The main adjective this Halloween is HARIBO

The school half term holidays have begun. I really like to use this time as the start of the exciting build up to Christmas. You may think it is so far away but it soon flies. Let’s face it this time of year with its short days and cold nights is a bit bleak – so it’s good to have something to look forward to. I achieve this build up by doing a lot more crafts with my children, and by being more relaxed about the quantities of sweets they eat for no reason (other than that they are children). Sometimes I let them get in on the whole process, but other times I just know that they are so tired and just need something simple to keep them going. Therefore, I made some really easy Halloween treat bags for them to simply decorate and fill with sweets.

This kind of thing is great to keep their skills going over the time off from school. Fine motor, hand-eye, scissor skills, sharing, imagination, planning and so on. It was actually the build up to reviewing the Spookily good range from HARIBO. Not only did I let them taste the delicious HARIBO (you know they are not just for grown-ups!) but I know that the KS1 curriculum has changed and there’s a lot more emphasis on grammar. One of the things they need to know about is ADJECTIVES (that’s describing words to you and me). What better way to think of describing words than by actually describing something!

Adjectives about HARIBO from my 7 year old:

Big Horror Mix

It is very squidgy

Horror Mix (Minis) – (from the HARIBO Trick or Treat Multibag)

Different

Yummy

Flavours like cherry orange and blackcurrant

Star Mix

Little bit salty (we then discussed the fact that they aren’t actually salty at all, but he didn’t actually know what the word meant!)

Flavours: orange, strawberry and coca cola.

Tangfastics Minis (from the HARIBO Mega-Party Mix)

Fizzy. Cherry, lime and coke.

I have to admit I am one of those parents who is really quite funny about sweets. I just don’t see the need for them to be part of my children’s daily diets. Don’t get me wrong, I do not stop them from having sweets I just do not regularly buy them. This does mean though, that on occasions such as Halloween, they go crazy for them! Even then there ARE sweets I prefer them to have over others. I’m not crazy on those hard-boiled type lollies – you know the ones that either get discarded on the sofa or your child breaks their teeth biting into it! Or those tubes filled with sherbet – that inevitably get wet and the kids can’t get to the sweets! If it were up to me this Halloween all parents would buy and handed out on HARIBOs and chocolate. I like HARIBOs and chocolate

What I thought the HARIBO’s scarily good range of sweet treats

I liked that there was an adult sized bag of HARIBO Horror Mix! Don’t be silly this wasn’t a bag for parties, or sharing (even if it may imply that on the bag) – no this was a full on bag for ME! What can I tell you about them (other than I only let my youngest 2 children have 1 each for taste purposes). They are amazing. Addictive. Scrummy. Yummy. Ah HARIBO. There were some with the white soft backs, and some that weren’t. They came in many different brightly coloured flavours. It is clear from the packets that there are no artificial colours. Did I mention that they all tasted great?! They were brilliantly shaped into things associated with Halloween (such as bats).

Horror Mix (Minis) – (from the HARIBO Trick or Treat Multibag)

I liked these because they are individually bagged. This means that you can be secure in the knowledge that each child is getting the same amount. That if you hand them out to trick or treaters then other children’s hands will not be touching the sweets. That they stay fresh in the packets if that said child gets lots of sweets and has no desire (not allowed) to eat them all in one night. There are black, purple and green bags. Each one has the nutritional information clearly displayed on them. Again the man bag says something about kids having them lol (and that grown-ups love them too!) I like these sweets, they are simple, smooth – not hard or likely to stick to anything.

HARIBO Star Mix Mnis (Multibag)

For me these are the original HARIBO. With sweets in the shape of eggs, hearts, cola bottles, rings etc. I love these as there is a mixture of textures (some with soft white backs, others not). Not to mention it’s the first time most girls and boys get a ring.

HARIBO Mega-Party Minis (Multibag)

This is probably my son’s favourite multibag combo. In it came the Star Mix, some smooth Super Mix, but his favourite Tangfastics. If I am honest these fizzy coated sweets are probably my least favourite. I think the appearance of a bit naughty is probably part of the appeal for the children. Note that there is no nutritional advice on the back of these.

Do you do sweets at Halloween? So silly question – do you like HARIBO? Which is your favourite?

I was sent HARIBO products in order to provide an honest review, all words and opinions are my own.