By Dr. Jenna Anding
If you have been in the grocery store lately you probably have noticed that shelves are stocked with candy corn, sweet and sour treats, and bite-sized chocolate bars. This can only mean one thing – Halloween is coming!
According to the National Confectioners Association, 93% of Americans plan to celebrate this spooky day. Many organizations are getting into the Halloween spirit as well by having trunk or treat parties. Some offices encourage employees to wear their favorite Halloween costumes during the workday or take time to enjoy candy and other treats. This can help build camaraderie and get to know other coworkers you don’t always have a chance to work with.
Halloween may come once a year, but candy and other unhealthy foods are often available all year long says Jenna Anding, a registered dietitian and Extension specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. In fact, Statista research estimates that we eat, on average, nearly 12 pounds of candy, chocolate, ice cream and other sweets every year. That’s a lot of added sugar and calories that some of us just don’t need!
If your organization or place of business wants to celebrate Halloween but in a healthy way, all is not lost says Anding. If the goal of the celebration is to blow off some steam or give people an opportunity to get to know one another outside of “work” consider these ideas:
- Have a door, cubicle, or desk decorating contest.
- Let employees wear their favorite costume contest and host a Halloween parade (make sure employees stay within the dress code policy if there is one)
- Plan a Halloween-inspired potluck lunch. Include healthy options for those who are trying to stay within their calorie budget!
- Host a lunch-and-learn pumpkin decorating class. Employees bring their lunch, you bring the pumpkins and tools and carve or paint away; either way allows employees to show their creativity.
- Play Halloween-inspired music during the lunch hour. “There are lots of great tunes out there,” says Anding. Some of her favorite ones are:
- Monster Mash (Bobby Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers)
- Thriller (Michael Jackson)
- I Put a Spell On You (Annie Lennox)
- Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon)
- Ghostbusters (Ray Parker, Jr.)
- Time Warp (Rocky Horror Picture Show)
- Somebody’s Watching (Rockwell)
- I’m in Love with a Monster (5th Harmony, from Hotel Transylvania 2)
- Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
- She Wolf (Shakira)
- Sponsor a clean-up event at a local park or host another type of volunteer activity. Fall weather is a time that outside temperatures start to fall (hopefully!). What a better way to give back to the community by giving employees time during the workday to pick up trash at a local park or volunteer to pack boxes of food at a local pantry.
No matter how your office or business chooses to celebrate, be sure to offer options for those employees who are trying to adopt (and keep) a healthy lifestyle. For example, if you have Halloween candy out for people to take, consider offering some healthier options like bags of pretzels, popcorn, or small whole apples.
Happy Halloween from the Working on Wellness Environments Team!