the first year i ever decided to do weight watchers i did so much air popped popcorn that i can't bring myself to eat it anymore.
but twice a year i do caramel popcorn homemade. but that's probably not something you can do with a kid because of the candy boiling aspect. though you could probably melt a little brown sugar, butter and vanilla flavoring together to drizzle a little over the popcorn. it wouldn't harden like candy but it would be enough to flavor the popcorn you are eating in that one sitting. maybe some of that with toasted chopped pecans or peanuts or slivered almonds.