Orange, Black and Green for Halloween

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Popcorn/Snack Mix

Robert's American Gourmet makes a variety of vegan, gluten-free and wheat-free snacks to satisfy picky palates. For a truly organic Halloween, hand out their "Chaos" certified organic snack mix in single-serving packages ($36/case of 24-2 oz. bags; www.robscape.com). Or, offer kids Healthy Handfuls Lucky Duckies Cheese Crackers ($28.50/case of 36-.75 oz. bags; www.healthysnackstore.com)

Snack/Granola Bars

Natural grocery stores offer a wide variety of individually wrapped snack and cereal bars that work perfectly as Halloween handouts. If you can think beyond orange-and-black packaging, you can get pretty creative with your treats.

Try the Puffins Cereal & Milk Bars in Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip by Barbara's Bakery (about $10/15-bar box, www.barbarasbakery.com) or the EnviroKidz Organic Koala Chocolate, Panda Peanut Butter or Cheetah Berry Crispy Rice Bars by Nature's Path ($20.34/case of 6, 6-bar boxes; www.naturespath.com).

New England Natural Bakers' Save The Forest organic trail mix bars and cereal bars come in a variety of flavors like cinnamon raisin and banana chocolate ($4.70/6-bar box, www.wellnessgrocer.com)

Thinkorganic Snack Bars come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate coconut and cherry nut ($37.80/20-bar variety pack; www.everydayfruit.com)

Trick-Or-Treating With a Cause

Use Halloween to teach your kids about helping other kids. UNICEF sponsors a "Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF" program whereby trick-or-treaters collect change in addition to candy while they're out making their rounds. The money raised goes to UNICEF's worldwide aid programs. You can get collection boxes at local Pier 1 Imports and Hallmark Gold Crown stores or through their web site, www.unicefusa.org.

UNICEF is by no means the only organization for which you can trick-or-treat for donations. Through its "Coins That Count Donation Program," Coinstar coin-counting machines, located in banks nationwide, allow kids to contribute to one of the company's non-profit partners, among them the World Wildlife Fund and the American Red Cross. Kids can take their change to a Coinstar machine (find one in your area at www.coinstar.com), and donations are made when coins are deposited.

Staying in

If you've got younger kids who aren't quite old enough for trick-or-treating or if you'd prefer to spend your Halloween inside far from the madding crowds, here are some party planning suggestions.