We love Halloween and we love how much our kids love Halloween. That’s why we don’t want to sound like the fun police, but we do want to make some sense of the excess (read: the sugar excess). Here are a few simple and subtle ways to manage the candy rush this Halloween.
Find a Few Healthy Alternatives
We truly think it’s okay for kids to have their candy and eat it, too. But sometimes it gets to be a bit much. Try stocking up on some smart treats specifically for special little trick-or-treaters, such as Squoosh snacks. They won’t know the difference and fellow moms will appreciate the gesture.
Introduce the Switch Witch
It’s like taking candy from a baby (or toddler or pre-teen)—but there’s a tantrum-free ending. The switch witch (a cousin of the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus) comes late at night looking for bags of excess candy. In their place, she leaves a small gift as thanks. Trust us—hitch a ride alongside this witch.
Toss It Out After a While
All good things must come to an end—like your rare afternoon sans kids. Eventually it’s time to be a candy killjoy, especially if they collected enough loot to last a lifetime. After a couple of weeks, even if you’re rationing the treats, it’s probably time to toss them out. (And good luck with that.)
Read Labels to Curb Cravings
Cocoa butter, polyglycerol, sugar, colour, modified corn starch—umm… what? If you’re thinking of sneaking from your kids’ stash, a good long read of a treat label may turn the tables.
Stash the Goods
If willpower isn’t your best quality (it’s overrated anyway), make it more difficult to dive into the treats. Out of reach + out of sight = out of mind. So keep it away from your easy access and fill your fridge with cut up fruit and veg instead.
Send Them Out With a Small Bag
A huge pillowcase will allow for a scarily big candy haul. Keep their treat sack reasonably sized and those extra trips home to dump the loot might just make them too pooped to pop back out.
Shut It Down Early
A surefire way to get kids obsessed about candy consumption is to overemphasize how bad it is for them. Allow a little indulgence on the night (or day following) and give them a chance to get a taste of the whole Halloween experience. Then you can shut it down, mom-style.
Serve a Big Supper
For us, going grocery shopping hungry usually ends in empty Oreo packages. Clearly food shopping on an empty stomach is ill-advised. Halloween is no different—in fact it’s worse. Temptation can be better tamed if you fill kids up with a great meal before they head out.
Tagged under: Halloween,healthy,tips,candy,trick-or-treat,sugar rush
Category: halloween
