5 Ways To Rid Yourself Of Halloween Candy

When I was little, I LOVED Halloween. Dressing up in fun costumes {I was Barbie…a lot}, carving pumpkins and Trick-or-Treating.  I never really ate much of my candy.  Instead, I just sorted it into appropriate piles, counting how many Slo Pokes and 100 Grand bars I had. Often most of my candy would just end up being forgotten behind the dust bunnies on top of the refrigerator.

It’s a gazillion years later, and now my kiddos are on the Trick-or-Treating express. Excited and waiting for each little piece of sweet goodness to kerplunk into their pumpkin buckets.

We create memories by dressing up and visiting our neighbors.  I encourage the “trick or treat” and “thank yous” and giggle along with them all while cringing at the sickening sweet globs of candy. My head swirls as I imagine sugar bugs crawling on the children’s teeth and our dentist bills going up, up, up with each sweetly-loaded mouthful.

So, I have found some creative ways to rid ourselves of this Halloween nemesis:

SAMSUNG1. After the kids are in bed sort their candy.

I immediately pull out their their favorites {DOTS and Tootsie Rolls} to keep and I eradicate Pixie Stix and hard candies. Then the hubs, a candy lover, picks out a couple Laffy Taffy and whatever he’s in the mood for. 

2. Bribe them with money.

I tell the kiddos the bank is open and I’ll exchange their candy for some coin. The current exchange rate is now a penny a piece, and we have loads of loose change, so this works well. Plus, it’s a great lesson on money.

3. Put a piece in your kids lunch.

A piece or two never hurt anyone, so I’m fine with putting a small box of DOTS in his lunch box once in a while.

4. Bake cookies with it.

Anything with chocolate has been used to make cookies. I just whip up a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and then throw in whatever chocolatey goodness I have lying around. Reese Peanut Butter Cups are a HUGE hit.

5. Hide it and save it for Christmas stockings.

Yep, seriously, the life expectancy of a piece of candy is almost equal to a Twinkie so I think the kids are safe. Plus, it’s a great stocking filler and saves us money. It’s a win, win.

Well, there are some ideas for how to beat the Halloween candy overload. What are yours?

Brook
Brook {without the "e"} is a spunky faux redhead and former UI grad who has decided to call Iowa City her home for over 10 years. She met her husband on the internet, and they spend their days playing superheroes with their two boys, Edison (2007) and Grant (2010). She juggles mom life with a full-time job as a marketing consultant, competing in triathlons and writing her heart out on her personal blog www.redheadreverie.com. She believes life is a journey, not a destination.

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