Food Allergy Resources

Free Guides to Celebrating Holidays with Food Allergies

March 2009

Celebrating Holidays with Food Allergies

Holiday booklets from Kids With Food Allergies take the focus away from food during the holidays

By Yael Weinstein

Holidays that revolve around food can truly be challenges for families raising children with food allergies. The traditional meal for your family can present numerous allergy risks -- and the risks can be even greater if you are not preparing the meal yourself. Is there any way around the stress and pressure of a holiday known for allergen-laden foods?

These free guides are available from Kids With Food Allergies to help you take the focus away from food during the holidays:

• Celebrating Passover With Food Allergies
  This 24-page booklet is filled with ideas and tips for celebrating Passover safely with your food allergic child. The Passover booklet has been designed to be a companion for any Haggadah that your family uses for the Passover Seder. In addition, the booklet is meant to help all those who celebrate Passover to fulfill the traditions within the Seder. The booklet contains food preparation ideas for the Seder, allergy-free recipes for Passover (including Turkish Charoset and Matzah Toffe), and resources for shopping for Passover (including Kosher for Passover food and allergy safe cookbooks).
  UPDATED March 2009
• Celebrating Easter With Food Allergies
  This eight-page booklet is filled with ideas and tips for celebrating Easter safely with your food allergic children. Included are egg-free decorating ideas, allergy safe crafts and allergy-free recipes including mock "peanut butter eggs", and corn-free and egg-free marshmallows.
  UPDATED March 2009
• KFA Celebrates Halloween
  Eight pages filled with activities to replace trick-or-treating, craft recipes, Halloween games, school party ideas, and Halloween treat recipes.
• KFA Celebrates Thanksgiving
  12 food-free Thanksgiving crafts and activities, strategies for making dinner and school safe, and allergen-free recipes for pumpkin pie and stuffing.
• KFA Celebrates Christmas
  This ten-page booklet presents great Christmas ideas for non-food related holiday crafts and activities, and tips for safe dining strategies. Christmas food allergy recipes include allergy-free gingerbread cookies, candy canes, rice nog, and an egg-free alternative to royal icing to use for making gingerbread houses.
• KFA Celebrates Chanukah
  Food-free Chanukah crafts, games and activities to make and enjoy dreidels, menorahs and gelt; strategies for making meals safe, and allergen-free recipes for latkes and sufganyot.
• Celebrating Valentines Day With Food Allergies
  This eight-page booklet is filled with ideas and tips for celebrating Valentine's Day safely with your food allergic children. Included are school party planning tips, allergy safe crafts and allergy-free recipes including "peanut butter" cups, crunch chocolates, and sugar lollipops.

Originally published December 2007; updated March 2008, April 2008, August 2008, March 2009.

Thank you to all of the KFA Volunteers who helped create these holiday booklets for food-allergic families.