Halloween Week: Candy, Candy, Candy

Got a giggle from this recording of Jerry Seinfeld reading his book Halloween. 

So you get home from a fun night of trick or treating, your kids dragging their pillowcases full of candy behind them, and you think, "What on earth are we going to do with all this candy!?"

Should you set limits on how much candy your child eats? Only you can decide. As a child I hoarded my candy and paced myself much slower than my parents would have even limited me. But some kids will eat and eat and eat their candy until they are sick. You have to decide what works for you and your kids.

We've got some ideas for other things you can do with all that candy.

- Leave out the candy for the Candy Fairy. We shared this idea last year but we want to remind you about it again. Your kids can keep a smaller bag of their favorite candy and put the rest out on the porch for the Candy Fairy. The next morning they discover their candy has been exchanged for some new books to read and enjoy. We've seen several variations of this idea such as exchanging the candy for toys but of course we favor the book option! We think the best way to implement this is to let your child have the choice whether or not they want to participate so it remains fun for everyone.

- Do some quick math activites. Your kids don't even need to know they're learning while they do it. As a kid I always sorted my candy into groups to see what I had. You could also make a graph about their candy haul.

- Put it away for gingerbread house decorating in December.

- Use it in your holiday baking. (Snickers cookies, anyone?)

- Freeze it and/or use it in the kitchen in lots of ways.

- Use it in a November calendar. 

- Use it for science experiments.

- Put it in a pinata for an upcoming birthday.

-Sell it to a dentist to be donated to troops and children in Iraq and Afghanistan. More information on finding a participating dentist here.

And perhaps our favorite idea is the one shared by Stephmodo. Basically, her kids had the option to trade in 5 pieces of candy for coupons to the family store. Some examples: hike with Dad, stay up 30 minutes past bedtime, mom/dad cleans your room, popcorn + movie with mom. What a great idea!

We hope this has given you some ideas for dealing with the mountain of candy sitting around your house after this weekend!