used to get so frustrated with my neighbors not caring enough to hand out non-food treats, or at least have non-chocolate candy available for my daughters to choose out of their bowls.  But most didn't have a clue about our LPLD struggles and it was unfair of me to be thinking that.  Harboring all that anger and frustration really wore me down, too!  I've heard of some parents of allergy kids that go around to their neighbors ahead of time with zip lock bags full of treats their kids CAN have, with a note explaining the situation and a description of what costumes the family will be wearing.  That's a little much for me, especially when so many candies ARE low fat, but it's a better option than just being angry at everyone around you all the time!

~3 year olds are already surprisingly good at this LPLD thing.  Last night while trunk or treating, just telling her that this candy will make her sick, and offering another one, went over just fine.  By now, fat free candies are the ones they are most familiar with and enjoy the most because of happy memories together!  So even though she was tired and overstimulated, Teresa had no problem substituting candy she received last night, piece by piece.  Plus, there was a glorious table (provided by a local dentist!) where they could switch out candy for cheap plastic toys.  What a great thing to do with candy that you're not allowed to eat anyway!  Spider rings and star sunglasses, you are where it's at!!

~Older kids get even better at switching candy with friends and siblings.  They can get quite crafty!  And while I'm sure they will one day rebel and snack on some candies that are forbidden, it's also not as tempting to eat those forbidden fruits when you have tons of other delicious candy sitting right in front of you.


Parties: As with any party, it's awfully wonderful when the hosts make allowances for your LPLD kids when planning foods - looking on the bright side, it's nice to have a new way for friends to show they love you!  But for most parties, it's best to ask what kind of foods, snacks, and desserts will be offered and bring your own fat free alternatives.  For a special treat, we rely on Amy's cheeseless frozen pizzas; they are still pretty high in fat, especially if your kid can eat a whole pizza by themselves in one sitting, but for once in a while it works well for us.  We also sometimes make our own pizzas with low fat sourdough crust, fat free marinara, fat free cheese, and toppings (current favorites are artichokes, apples, mushrooms, and pineapple).  You can provide just a single serving dessert for your child (we'll be having caramel apples tonight, and my LPLD girls will be dipping apple slices in nonfat caramel sauce, yum!), but if you have time you could offer to bring a dessert for everyone like these candy corn jello treats.

It's easy to get fixated on holiday food that your kids CAN'T have with LPLD, and forget about all the non-food parts.  But a lot of Halloween is about decorating the house, carving pumpkins, watching scary movies, and making and playing in costumes.  There is tons of fun to be had, LPLD or not!