Edible goodies -- be it a snack-sized can of soda or the ubiquitous candy bar -- are the expected handouts on Halloween.

Yet as we all know, you can, and should, eat only so much of the sweet stuff. Besides, knowing what you're going to get is boring. So why not shake it up this year and toss something a little different in your trick-or-treaters' treat sacks?

There is a wonderful array of inedible treats available in local stores and on the Internet. Many cost about the same price as candy and are nearly as much fun. Moreover, they're calorie-free.

At Target, for example, a 25-pack of mini Play-Doh cans is on sale for $3.99. That's just 16 cents each, or about the same cost as a treat-sized bag of Doritos or an individual box of Junior Mints. An eight-pack of those trendy gel pens -- which can write on dark paper -- costs a mere buck.

Just as popular with the elementary- and middle-school sets are bendable glow sticks, which can be fashioned into bracelets and headbands via plastic connectors. At Pat Catan's craft store, a box of 100 costs $6.97. Or delight their noses with some scratch-n-sniff "stinky" stickers. Four sheets (60 stickers) will run you $1.99 at Stickersgalore.com, or 3 cents apiece -- cheap enough to allow you to throw three or four in their bags.

Other Web sites worth a visit include SmileMakers.com, where a pack of 72 one-inch "boomerang" balls sells for $12.99 (18 cents each), and OrientalTrading.com. Here, 72 glitter tattoos in the shapes of snakes, dragons and butterflies cost just 6 cents apiece, or $4.95 per pack, while 12 sheets of 26 eyeball stickers go for just $2.49 (20 cents each).