Do I:
- Ration the candy and only allow a few pieces a day after a well eaten plate of vegetables? (Pros: Decrease the sugar high/low crashes. Possibly make this candy stretch until Christmas. Cons: Increase the probability of whining, begging, and negotiating to get more candy. Possibly make this candy stretch until Christmas.)
- Let them go at it, eat as much as they possible can, and watch the candy completely disappear in a couple of days. (Pros: Candy is gone sooner which takes care of the dilemma. I get out of cooking AT ALL for the entire weekend - Who is going to eat a "real meal" when they could have a Twix sandwich? Cons: I have incredibly irritable, and possibly sick children all weekend. They could possibly accumulate so much candy that it lasts more than two days and this feeding frenzy carries into the school week.)
Just my opinion on "Trunk-or-Treat:" First of all, I completely understand the premise behind it (a safe place for kids to get candy), but I also don't like it. First of all, the kids don't have to do anything. With Trick-or-Treating, at least they have to walk around the neighborhood, make a social effort and knock on the door, and then act cute enough to hopefully score chocolate instead of Smarties. With Trunk-or-Treat, they only have to take a few steps. Plus, the same kids that go to the Ward-sponsored Trunk-or-Treat, invariably show up on my door for Trick-or-Treat. It's like double-dipping, and I have to purchase twice the amount of candy.
A couple more opinions: I do not give out candy to lazy teenagers that don't dress up, although I am more than happy to hand out yummies to anyone who makes an effort. It bugs me to no end when I see a car pull up in front of my house, a carload of people get out (that I have never met), 15-20 people swarm my doorstep, then they get back in the car and drive (actually drive) to my next door neighbors house all of 10 feet away. (p.s. I buy Smarties for those carloads.)
Now that I got all of that out of my system, I'm ready to put on my "happy face" and enjoy this holiday. Happy Halloween everyone!
16 comments:
Hilarious!! I totally agree with you...and just for the record I would vote number 2. I would rather have it gone. Sadly Tyler is a saver so this method does not work for me. But, that is what I would do! Good luck and Happy Halloween! We are banning trunk or treat this year too. We are taking Tyler trick or treating the old fashioned way! At least the walking tires the kids out and they go to sleep.
As kids we always had a formal trading auction with our candy... very fun...except I know that Matt took advantage of me on more than one occasion. haha
About number 2 . . . I had a friend do this - allowing their kids full rein of their loot. Yeah, they were all barfing up chocolate. And chocolate barf is the nastiest! So, I say ration. I also love the "tax" idea.
A friend of mine does this with her kids - they pick through their candy and pick what they like best and then the rest goes into the candy bowl (at home or at the trunk or treat) to hand out to the next unsuspecting trick/trunk or treater. That way they really are only keeping what they like (and hey, I love smarties!!) and the rest is being given out. I like that idea.
I say option 2. Let them eat it for a couple of days and then its gone. Just remove all the chocolate and keep it for yourself. lol.....
I say just let 'em go to town on the candy. That way, it'll be over before you know it!
I totally agree. Thus no "trunk or treak" at the
ward party. I think some were dissappointed, oh well. I think we need signs at the opening of each road that says "pedestians only" to get rid of the excessive amount of cars. Last year was counted that 340 kids came to our neighborhood. I also have candy bars for the ones I know and junk for the ones I don't. Wow, I didn't know I felt so strongly about it. Phew, I feel some much better. Thanks, Em
hahaha. totally. i just throw most of it away, they have no idea. and the rest, i offer a small toy instead of the candy. they usually choose the toy.
Combine options 1 and 2. Let them eat as much as they want on halloween night, then ration. And get rid of some of it so it doesn't last so long! And eat the chocolate. Get rid of the negotiating by making it available only at a certain time - like right after eating a good lunch. I'm such a mean mom, listen to me! =) Good luck!!!
"Write In" option- tell your kids Halloween is a pagan holiday that you will no longer be celebrating! Keep your kids home from school on dress up and candy days, and completely avoid Halloween activities. If they argue that their friends/ neighbors are LDS and THEY still get to celebrate Halloween, tell them your family is more righteous than theirs! Haha!
Hmmmm.....I don't know which one would be better. I guess I'm a terrible mother because I don't care if my kids overload on candy. It just means I don't have to fix dinner. I like Valerie's idea. Just throw out some of the crap candy or just hide it.
I hate Halloween. I'd rather just buy my kids a bag of candy. It would be so much cheaper and less of a hassle. I actually bought a big bag of the mini tootsie rolls this year for the van fulls of people that come in out neighborhood. (I have to say people and not kids because half of them are adults.) I'm getting very irritated with it. I bought some good candy for the kids in our neighborhood. Maybe if we all start giving out crap candy then they'll find another neighborhood to invade.... Ah, thanks Emily for letting me get that negativity off my chest.
I just had another idea- why doesn't our neighborhood start celebrating Halloween the night before and go trick or treating. Then on Halloween night we can just all turn out our lights and be "closed." :-)
I am suprised you even give smarties to the carloads-I say if you don't dress up and if i KNOW you are not from my neighborhood you don't get anything. I know, mean. BUT i feel much better about the candy thing when i give it to those who deserve it. ALSO, my neighborhood is relatively young so when the sophomores and juniors start coming around we just turn off the lights and don't answer the door.
Jackie, I love the day before idea. That would be so awesome!!
I agree about trunk or treat, though I do appreciate not having to walk around. But when they walk from house to house it takes longer, so they get less candy.
My vote would be to take all the candy and ration it, but secretly eat or throw away like half of it. Then it doesn't last so long AND they're not crazy off it! I know, it's kind of a mean mom thing to do. But will they really notice? ;)
This was such a fun post! I'd vote for number two. With a loving, helpful mom like yourself, the candy does not have to last until Christmas! Have at it, Emily! Carlo's uncle, the dentist, advises kids' parents to let them eat the candy all at once. A large dose of sugar and a good teeth brushing once or twice is better than prolonged sugar on your teeth day in and day out. I let my kids have at it...and so do I! Tell us what you decide.
Thanks for calling last night Emily! I am so glad that we got to vent about our neighborhood Halloween problem. We definitely need to do something different next year. I totally don't mind people from our ward coming, but that was what- like 3 people? Spence took the kids around this year and said there were a lot of houses with lights out. I think our kids are suffering now because of the "invasion." Not fair. I couldn't imagine going into some strange neighborhood trick or treating. (Not that we are strange...) So everyone be thinking of what to do next year. Maybe we could make "Neighborhood ID's" that the kids wear. And if you don't have one then you don't get candy. LOL (Can you tell I have strong feelings on this matter?)
I hate trunk or treating too. I've always thought it was lame.
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