Halloween

I felt that I should address the complex issue of Halloween before it hits (even if it is only a day away).
I got home and saw this on the coffee table in our living room...

My original plan was to hide in a closet and wait for this holiday to pass. I'm joking, BUT I did plan on going out to avoid this insane amount of packaged candy (that of course came in another big plastic bag). 
Coming home to this mound of plastic makes me think: "Is there an alternative?" Of course there is. The question is can you do this without disappointing the kids that come to your door? I know that as a kid Halloween was one of the most exciting holidays. My dad dressed up as a gorilla, I got to be whatever or whoever I wanted to be... Am I getting too excited? 

My sister may totally kill me for this picture but come on its throwback Thursday...

Anyways you can see from my eyes (kid in the white outfit) that I was about as high on sugar as it gets. My alternative to no plastic on Halloween is to give kids orange and black pencils. If I can find ones that are Halloween themed even better but generally those are wrapped in a plastic bag as well.
The kids that get these will be able to use them later while I don't have to buy plastic. It's a great trade off. PLUS the kids will get their sugar fix from my neighbors I'm sure. This is not the perfect solution but for now on such a late notice it will reduce my plastic use and will hopefully inspire others to do so next year.

I took this image from this website It is exactly the kinds of pencils I will be looking for this afternoon.