tricks for Getting Rid of Those treats By Lara Krupicka
If you're like me, Halloween goes like this: Wrangle kids into costumes. Take pictures. Tag along while kids run from house to house, collecting candy. Occasionally fix costumes and hold heavy candy bags. Watch kids sort candy, count candy, eat candy. Wait for kids to fall asleep late, postsugar rush. Sneak candy from kids' bags. It’s fun and exhausting, like any good celebration. And like many good celebrations, it leaves behind cleanup work – only in this case, the cleanup issue in question is how to dispose of all that candy. If you've scratched your head over this dilemma before, I have a few solutions for you:
LET THEM EAT Do you ever wonder why we let our children collect so many sweets if we have no intention of having them eat it all? After all, they do work hard (run around the neighborhood in clumsy getups) to get it. They "deserve" to enjoy some of it. But how much and when can vary widely depending on your view of sugary diets. Our house follows a closed cabinet policy. Our children know to ask before grabbing a snack. So when it comes to Halloween candy we typically say, "one piece." The Halloween haul takes a long time to disappear, but we know they're not ruining their teeth or their health. You may dole out your candy piecemeal this way or attach a healthy-eating rule such as requiring your children to eat a piece of fruit before having any candy. Lunchtime provides another opportunity to whittle down your stockpile of treats. Let your child select a candy to pack in their lunch bag in place of a cookie or dessert. Or you can create a candy countdown for an upcoming event, like a holiday, a special visitor or vacation. Make paper links of construction paper cut into ½-inch wide by 3-inch long strips – one for each day of the countdown. Glue each strip into a loop, linking each successive loop into the one ahead before gluing. Tape or glue a piece 14 | birminghamparent | october 2014
of candy to each strip. Hang from the wall or ceiling. For the countdown, simply have your child tear off one loop with candy each day until the awaited day arrives.
GIVE IT AWAY There's no reason to pitch good candy, particularly when there are those who'd love to receive a special treat. After you've sorted through your children's stash to remove any broken or unwrapped pieces (and left a few for your kids), you can package them up to give away. To donate close to home, ask if your local food pantry takes candy. The families who patronize pantries welcome sweets as much as our own kids do. Or if you'd like to support our military, they also welcome donations of candy for care packages. Operation Gratitude and Operation Shoebox are two of the larger non-profit organizations accepting donations of candy. Donations to Operation Gratitude can be sent to: Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard 17330 Victory Boulevard, Van Nuys, CA 91406 Attn: Rich Hernandez Donations to Operation Shoebox can be sent to: Operation Shoebox, PO Box 1465, Belleview, FL 34420