Five Ways to Use All That Halloween Candy
Update: I've added seven more ways to use all that candy, plus an opportunity for you to offer your own treat tricks, in the article Twelve Ways to Use All That Halloween Candy. Check out the ideas for candy crafts, sweet science experiments, and goodie giving.
When all the treats are treated and the tricks are tricked, and your little goblins are home again with their bags of booty, the really scary part of Halloween begins: Figuring out what to do with all that high-calorie, high-sugar, hyper-loading sweet stuff.
If your child's on a restricted diet, he may not be able to eat any of it, or will need it doled out in tiny portions. The same may be true if your child gets hopped up on sugar, or needs to avoid long sessions in the dentist's chair.
Rather than empty the bags into the trash when the kids aren't looking (or scarfing it all up yourself, as is my tendency), think about using those highly motivating but highly problematic goodies in a way that can make both you and your child happy. Here are five for starters:
- Buy the candy from your child. Set a price list for different types of sweet, and have your child practice sorting, adding, and cashing in. Give actual money, if your child's saving up, or tokens good for iPod tunes or TV time.
- Let your child use candy for barter. If your child balks at turning over all that candy, let her keep it -- but make it clear she can trade it in at any time, piece by piece, for skipped chores, special privileges, and other highly desirable items. You can even make up a poster listing exchange rates.
- Add a sweet reward to your behavior program. Rather than taking candy away for bad behavior, consider giving sugary points for work done and goals met, to be cashed in for candy snacks. Or turn over a favorite treat spontaneously when you catch your kid being good.
- Use the mighty morsels as homework motivators. Break open a little bag or box of small candies when your child sits down to work, and give one for each line completed or each problem solved. Provide a bonus for neat work or independent endeavor.
- Play hide and go eat. Stash those little candy bars and make a game of it with your child, giving clues and stretching language skills as you get your little detective searching for sweets, playing Twenty Questions or doing physical challenges to get clues.
When I was a girl, it was just part of the routine that Mom would go over the candy first, to make sure it was safe. There were always the horror stories of nasty things put into the candy, after all. Being a hoarder, it was easy to stretch my candy to last months and months.
We got some candy for ourselves, about two weeks ago, and let the kids have some too. My son was particularly excited about it at first, and wanted some 3 times for the first few days (always after eating ‘real food’), but then it tapered off. I think it helped – he’s got a big bowl of candy just sitting here, and he had about a half dozen pieces last night. I know that sounds like lots, but we always end up throwing some out eventually because the drive for sweets isn’t all that high.
My daughter hasn’t learned yet, but she’s only 2. She will – I hope!
p.s. Kudos for everyone who’s finding peanut-free candies! I’m the only one in the house who can eat peanut, and my portion of the loot is getting smaller and smaller every year! I’ll miss it, but it’s so good to know that the message is getting through.
Thanks for the post & ideas.
Our son kind of forgets the candy after awhile. In fact, we had a half-Darth-Vader head full of last year’s candy to toss away this Halloween night (oops & gross).
Our daughter, Hannah, hasn’t found any candy yet she likes (maybe butterscotch), so she’s her own boss in that dept..
So far, so good, but we’ll see what the dentist says when my son has his first appt this month
This is the first time the boys have had a big bunch of sweets. I was wondering what to do with it all. apart from file it…….in the trash
So far they’ve been dipping in each day but it send them wild and inturn their mother. So lets see how long that lasts…. Thanks for the ideas though one to bookmark.
This post was shared with the Carnival of Family Life- bonfire edition.
Great ideas!
I’m late getting around to visit all of the Carnival participants. (Crazy week . . . only excuse!)
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