Allergy-Free Candy You Can Buy for School Valentine Parties

Need some allergy-free candy ideas for your child’s classroom? This post has you covered! Here’s some common candy you can buy from the store for Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter, or whenever!

If you want a safe treat that avoids the moist common allergies, check out these allergen-free treats! Choosing candies and chocolate bars that are free of major allergens and include ingredient lists that are easy to read is key!

Find out the best sweet treat options that can be safe for Halloween treats, Easter candy, Christmas options, and more! Make sure to ALWAYS double-check product information on all the allergy-friendly treats listed below before eating.

valentine's day allergy free candy options

Allergy-Free Candy You Can Buy for School Valentine Parties

Thanks to the rise in food allergies, even if your child does not suffer from food allergies, chances are with the 1:13 odds, there is one (or two!) in your child’s classroom.

So, what do you send to school for your child’s Valentine’s treat? Most kids like to give out candy with their Valentine’s, and it can seem daunting when everything has to be store bought to tell which candy will be safe and allowed in the classroom at school or at church.

Both of my sons have multiple food allergies, so I’ve become a pro at reading labels. But, even friends and family who frequently watch my children often feel uncomfortable ascertaining if a certain food is safe or not.

To spare you the questioning, and to hopefully foster a safer environment for those children who have a food allergy and haven’t learned to vocalize or know how to tell if something is safe, I’ve compiled a list of allergy-free candies below.

All of these candies are easy-to-find, regular name brands available at any grocer. None of these are specialty brands or have allergy-specific ingredients so they aren’t any more expensive than normal. You’d be surprised at how many typical candies actually work!

Guidelines for Buying Allergy-Free Candy

1. No Baked Goods!

First things first—no matter the allergen, I find that bakery goods (cupcakes, sugar cookies…etc.) are almost ALWAYS a no-no, no matter the allergy.

Baked goods almost always have butter (aka dairy), wheat (aka gluten) and eggs since these are traditional baking staples.

Those three ingredients right there are considered part of the top-8.

The top 8 foods account for 90% of all food allergies, and are therefore SUPER common. Another reason to avoid them: even if the only classroom restriction is nuts/peanuts—these are often cross-contaminated in a shared facility, and are not considered safe by many allergy parents who avoid them for fear of a risk.

So, candy is your best bet!

I also have an elementary teacher as a friend, and she agrees that when parents bring candy it’s best for all because there are typically no sticky hands from frosting, no crumbs strewn all over the floor and they’re individually wrapped and easier to consume. So, it’s a win-win!

2. Avoid Chocolate

Secondly—just avoid chocolate.

Almost all chocolate has a “may contain” statement for peanuts or tree nuts since so many chocolate companies also manufacture chocolate that has almonds or peanuts in them. Plus, almost all chocolate has dairy in it—unless it’s a specialty brand—which you won’t find at most typical grocers. (My son has a dairy allergy and we have to go to stores like Whole Foods or Sprouts to find allergy-safe chocolate.)

3. Ask

And lastly, but most importantly: It’s hard to speak for all allergy parents. Just think about it—would you as a mom feel comfortable giving a blanket statement for all mothers out there? There is always a spectrum of what people will feel comfortable with.

So, while these candies will most likely work—it never hurts to ask the teacher or directly to the allergy parent to make sure.

As an allergy parent, it means THE WORLD to me when people are careful and ask me. I wouldn’t want my son to have anaphylaxis at school—not only for my son’s health, but for the poor students having to watch him get an epi-pen shot in front of them and have the disturbance of an ambulance and medical personnel in their classroom.

I imagine it would scare his friends, interrupt class and the person who brought the unsafe treat would feel terrible. It’s a lose-lose.

I trust no one wants to intentionally inflict a reaction, but even acts of omission can still have dangerous effects.

So—don’t be nervous to ask. I welcome when people have questions and want to clarify. I understand that your eyes are not trained to read labels and you might be unsure of what to bring. Let’s foster communication and understanding!

So…in short—always double check with the actual allergy parent and don’t just take the Internet’s word for it (even mine!). And, always re-check labels, as ingredients could have changed from the time this was published.

PHEW!

ALSO HELPFUL: You can watch this video where my son and I go shopping and show a few go-to candies and some we avoid around Valentine’s.

Allergy-Free Candy

Let’s get onto the sweet stuff!

I’ve taken pictures of the front of the bags, as well as the ingredients (as best I could in store lighting—yikes!). And, I’ll mark below each candy what allergies I feel it would work for.

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK LABELS IN CASE ANYTHING WAS MISSED—none of these companies were called for additional information on cross-contamination, and this was strictly going off of the label. If your allergies call for it, please do additional digging on your own child’s behalf.

And don’t forget! These candies are available year-round! Save this list for birthday parties, church events, sports treats and other rewards when there are allergy kiddos around so everyone can be included and so you don’t have to worry about the allergy kids accidentally picking the wrong candy.

NOTE: I’ve shown the cute Valentine’s packaging that was in the holiday aisle at my grocery store, but the regular packaging of the same candies should work too. While it’s fun to have the cute-sy packaging, there is nothing wrong with the regular stuff too to make sure it’s safe. I’ve included links to buy these candies online, and most likely they will have the regular packaging.

Dots are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies AND they are also vegan!

Sweethearts are allergy-free candy for those who have allergies to eggs.

Kissy Lip Pops Lollipops are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and are also vegan!

Tootsie Pops are good allergy-free candy for those who have gluten, eggs, peanuts and tree nut allergies.

Sweetarts Gummies are good allergy-free candy for those who have dairy, egg, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies.

Tootsie Roll Midgees are good allergy-free candy for those who have gluten, peanuts and tree nut allergies.

Lifesavers are good allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies and are also vegan!

Swedish Fish are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and are also vegan!

Smarties are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and they are also vegan!

Charms Pops are allergy-free candy for those who have peanuts, tree nuts and gluten allergies.

Charms Blow Pops are allergy-free candy for those who have peanuts, eggs or gluten allergies.

Sour Patch Kids are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and they are also vegan!

Nerds are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, dairy, soy, peanut and tree nuts allergies, and they are also vegan!

Skittles are good allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and they are also vegan!

Starbursts are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies.

Pixy Stixs are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and they are also vegan!

Fun Dips are allergy-free candy for those who have wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts allergies, and they are also vegan!

Jolly Ranchers are good for allergies to: wheat, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts and tree nuts.

Okay! Now to recap it all by allergies!

Allergy-Free Candy for Those with Wheat Allergies

Allergy-Free Candy for Gluten-Free People

Allergy-Free Candy for Dairy-Free People

Allergy-Free Candy for Those with Egg Allergies

Allergy-Free Candy for Those with Soy Allergies

Allergy-Free Candy for Those with Peanut Allergies

Allergy-Free Candy for Those with Tree Nut Allergies

Vegan Candy

If you’re wondering what types of snacks work for allergy kiddos, here is a list I give out to my friends, neighbors and family members.

What are some good non-food treats for allergic children?

If you don’t know what delicious treats to have for the kids, find other fun options outside of the candy aisle. Parents of children with allergies will be so thankful that you have options for their kids that aren’t a food product!

Find slime in fun colors, get coloring books for the kids, or buy some fidget spinners in bulk to hand out.

Is all hard candy allergy-friendly candy?

Not necessarily. You have to make sure that you read the ingredients label of all candies to be sure! Many manufacturing facilities will make a variety of foods, so make sure that the candies are made in a peanut-free facility or a dedicated facility that makes only allergy-free treats is important.

Never assume without doing food allergy research first. Find out about the manufacturing facility and do your research by reading all ingredient labels.

Doing this can help to avoid all major food allergens that might be located in milk chocolate, Halloween candy, Easter candy, Valentine’s Day candy, and more. Take great care in ensuring that the products and candy are free of any life-threatening food allergy ingredients.

If you’d like to make an easy, homemade or semi-homemade treat for a friend with food allergies, here are my suggestions:

Hi! I’m Megan. Once my oldest was diagnosed with a rare disease and 30+ food allergies, I had to decide to eat rice the rest of my life, or run with it and make it awesome. I hope those with limited diets or food allergies can find inspiration and see that foods can still taste awesome. My motto is: give up ingredients but don’t give up awesomeness. Be sure to follow Megan on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and of course her blog: allergyawesomeness.com

Allergy-Free Candy You Can Buy for School Valentine Parties

Allergy-Free Candy You Can Buy for School Valentine Parties