Candy Crisis

By Heather Miller

Well, folks, Halloween is officially here! With that comes the joy of watching your children in insanely adorable costumes get excited over all things semi-spooky. What also comes with that? Candy. Lots and lots of candy. If your crew is anything like mine, they are candy addicts. Like a moth to a flame, they just can not get enough. It is on their minds more than a Vodka soda is on mine. However, just as I can’t indulge whenever I choose, neither can they. Here are a few tips on how to control the candy crisis.

Tip One:
As soon as we are home from our candy run, buckets are emptied and all hard candy and gum is immediately taken out. There is no way that my three year old has the mental capacity to properly eat a jumbo jaw breaker and I am more than certain that double bubble was produced by the dental field to break teeth. This narrows down the candy immediately and I have convinced my kiddos that they are not missing out on anything by getting rid of this Grade B candy anyway.

Tip Two:
Give each of your little monsters a sandwich bag to fill with their very favorite candies. Trust me, more than enough fits into these bags and they will no doubt fill it to the brim. Only rule is that is must zip! This is the candy that they have free reign on for as long as they allow it to last. In my opinion, the faster they eat it, the better. Get it out of the house!

Tip Three:
For the candy that did not make the Ziploc cut have them combine it all into one large bag that is to be donated to the charity of your choice. For us we like to donate to the local homeless shelter. It is a great way to teach your kids that while they are lucky enough to be able to sport a nice, new, of their choice Halloween costume each year, there are kids out there that are not able to. This candy will bring happiness, even if temporary, to a child in need and make them feel like Halloween has not skipped them. It’s a win-win, and we should all take as many of those as we can get.

Tip Four:
Of course I let them go to town on their loot as soon as trick-or-treating is over, before any sandwich bags are broken out. However, it is under the guideline that I am 100% in charge of teeth brushing Halloween night. This is all but put into a signed contract before we even leave the house to start our run. There is no way I am trusting those sugared up little hands to do even half of a good job!

I hope these tips help your and your Halloween crew to enjoy the candy craziness this year. And remember, another great way to cut down on the sugar in your house is to eat it! You deserve it, moms! Afterall, you walked around the neighborhood, too!

Happy haunting!