What To Do With the Halloween Loot….

 

Halloween is big in this community.  BIG.  So the kids come home exhausted, on a Halloween high, dump their trick or treat loot onto the floor, and you are appalled.  Your dental insurance will never cover this.  What’s a parent to do?

Look for options.  Obviously, you are going to do the safety-sort thing anyway.  Then give each kid a baggie, (you choose the size), tell them to pick out their favorites to fill it with, and when it’s full, they’re done.  Candy DOES usually freeze well, especially chocolate, so that’s an option.  Or putting it into a “family community bowl” in the TV room could work.

But if you’re looking for options to actually RID yourselves of the stuff, there are other alternatives. Many dentists take part in Halloween candy buy-back programs.  Check to find one by you at “HalloweenCandyBuyBack.”  Or consider a buy-back program of your own.  Have a few purchased toys or gift cards, or even dollar bills, on hand, and set up a system among yourselves.  (5 pieces of candy = $1, or one toy, etc.)

This is a great opportunity to teach your kids about charity and to think about others.  Have them make baggies (and definitely have them do the hands-on work for this to make it more meaningful) of candy to give to friends, relatives, elderly neighbors, or hospital patients, (check dietary restrictions, of course).  If you have any left-over, unopened bags of candy intended for trick-or-treaters, Cranford Family Care (61 Myrtle St, Cranford, (908) 276-3530), is always looking for donations for their food pantry, and that’s a great way to help out those in your community by bringing a sugary smile to their faces!  For that matter, consider sending some candy to Operation Shoe Box, an organization that accepts candy donations for our troops.