Once again, I am taking the easy way out.

Juice boxes.

That’s what I signed up to bring to my fifth grade daughter’s classroom Halloween party. In fact, this may be her last. They don’t dress up and eat treats in middle school, do they?

Anyway, more props to you if you are the mom or dad bringing snazzy treats and mind-bendingly creative craft and game ideas to your child’s classroom.

For the rest of us who fear forgetting when Halloween even is, here are some swell, and hopefully stress-reducing, ideas.

With school Halloween parties upon us, what will you feed those cute little zombies, vampires and princesses? Many schools now have guidelines asking parents to bring healthy snacks or consider no treats at all. So, what do you do if you can’t bring candy or frosting-smothered cupcakes?

Fear not.

First off, you might inquire about holding the party in the morning. It may be too late to switch up the party time this year, but it’s a good time to plant the seed for next year, says Emily O’Winter, healthy schools coordinator for Jeffco Public Schools and an expert at EdNews Parent.

O’Winter says if kids arrive at school dressed up it helps decrease the time spent on party prepping and the party itself. Plus, kids are excited when they come to school on Halloweeen party day, so they can dive right in to the party and then move on to academics.

“This not only gets the exciting event done early (reducing all day jitters and distractions) but healthy treats are quite easy in the morning:  green eggs and ham, fruit (peeled grapes=eyeballs) “breakfast booritos” etc.,” O’Winter says. “Additionally, everyone gets breakfast, which, as we unfortunately know, doesn’t happen for all children on a regular basis.”

If you’re party is happening later in the day consider these ideas:

Non-food treats: Playdough, Halloween pencils, erasers, stickers, baseball cards, gift certificates, book, plastic spiders, miniature skeletons, bracelets, face paint, bookmarks,barrettes, bows, yo yos, balls, Silly Band, temporary tattoo and glow sticks.

Food treats: Kids energy bars, granola bars, honey sticks, sugarless gum, fresh or dried fruit, trail mix, mini cereal boxes, bagels, hot chocolate mixes, mini bags of pretzel, juice boxes.

Halloween party ideas: Halloween parties are also a great opportunity to add more activity to the day. For example, a “monster bash” music party will encourage kids to actively showcase their most ghoulish dance moves, LiveWell Colorado suggests.

Think about creating other fun activities that do not revolve around candy. Pumpkin carving contests and Halloween arts and crafts provide fun alternatives to massive candy consumption.

Post-Halloween: What about after Halloween? Well, even the experts say it’s OK to hang on to some of the candy, but then keep it out of sight and think of creative ways to keep the candy intake to a minimum the following days.

Set a limit on how long to keep candy in the house. Participate in a LiveWell Colorado or other candy exchange or find a “candy buy-back” program. LiveWell Colorado’s first candy exchange will be held 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver between between Curtis and Champa streets in front of the Bellco Credit Union.  The second exchange will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Bellco Credit Union, 9220 Park Meadows Dr., in Lone Tree.

Or, have kids “sell” their candy back to you in exchange for a special outing, sleepover, mystery “prize” or other fun option. (Just be sure you don’t eat all the candy).

For additional ideas, check out LiveWell Colorado’s new Healthy Halloween page.  If you’re looking for more sneaky, healthy snacks, check out the Pear Witch Project or the Spooky Spider Snack.

Boooooo! Have fun, and please share your own healthy Halloween party ideas here.