Lots of Leftovers
Halloween is officially a sugar-covered blur of a memory, so what are we supposed to do with all this darn leftover candy? For some of us, the trick-or-treaters and the candy loving grown ups, the answer is easy, we eat it. For lots of parents though, eating all those gummy whatnots, chewy caramel thingies and chocolate covered goodies is not an option for their kids. And I’ll admit, if I wanted to go the responsible route and didn’t love candy so much I would be inclined to agree that clean and cavity free teeth are much more important than making sure none of the candy goes to waste.
If you’re looking for some creative ways to confiscate some of that Halloween candy from your kids without sneaking and stealing or having to endure any temper tantrums check out these simple ideas:
• Buy it back. Offer a nickel apiece for candies your children are willing to sell you. After they make a pile of what they don’t want, tell them you’ll give them a dime per candy if you get to make the selection. Look for the chewy, sticky stuff that’s hard to brush off teeth.
• Recycle it. Wrapped candy has a long shelf life. Surely there is a children’s birthday party in your future. Save that leftover Halloween candy for goody bags and pinatas. Or squirrel away a few pieces for the next time you need a last-resort bribe.
• Appropriate the chocolate. Hershey’s Special Dark and Dove bars are wasted on anyone under age 12. Beg or, as a last resort, steal (that is, quietly confiscate) the choicest chocolates from your children’s haul, and save them for yourself.
• Ration and discard. Let kids pick out a few candies each day. After this weekend, many will have forgotten about their loot. Dump whatever’s left.
Have any other creative ways to get the kids to let go of some of their candy? Drop us a note, we’d love to hear your ideas and pass them along to the rest of our readers.
Tips from: Associated Press
