Instead of dressing up in costumes and bringing candy to school on Halloween, my son's teachers have opted for a harvest party instead. At first, I was wondering if he was going to be disappointed -- he's so thrilled about his "army guy" costume. But he's really excited about the party. So am I. I see it as an opportunity to send him to school with a healthier treat to pass instead of miniature candies. Some ideas:

• Fall Harvest Sandwiches. This recipe is from Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus 8. Cut the sandwiches into bite-sized treats with fall-shaped cookie cutters.
• Make a homemade harvest trail mix with almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, dried apples, and candy corn.
• Modify the standard Rice Krispie treat and use whole-grain cereal (like Cheerios) instead. (This still isn't very healthy ... but at least it's an improvement.)
• Ants on a log or apple ladybugs are a fun and healthy snack.
• Make these healthy pumpkin muffins in a mini-muffin tray so they're bite-sized.