In my household Halloween is the biggest non-religious holiday of the year. We all love fall, pumpkins, the lights and freights, and of course feverously trying to finish the homemade costumes in the last few days (no store bought ones allowed here!). However, with all of this fun comes the problem of all the candy.
We do not allow our kids to eat Candy or other junk food (they are 3 and 4 what do they really NEED it for). After some arguing my wife convinced me to let them go trick or treating (I felt they were too young especially since they do not eat the candy and she felt I was ruing their childhood). So, like a large growing group of parents, we decided to do a form of the “Switch Witch.”
Don’t know what the Switch Witch is? (Also sometimes called the Halloween Fairy, Great Pumpkin, or Candy Fairy.) This is a great way to join in the festivities of Halloween without the mass sugar load. As you might guess the kids can trade in their candy in exchange for a gift. This was an excellent option in our house. The kids were very excited to get that new movie (Hotel Transylvania) instead of the candy they did not want.
The switching of candy can be done in many ways. Some leave it in a Halloween bowl or witch’s caldron and the fairy exchanges it at night. Others allow the kids to pick the item. If you allow your kids to eat the candy, they can choose a few pieces they like the most and trade the rest, with the more candy traded the better the gift.
The traded candy can then be given away, repurposed in many a Pinterest project, or you and the kids can do experiments on it. Experimenting on candy may seem strange but believe me it can be a lot of fun and the kids love it (and learn). There a few sources for the experiments below:
http://www.babble.com/home/science-over-sugar-halloween-candy-experiments-for-kids/
http://kidshealth.org/kid/closet/experiments/experiments_candy.html
http://www.science20.com/science_motherhood/top_10_scientific_uses_leftover_halloween_candy
So avoid the Cavity creating, hyperactive, blood sugar spiking chow down and find your own unique way to celebrate Halloween by trying the Switch Witch in your house!
Candy can also be donated to places like Ronald McDonald House and Operation Shoebox and Candy Buy Back.
