After Halloween I dread, for days, the explanations, whining and persistent asking of “Pleeeeeeeassssse can I have a piece of my Halloween candy?”
As a whole, we have discussions about moderation and that sweets are okay as long as we eat them here and there, balanced with other healthy things throughout the day. They might get a sweetened organic milk box after school or an organic “chocolate” snack bar that is made for kids and really carob, not even chocolate. I know what there are eating for lunch and they come home and snack on apples, carrots, bananas, popcorn, cheese and such. So I say what’s the big deal, go for it.
But when it comes to the artificial, bad tasting stuff that lands in trick-or-treat buckets. I say it’s really not worth my efforts based on how we discuss sweets. I have a philosophy if I’m going to eat something fattening, sugary and treat-like, it better be darn good and worth the calories.
In the past we have made homemade cookies the day after Halloween and they are good with that, as a treat instead of candy. Then eventually I just tell them the candy “has gone bad” and it disappears.
Today was piano lesson day for my oldest daughter and Panera for dinner always follows. While eating I threw out the offer to take them next door for ice cream if they agreed to give me their bags of candy when we got home. That didn’t go over so well, to put it mildly.
However it turns out the cool thing at their school is to give the candy over to the “candy fairy,” who in return leaves them presents. Then they started bargaining.
In the end, the deal they worked out was ice cream, three of their favorite pieces of candy saved for later and a visit from the candy fairy. It was a done deal.
I’ve tried the candy fairy offer before and no one took me up on it. So this caught me off guard and unprepared. Making something was really out of the question since they would have recognized that the materials came from home. The pressure is on to leave something good, so they’ll want the candy fairy to come back next year.
I asked if the candy fairy ever brings money and they said no way! So after they were asleep I scrambled off to Walgreens.
Each of the girls are getting new headbands, hair clips, organic lip gloss/chap stick, toothbrushes with fun suction bottoms, plus a new collective stash of colored pencils, crayons and markers.
I sure hope the candy fairy is invited back!
