Candy strategy

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

We have no strategy. They eat some that night, then some at other times.

[TripletDaddy]

We have no strategy. They eat some that night, then some at other times.

Sorry. that is a strategy.

[jxncoog]

My BIL tried this with just candy in general. They gave their first kid no candy until she was 3, then they gave her a big bag and said have as much as you want. They hoped that she would just eat herself sick and never want candy again. She proceded to eat it all and then ask for more.
We just let our kids have their buckets to eat as much as they want with some caution about ruining dinner etc...Of course there is always a parent tax.

[falafel]

My BIL tried this with just candy in general. They gave their first kid no candy until she was 3, then they gave her a big bag and said have as much as you want. They hoped that she would just eat herself sick and never want candy again. She proceded to eat it all and then ask for more.
We just let our kids have their buckets to eat as much as they want with some caution about ruining dinner etc...Of course there is always a parent tax.

I guess they didn't give her a big enough bag.

[jxncoog]

yeah, one of those moments when we tried to tell them it would never work...She's 8 now and easily has the worst 'candy tooth' of all the grandkids.

[UteStar]

How do you manage your kids' loot? Do you let them just go hog wild? Keep it in their room and let them eat all they want whenever they want?

Typically we let them eat all they want on the night of the event and then confiscate the candy and allow them to pick a piece to eat at each meal for the next few days until they forget about it and there is nothing really good left. Then we toss it out. I'm curious how other parents handle it.

Lets face it, there is a lot of candy they like...but there is a lot of candy they do not like at all. We take off all of the wrappers, put all the candy in a blender and then blend it all together. Then we cut it into pieces, put each one in a new wrapper, put it in the freezer to get it to all stick together. Pass it out to the kids...we don't have to waste and throw away any candy because it has been mixed with the great candy.

You haven't lived life until you have had a mixture of Twix/starburst/sourpatch kids/popcorn/lolipops/tootsie roll/snickers/AirHead/jellybean/candycorn/hershes's kisses...it is a tasty treat.

[Hallelujah]

A lady in my ward dumps all of the candy in the middle of the room and gives her kids one hour to eat as much as they can. She said they always go overboard and end up sick puking their guts out. Then she throws the rest away and the kids want no part of any more candy.

Great idea. We'll have to give it a try.

[Hallelujah]

Halle, you are too old to be trick-or-treating.

I don't. I send the kids with the wife and then I just hijack the other little kids in the neighborhood and steal their candy. Much more efficient. I think I learned that from trick or treaters in LA.

[JohnnyLingo]

Lets face it, there is a lot of candy they like...but there is a lot of candy they do not like at all. We take off all of the wrappers, put all the candy in a blender and then blend it all together. Then we cut it into pieces, put each one in a new wrapper, put it in the freezer to get it to all stick together. Pass it out to the kids...we don't have to waste and throw away any candy because it has been mixed with the great candy.

You haven't lived life until you have had a mixture of Twix/starburst/sourpatch kids/popcorn/lolipops/tootsie roll/snickers/AirHead/jellybean/candycorn/hershes's kisses...it is a tasty treat.

I am trying this. It sounds awesome.

[Lost Student]

Last Halloween was the first since my daughter was diagnosed with diabetes. We let her do the trunk-or-treat thing and have the fun of gathering up all the candy, and then the next day took her to the toy store and let her pick out anything she wanted. She was only two and hadn't really experienced candy all that much so she wasn't bummed to lose her whole haul. (And to those parents who talk about taxing some of their kids' candy, who do you think ate the traded candy?)

Halloween was probably the most difficult holiday for us because we project our feelings of loss of some sort onto our daughter. I mean, the holiday is centered around candy (especially for kids), which for the most part, is forbidden for her.

Now that she is a year older, she knows that she likes candy a lot more, and I worry how this year will go down. We've planned a little more: after trick-or-treating has concluded, we will deposit all candy by the back door. The next morning, the "Halloween Witch" will have taken the candy and dropped off some new books or small toys. We will be doing this trade with our other daughter as well (who does not have diabetes) so no one feels left out.

Needless to say (but I still will), I will have a good stash of candy for the next few months in my desk at work.

[PaloAltoCougar]

With five kids out of the nest and our youngest finishing up HS this year, I thought this thread, while interesting, had no relevance to me. But Mini-Me strolled in late last night dragging a sack that looked like Santa's at the start of his rounds, albeit filled with sugary goodness rather than Chinese-made toys. We had imposed a moratorium on our kids going door-to-door when they hit Junior High, but apparently our youngest didn't get the memo.

One of the houses he hit was John Madden's. The coach and his wife live a few hundred yards from us and they were dispensing half-pound candy bars (seriously, eight ounces) to any and all who dropped by. In the spirit of the current political climate, this year's Halloween tax will be a very weighty one.

[marsupial]

Last Halloween was the first since my daughter was diagnosed with diabetes. We let her do the trunk-or-treat thing and have the fun of gathering up all the candy, and then the next day took her to the toy store and let her pick out anything she wanted. She was only two and hadn't really experienced candy all that much so she wasn't bummed to lose her whole haul. (And to those parents who talk about taxing some of their kids' candy, who do you think ate the traded candy?)

Halloween was probably the most difficult holiday for us because we project our feelings of loss of some sort onto our daughter. I mean, the holiday is centered around candy (especially for kids), which for the most part, is forbidden for her.

Now that she is a year older, she knows that she likes candy a lot more, and I worry how this year will go down. We've planned a little more: after trick-or-treating has concluded, we will deposit all candy by the back door. The next morning, the "Halloween Witch" will have taken the candy and dropped off some new books or small toys. We will be doing this trade with our other daughter as well (who does not have diabetes) so no one feels left out.

Needless to say (but I still will), I will have a good stash of candy for the next few months in my desk at work.

I like the Halloween witch idea. I may try that next year even though my kids aren't diabetic.

My SIL is diabetic, I know it was really hard on her growing up not being able to eat all the things her friends could. I think it made her want them even more.

[TripletDaddy]

I like the Halloween witch idea. I may try that next year even though my kids aren't diabetic.

My SIL is diabetic, I know it was really hard on her growing up not being able to eat all the things her friends could. I think it made her want them even more.

we do something similar. it is a big hit. as much as kids like candy, they like toys more.

we let the kids pick out maybe 10 pieces of candy to keep and then we have them offer up the rest as sacrifice. the only difference is that we don't eat it. Work gets over-saturated with candy this week, so we actually wind up throwing a lot of it away. It is a w.a.s.t.e., I know, but I just don't want pounds of candy sitting around the house. No good will come of it.

[Tick's wife]

we have a huge cookie jar that houses all the candy that comes in through out the year. Candy can last up to a year in our house. One year, we didn't buy any because my MIL lived with us and had enough 'stashed' candy to give away. I think I gave some Valentine suckers away last night....Oh and don't forget the Mary Kay business cards taped to the candy....lol

[PaloAltoCougar]

Anybody's kids receive anything really weird? Here's a shot of my daughter's kids exulting over their haul. Pretty standard swag, right?


However, upon closer inspection, their loot included a parachute man, an eraser, some EASTER candy, an eyeball, and... wire cutters, or perhaps the kind of industrial-strength nail cutters podiatrists employ. How that got into the bag remains a mystery. No razor blades, though, so we're good.