Popcorn or Kettle Corn, Juice Bar popsicles. We're not allowed to bring homemade treats--only store-bought.

Very clever.

Depending on how strict the policy is these might work : http://weelicious.com/2011/05/25/banana-chocolate-chip-muffins/ My kids both love this when made with bitter chocolate and they don't have very little added sugar.

They also like this healthier muffin: http://weelicious.com/2011/09/27/very-berry-muffins/ A little tricky to bake. I recommend using liners.

@SQ - not allowed to bring homemade treats!!?!?! That's truly ridiculous. I can almost understand the crazy no sugar rules (although it seems a bit restrictive to me, when do you get to be a kid?) and the peanut thing is an obvious safety thing for allergies, but I cannot fathom why you would not allow homemade stuff that fit guidelines.

My children's school doesn't allow any homemade treats, either. But when I asked the teacher what type of Birthday treat I could send in for my son's special day, she told me a good thing to bring would be frosted cupcakes from the grocery store bakery and individual Kool-aid drinks. Really?! This is less harmful than anything I could have made at home?! It's ridiculous.

Schools do not allow home made treats because they can not guarantee food preparation safety or cross contamination of allergens.

Not allowing homemade treats is becoming the standard in schools, unfortunately: it addresses both foodbourne illness issues AND food allergy issues. It bums me out immensely.

However, I get around it by buying interesting fruits as the are in season; anything you can eat with your hands: sugar plums, fourelle pears, lady apples, clementines (obviously,) lychees, rambutans (any classroom reading Dr. Seuss loves rambutans) fresh figs, finger bananas, gooseberries, champagne grapes, etc. Once kids get used to the idea, they're usually all over it (sometimes you do need to provide a little instruction as in lychees and rambutans.)

My Date Bliss Balls are a great treat for the classroom. They are sweetened with dates and are peanut free. You can even make them nut free by swapping the almonds for pumpkin seeds! http://www.outtolunchcreations.com/recipes/date-bliss-balls/

Yes, our policy is related to what @nopen described. So for class parties we try to be a bit creative & balanced (pretzels, grapes, cookies, popcorn); for kids' birthdays parents will bring in doughnuts, bagels, cookies, popsicles...just depends.

What about a Nutella sandwich? That is treat, but is none of the above^^

Clementines (peeled and halved for toddlers) were a hit in my daughter's classroom. Anything other than plain fruit/veg needs to be sealed and hechshered (come from a certified kosher establishment). It makes things difficult.

The comments have made me even curious about these food rules:
Does the rules apply only when food is meant for sharing? Or is it simply assumed that any food brought to school might eaten by someone other than the kid who brought it?
Does the nothing-homemade rule apply to school lunches too? Or do kids have to eat school-provided lunches where these rules are in place?

So different than when I grew up...

I don't have kids, but I remember the awesome homemade treats my mom used to make and send to school with me on special occasions, and that I and my classmates LOVED - molded chocolate lollipops for a given holiday with royal icing piping for decoration, all kinds of adorable cupcakes, etc. Now my friends' kids attend a school that requires anything that's brought in to be vegan, nut-free, and gluten-free, and must come only from one specific bakery. So sad.

@Michelle - yes, to some degree it's shared foods: our district has a fairly strict (though difficult to enforce) "no sharing" lunchroom policy as well. This year, each kid brings his or her own snack, which means I can send whatever I want as long as my son isn't in the designated "allergen-free" room.

However, our district does segregate kids with food allergies to a particular lunchroom, or to particular lunch tables depending on the severity of the food allergy, and no allergic foods are allowed in that room or at that table.

What is with this new idea that kids need 76 snacks every day? The only time we got snacks when I was in elementary school was if someone brought in a birthday treat or we were having a classroom party. And I'm only 27!!

The food safety rules also make me laugh- hard- because, as a licensed caterer, I know what goes on in kitchens, professional and otherwise, and the idea that you're guaranteed to be safe if you're eating stuff prepared in a supermarket (or restaurant, etc.) rather than a home is HILARIOUS. Some home kitchens are MUCH MUCH MUCH cleaner than "inspected" kitchens, particularly when inspections happen every 3 years (as they often do in my city.)

I won't be any help to those who have to buy snacks, as I always send in homemade. We have to provide once/month for my daughter's preschool. I often make mini-muffins with half whole wheat flour and less sugar than in recipe. But I have also done: healthy smoothies (sent in a container with dixie cups on side); butter & jam sandwiches cut into shapes; mini bagels with variety of toppings; homemade applesauce; mini yogurt parfaits with fruit & nut-free granola.

I bring a snack often for my son's preschool. The kids usually like shelled edamame, sun butter and jelly sandwiches, zucchini or banana muffins, hummus and pita bread and any type of fresh fruit or cheese.

No homemade treats for us either :( I usually send the applesauce that comes in a pouch or individually wrapped fruit leathers.

I'm not a parent yet, but as a teacher, oh man I hope the "no homemade treats" rule doesn't spread here. We have "allergy aware" classrooms that place a special emphasis on the no-nut rule, but most classes are pretty cautious. When parents ask about our healthy treat policies we usually direct them to things like pretzels, popcorn, fresh fruit, or water ice/popsicles. One little girl brought in fresh strawberries, brownie bites (anything mini is generally acceptable) and whipped cream, and we assembled the birthday treat on site, it was very sophisticated. ;-)

Also, @IzzyIzzy, I think this is referring to things like parties or birthdays. Our students get lunch and one afternoon snack.

How times have changed! I remember when my eldest started school (a mere 15 years ago), he was not allowed to eat in the school canteen because they were not prepared to accommodate a child with a nut allergy (with hindsight, no bad thing, this being the era of the infamous turkey twizzlers and smiley faces!) No effort was made to inform other parents or pupils that there was an allergic child, and he was not allowed to have his Epipen at school because no member of staff was trained to administer one! We were just lucky that he never accepted a nutty snack in the playground! @Izzyizzy - just because certain establishments might not adhere to standards of hygiene and safety does not mean those standards are irrelevant. Home kitchens may well be cleaner, but without inspections, there is no guarantee or accountability.

For my son's birthday I made a huge fruit salad with star fruit, melon, berries etc (no sugar just some mint & fresh orange juice to dress) and served them in ice cream cones. The kids enjoyed the fun aspect and trying new fruits some of them had never had before!

Those jelly smiles are brilliant!!

I'm a big fan of popcorn. cheap, popular, versatile. I cook it in olive oil on the stove. There are lots of different flavors you can add that aren't sugary.

Fresh fruit is always popular!

Strawberries and whipped cream (whipped up with no sugar, I guess) or local cream in a can is a really fun way for kids to celebrate. Or having kids assemble sculptures with toothpicks and cut up fruit.

We bring inarizushi, which are Japanese snacks and super popular. It's sushi rice (the kind tossed with lightly sweetened rice vinegar) wrapped in abura-age (which is a fried tofu sheet that works like a pita pocket) that has been simmered in lightly sweetened soy sauce. A little sweet, a little salty, a little sour tasty pocket of carbs. They are devoured, every time.

I'm not a fan of the fact that 2 out of 5 of these have bananas... Even the smell of banana makes me gag, and multiply that by however many kids are in the classroom.... well, back when I was a teacher, you'd have a bad situation on your hands. I am also shocked that store-bought treats are now considered safer than home-made treats.

These are all great treats for adults, too! And they beat the de rigeur bagels that are usually brought as snacks to the office.

Who knows... maybe the next generation of school kids will have to eat in individual bubbles to further prevent any contaminates. It'll be like the Bubble Boy from Seinfeld. ;)

My cousin grew up in the 1960's with severe allergies and couldn't participate in lots of school treats like birthday cake. She lived to tell the tale, and says after a little while she felt quite proud of herself when the teacher praised her self-control and the other kids looked at her like she was going to blow up.

We compensated for her in the family at parties, because it was appropriate. But nobody thought to make the whole school shift and limit traditional fun things. Can't kids have allergies and avoid certain foods on their own anymore?

@Therese z: "Can't kids have allergies and avoid certain foods on their own anymore?" That's exactly what my son had to do, but I would not say that was an ideal situation. The problem with allergies is that you cannot predict the severity of the allergic reaction - it could range from a rash to vomiting, or full-blown anaphylactic shock, with blockage of the airways. Whilst allergic children should be aware themselves, they can't always be relied upon to read ingredient lists, or to judge for themselves in the case of homemade goods. My son thought it was OK to eat pesto sauce as pine nuts are not, strictly speaking, nuts - they are seeds. However, my friend who was cooking for him did not realise that the commercial pesto was made using cashew nuts, which are often used as a cheaper substitute. You can't be too careful.

@Therese Z: kids of a certain age certainly can avoid their danger foods, but very little kids (kindergardeners and such) are not reliable. Also, some allergies are actually airborne, and a child who inhales the protein of the allergen can have a reaction without even eating or touching it.

Now as for the teacher who recommends cupcakes from the bakery, s/he doesn't understand the allergy, because those aren't safe for allergic kids either!

We have actually started ordering toys from Oriental Trading Company and passing those out instead of food. My son passed out paratroopers and my daughter passed out small plastic snakes and they were a big hit. Some of the classes here have gone so far as to ask the child to bring in a favorite book instead of a food treat. Then the kid gets to wear a crown while the teacher reads the book to the class. I think it's a great idea. The last thing the kids need is more sugar and junk food.

As a mom of a preschooler with several severe food allergies, I'm very grateful to our preschool teacher for going with a "no-food" birthday treat policy.

For a while, I was baking allergy-free cupcakes every week because it seemed there were birthdays, holidays and other special occasions every other day.

But the teachers started to feel there was way too much emphasis on sugary food, and after my daughter ended up in the hospital because of an allergic reaction (thank you to the parent who handed out Hershey's kisses without asking anyone), her teacher went the "no-food" route.

Now, for birthday treats, students hand out stickers, pencils, play doh, bubbles, and other little toys. The kids love it, and the parents say they don't mind, either.

Thanks for the great post. Those Jelly Smiles look great! Like others here I have lots of fond memories related to special foods of my childhood. It's interesting to see how deep these feelings run for all of us. painful too, as I have a grandchild with a severe, life-threatening allergy to peanuts. I hope that he will not be stigmatized and treated as an inconvenience by those who have not made the effort to learn about and understand the impact that severe peanut and other allergies have on children and their families. Let's put one another first and our food preferences second.

The blood orange smiles are cute, but made with gelatin. A no-no for our schools because so many kids have religious restrictions & are too young to know gelatin is a pork by-product.

I don't know of any public school that allows homemade treats anymore, and as far as I know, they have been disallowed since I was a child myself, due to health and sanitation risks.

Someone else commented on the gelatin in the (totally adorable) blood orange jellies; as someone with a Kosher vegetarian son, I can tell you that he COULD avoid eating it if you sent it in, but it would be a real bummer. Before sending in a snack containing any questionable ingredients, it's really thoughtful to find out if everyone can eat them. At the beginning of the year, it's helpful for class parents to send out a list of restricted foods so that nobody has to feel left out of a special snack; after all, isn't the point of these celebrations supposed to be about the sharing, not the snack itself? So, yes, this year I made vegan, almond-free hamentaschen to accommodate egg and nut allergies, and yes, they were not as tasty as the "real" kind, but when the intended audience is a bunch of four-year-olds who are excited to eat a special cookie, does the fine crumb texture really matter?

We'll make pancakes with the kids in the classroom, and I've brought sliced bell peppers, made Korean sushi (it has veggies and beef), banana bread muffins, hummus and pita, carrot sticks, yogurt, Annie's cheddar bunnies, to name a few.