After 3 Halloween parties, a ward trunk-or-treat, and a big night of trick-or-treating my house and my kids are in Candy Overload. Rather than watch my kids gorge themselves on junk food all week, I opted to try something new this year. We're calling it our post-Halloween Sweets Swap.
I spent $10 at Target and purchased a few small toys that I know my kids would like. I also made up a few coupons like "Trip to the McDonalds play land", "Get out of chores pass", and "Mom makes my bed". Each item has a candy price. For example, the 'Get out of chores' coupon is 30 candy pieces, the Matchbox car is 20. When the kids get home from school today, I'll set out the store and have them swap their junk food for more tummy-friendly alternatives. This way, they only hang on to the candy they really love and I get to save myself from a week of spoiled suppers and crumpled candy wrappers. It's a win-win. Just thought I'd pass it on.
I wish I could remember where I read/heard the original version of this swap. I know it came from somewhere but I can't seem to place it. Whoever you are, thanks for the bright idea!
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4 comments:
Fabulous idea! We had a preschool party along that left my 4 y.o. with TWO BAGS of treats! And that was before the trunk-or-treat! Thanks again for the great tips! And what will you do with all the candy?
So how did the store go? Was it a success? I'd love to know.
Love ya,
Mindy
I like your idea! I had the same problem a few years ago. We came up with another idea--we decided to hold a gingerbread house party during Thanksgiving weekend using their Halloween candy as the decorations for the houses.
The day after Halloween my kids pick a few treats to keep & they freeze the rest. Just before Thanksgiving, I let them pick 5 friends (just enough to fit around my table) to invite to the gingerbread house party. We make invitations & ask each child to bring a specific candy (like Necco's for the roof, mini candy canes, gumdrops, etc.).
We also hold a cousin gingerbread party which is a lot of fun! (Parents & grandparents attend too.)
My kids love the parties & don't mind saving the candy when they have something fun to look forward to. (Best of all, the candy rarely is eaten off the gingerbread houses. I let my kids take a picture and then throw the house in the garbage just after Christmas).
My 12-year-old daughter thinks she is too old for this now. Luckily, her orthodontist offered to purchase Halloween candy for $2 a pound. She had an appointment on November 1st & sold it all!
The swap was a big hit with my kids. They went straight for the toys. They lightened their candy load by about 40 pieces each.
I sorted through the trade-ins and pitched anything that wasn't appetizing. I put all the choclate in a ziploc bag and hid it in the freezer. It just seems wrong to throw away chocolate. :)
Thanks for your post about the gingerbread tradition. I thought that was a great idea. We'll be trying that this year too. Thanks for posting it.
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