home-made halloween treats
If we're still posting about Halloween, I guess it's not too late to mention my small part in our holiday observance: upsetting recent local practice by bringing home-made treats back to trick-or-treating. Yes, after two or three years of threatening to I managed to get organized enough to bake and package cookies for Halloween. I even made a web page about it! All that took so much energy I'm only just able to tell you about it now.
they almost look store-bought
Why did I do such a thing? We wrote about it at some length on the web page, but the short version is that I don't like candy, and I like baking. That should be enough, shouldn't it? There are probably some sustainability concerns in there too, but I would be able to play that angle up more if I hadn't used approximately 18 yards of plastic wrap to get the product to look like something kids could begin to think about putting in their goody-bags.
And I was pleased that most of the customers we saw responded quite well, either with indifference or, in a few instances, excitement at being offered something home-made. Except for one case where allergies were a concern, I think that everyone who went for the candy rather than cookies—yes, we had candy as well, thanks to Leah and my mother and their concern for social norms—was from out of the neighborhood. It must be that all the local kids already know we're crazy hippies and aren't surprised by anything we do.
To allay parental concerns I included our name, address, phone number, and email address on the label—as well as the web page I mentioned above. We didn't get any calls; either nobody saw any problem with cookies in the Halloween loot or they just tossed them without bothering to contact us. Either way, my conscience is clear, and I'm ready to do the same thing next year.