Whether you're entertaining at your place or visiting family or friends, navigating major holidays with food allergies can be difficult. Well-meant gifts of food, plates of unsafe foods at child height, or dishes of unknown provenance at the dinner table can all cause reactions. But clear communication, well-placed offers of help, and alternatives to trigger foods are all useful in helping you stay safe. Here are some useful strategies whether you're at home or away.
Inform Your Guests
You can assume that no one who cares about you wants to cause you or anyone in your family harm, but people are often unaware of the foods that could cause reactions. This is especially true for foods that are common hidden ingredients, like nuts, wheat, dairy, soy, and corn. If you're hosting, make sure guests know about your family's dietary restrictions and ask, politely but directly, if they're planning to bring any food. You may need to ask about ingredients in candy, special desserts, or other seemingly innocuous foods. Be prepared, also, to give guests who may be staying for extended visits and helping with grocery shopping a primer on reading labels for your family's allergies.
Ask for Safe Help
If you're hosting a holiday dinner, friends and family will often ask to bring something to share with the group. Be ready with simple and safe suggestions. I often suggest that the wine lovers in my family bring a bottle that will coordinate with the meal, or that friends bring fruit to serve with dessert. You can also let others share in the festivities in meaningful yet safe ways by suggesting they come early to help you cook or lend a hand with the kids as you prepare. You might even ask any music lover guests to create a custom playlist for the occasion.
Be a Great Guest
When you're invited to a holiday party, inform the host immediately of your food allergies and offer to do what you can to help out. At a minimum, this means educating the host about cross-contamination issues and making yourself available to answer questions about ingredients. One extremely considerate option -- and one that can ultimately make life easier for you, too -- is to offer to cook or bring one or two of the dishes that are most likely to contain allergens.
Travel Safely
Holidays, especially the big winter holidays, tend to be stressful: airports are more crowded, social calendars are full, and buying presents and apparel can be top-of-mind. So if you are traveling, do make sure to remember to practice good travel safety: keep epinephrine or other emergency medication on-hand at all times (if prescribed), never accept food unless you've verified it's safe, and consider carrying safe food with you if there's a possibility you'll be otherwise without allergy-friendly eats.
Mention Hidden Hazards
In some households, bowls of nuts or candies (which may be allergenic) are put out early in the winter holiday season and barely touched. After Halloween or Valentine's Day, leftover candy may be placed in a common area without a second thought. These may be a particular hazard to toddlers or preschoolers. Do mention candy and communal treats as a particular danger, and ask that no one feed your allergic child without a go-ahead from you. If you're concerned about people you don't know feeding your preverbal child without your knowledge, you might consider dressing your child in apparel that mentions her food restrictions or asks adults to consult you before giving her food.
Eat in Advance
If you're attending a cocktail party, church gathering, or other function where you're not sure whether safe food will be served, curb the temptation to explore the buffet by eating before you arrive. You'll be less likely to try something out of hunger just because it seems like it should be safe. This is especially useful for children -- serve them a snack first, and also pack them something they like.
