From birthday parties and Christmas, to Valentines Day to Halloween, there is sometimes just too many sweet treats to indulge in. Try these creative alternatives to eating all the candy.
The bags are emptied and the candy is checked. The children are out of costume and their make-up removed. Now, that great big bowl of candy is tempting the whole family. After all, just one couldn’t hurt, could it? But how often can we stop at just one? More importantly, how do you know that some candy monster won’t wake up in the middle of the night and have a feast, leaving their siblings (or parents) howling the next morning about where all the candy went? Oh what to do with all these sweet treats that we really don’t need to eat!
Make mom or dad the most popular parent at work. Each year a portion of the proceeds of the candy collection makes my daughter’s dad the most popular guy at work. A portion of the candy collected goes to work with him for his desk or the break room and all his employees and coworkers get a sweet treat of their own. Instant popularity! I guess politics in some cases doesn’t change much whether it’s on the playground or in the office. After all, he did the work of walking them door to door, so he should reap some reward!
Show some gratitude with attitude. After all, the next day begins our countdown towards the Thanksgiving holiday. Contribute towards programs like Halloween Buy Back where you can donate your candy to a local dentist, earn money and have your candy sent overseas to U.S. military stationed “in harm’s way.” You can also donate your candy directly to Operation Gratitude, Any Soldier, Operation Shoe Box, Ronald McDonald House, local food pantries, children’s wards in hospitals, and even places of worship.
Get cooking in the kitchen. Infuse your vodka with some of these sweet treats. Red Hots, Sours and Lemon Heads work best for this project. Use chocolate candies in milkshakes, smoothies, cookies, and cakes. Freeze a banana and roll it in minis or melt the chocolate down to dip fruits in. Drop a Hershey’s kiss in your morning coffee and skip the expensive Starbucks break.
Use the Switch Witch. Yes, children do tend to get upset when the candy that they worked so hard for disappears. So, why not send for the “Switch Witch?” The candy is left in a bucket outside each child’s door or maybe on the dining room table, just in case mom and dad need to get to it. The Switch Witch trades the bucket of candy for a gift. Toys at least don’t tempt parents to eat them, nor do they end up requiring an expensive visit to the doctor or dentist after eating too much.
Gift giving. Do you have a special person who has a special day coming up? Then why not create a candy bouquet or a movie night ticket? Baskets or boxes are perfect and with a little imagination and creativity you can make a candy bouquet simply by looking at some pictures on the Internet to get ideas. Or pick up a gift card so that your friend or family member can purchase their own movie and load up the gift box with some candy for them to enjoy too.
Eat it. Yes, I actually said “eat it.” The more you try to keep it away from the kids and yourself, the more that you will want it. Then you will end up going to the store, seeing all that candy at 75 percent off and end up buying more just to keep the peace. Set back a selection just for eating and treating.
Halloween isn’t the only time that you may encounter these sweet treat temptations. What about piñata’s at birthday parties, goody bags and don’t forget the other holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. Whenever there is an overload of sweet treats, spread the love — not your hips or your dental bill — with a few creative alternatives.
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