I really like Halloween.  I like the weather getting colder, the dark spooky shadows, the colors of the leaves and being outside through much of it.  I also like the silliness of creative costumes and faux horror.  We live pretty deep in the woods, so we have no trick-or-treaters.  Actually, our house would be a great spot for a haunted house destination, starting with walking down the long dark road, but I don’t have that kind of energy any more.  So, our family has joined with another family for the past several years to trick-or-treat in their neighborhood.  We share dinner (usually pizza or something easy), parents then bring our dinner wine for our walk around the old spooky houses following our trick-or-treat kids.

I even love to indulge a little in the candy.  My favorite is a mounds bar, or something else dark chocolate.  What I don’t love about Halloween is the volume.  Candy is very cheap these days, so most houses pass out hands full.  The kids end up with pounds and pounds of candy.  There is no way to eat it all in a healthy way.

So here are my tips for getting though Halloween without extra pounds or newly sprouting cavities:

• Talk to your kids about it ahead of time.  Make a plan for having fun, eating some of your favorites, but not over doing it.void
• Feed them (everyone in the family) dinner before trick-or-treating.  Avoid allowing hunger to dictate what’s for dinner.
• Avoid hording.  Don’t allow candy to be squirreled away in the bedroom for really nasty night munching (without brushing) and beginning that bad habit of secret binging.   Really discourage the inventorying of candy also.  (I’ve seen it.)
• Create a share bowl.  Have all kids bring all candy to a common place for everyone to enjoy.  OK, I am aware that these last two bullets are REALLY hard for some kids/families.  No time like the present to start working toward these goals.
• Start siphoning off some of the candy throughout the week.   If you have a high traffic office or other outlet, you might take it there.  My office (not surprisingly) really frowns on everyone bringing in candy, that we will then get eaten by you and your co-workers.  It IS OK to throw away “perfectly good” candy.  The manufacturers make plenty of money selling us more than we need.  We are not under any obligation to eat it all.  THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF FOOD!