What to do about the kids and all that candy??

Ok, I am a lover of the halloween season!  I love getting the kids the costumes, I love when they get all excited about dressing up, I love to go house to house visiting neighbors and yes collecting the treats!  How could I not when my little people get so excited to do it.  I admit a lot of the joy is from remembering when my cousin and I would go around her neighborhood with all our friends,  It has left me with such great memories that of course I want my kids to experience all that fun as well! But oh boy is that ALOT of sugar! 
So here are a few suggestions that may help you and the kids this Halloween.

​Start New Halloween and Other Holiday Traditions
Now is the perfect time to start a brand-new holiday traditions. You have already started encouraging your kids to think about food differently, so keep going with your new, healthier lifestyle by changing how you do Halloween. For example, instead of trick-or-treating all night, you can go just to their friend’s houses or around just part of a block for a limited amount of candy, then spend the night carving pumpkins or watching Halloween movies. This keeps the fun of the night without being completely overwhelmed with candy.

Make Your Own Halloween Treats
You might not want to completely deny your kids treats for Halloween, but keep in mind there are many other alternatives. There are a lot of health-friendly recipes that allow you to make candy that your kids can have without all the sugar. It relies on nuts, pure cocoa without the added sugar, and a variety of other ingredients that make tasty sweets while still remaining on a healthy diet.

Allow Trick-or-Treating But Limit Candy Consumption
As I have said I do not prohibit trick-or-treating at all!  In my house this would cause a revolt of some kind, ending in screaming and tears and I am not just talking about the kids!! So If you stick with the regular traditions and still go all over town and collect tons of candy maybe think of other uses for it. You can put together goodie bags for homeless or women and children shelters. Take a bunch into the office with you to give to your other coworkers. Or the kids can create a fun Halloween-themed ‘gingerbread house’ but more of one that looks like a haunted house. I am sure you can think of some other ways to get rid of a lot of it but the point is getting all that candy doesn’t mean they have to eat it all.

Prepare Treat Bags Without Sweets
This one may help your neighbors more than you but you can also prepare treat bags, but only use limited sweets or health-friendly ones. Have your kids help you and explain why you are trying to use less candy in the bags.  You can fill it with stickers, little toys, games, and activities that are all centered on Halloween, without the non-healthy treats.  This may help your kids start to become aware of the dangers of too much sugar.  I am not sure it will stop them from eating all their collected treasures but it could plant a seed in their minds for the future.
I hope these simple tips are going to help you and your kids enjoy Halloween, without the belly aches that sometimes come with this candy coated holiday.