Tots to Teens: A healthy Halloween alternative and a spooktacular screening

Irish fruit growers Keelings have teamed up with dietitian Orla Walsh to create spooky snack ideas for families to tuck into this Halloween

Fancy a Monster Apple Mouth? It’s an apple slice with nut butter and strawberries arranged into a ghoulish grin.

SOME 62% of parents are concerned by the amount of sugar their children consume at Halloween, and another 60% would like to see healthier alternatives offered alongside all the sweets. That’s according to research carried out by Irish fruit growers Keelings.

The company has teamed up with dietitian Orla Walsh to create spooky snack ideas for families to tuck into this Halloween. 

Fancy a Monster Apple Mouth? It’s an apple slice with nut butter and strawberries arranged into a ghoulish grin. Or what about a Boo-nana? It’s a banana ghost with chocolate chips for eyes.

Keelings has also released a limited-edition Halloween punnet of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for €5. 

To add to the spook-tacular celebrations, it is hosting a special screening of Hocus Pocus in the Stella Cinema in Rathmines this Saturday, October 18. 

• Follow Keelings’ socials to win tickets and find more inspiration for ways to make this Halloween healthier for all the family.

Book for ‘Bake Off’ fans

Any Way You Slice It by Méabh McDonnell is an ideal book for teenage readers who also happen to be fans of Bake Off.

The novel tells the story of Carrie Quinn, a young baker who has her sights set on winning the Castlecreagh Baking Competition and becoming the best young pastry chef in Ireland.

That cookie seems to crumble when she and her archenemy and fellow pastry prodigy Dara Harte are both disqualified from the competition. Will they overcome their rivalry and complicated home lives to learn to bake together?

In answering this question with sensitivity and humour, this book also explores teenage friendships and burgeoning romances. And for those who love to bake, check out the simple recipes for moreish treats such as banana bread and cinnamon rolls.

• Published by O’Brien Press, it retails for €12.99.

Host a monster party

Raise vital funds for sick children by hosting a monster party in your home, workplace, school, or community for this year’s Trick or Treat for Children’s Health Foundation Campaign.

Raise vital funds for sick children by hosting a monster party in your home, workplace, school, or community for this year’s Trick or Treat for Children’s Health Foundation Campaign.

It is the 25th anniversary of this campaign, which has made magic happen for Children’s Health Ireland hospitals and urgent care centres at Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght, and Connolly every Halloween since 2000.

Sign up at childrenshealth.ie/trick-or-treat to take part and you will be sent posters and decorations, stickers and spooky games, a collection box and a range of fundraising tips. 

All you have to do is invite your guests and get ready to party.

Toy Library swap event

A truly terrifying amount of waste is generated every Halloween, with many costumes ending up in landfills.

The Toy Library is hosting an event to try to tackle this problem. Between 2pm and 5pm this Sunday, October 19, parents and children are invited to come to UCC’s Aula Maxima with pre-loved toys and Halloween costumes to swap with other families.

Entertainment provided on the day will include an eco-crafting corner for children, a teddy bear hub, and an area where children can apply colourful, eco-friendly temporary tattoos.

This event is free for everyone to attend, even those who don’t have toys or costumes to donate. 

• Find out more at thetoylibrary.ie/p/events.

Parenting podcast

If you like your podcasts to cover parenting and family issues, we recommend tuning into A Little Birdie Told Me. 

Presented by Rebecca Horan in partnership with popular pregnancy and parenting website rollercoaster.ie, it’s now in its eighth season and features dozens of interviews that offer insights, advice and all sorts of personal experiences.

Highlights include an episode with Rosanna Davison, who talks about the impact of pregnancy loss and life with her three children following 15 miscarriages, and another with TV and radio presenter Blathnaid Treacy about her ADHD diagnosis.

A Little Birdie Told Me is available on all podcast platforms.