There is no end-point to the “Chocolate Holidays” like Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter… the holiday comes and goes and two weeks later, you notice that your kids are still nibbling away on the leftover piles of candy!
Rather than hysterically grabbing chocolate bunnies from their little hands (or eating it all yourself), here are some practical ways to deal with leftovers from the Chocolate Holidays:
- Give it away – Many groups accept candy donations to include in overseas military care packages. So ask around to see if someone does this in your community. Alternatively, become one of those people you secretly curse (the one who brings bowls of candy to the office for everyone else to indulge!)
- Hide it and set limits – If you have a toddler, you might be able to put the candy away immediately and they will forget it existed. Preschool- or school-aged kids are not likely to forget about it. They will probably ask you several times a day if they can have just one more lollipop. But set the expectation that the leftover candy is not available for a free-for-all. Give them warning that on a certain day, you will put the candy away in the “treat” cupboard. From then on, pick a day of the week that you are ok with them having a couple of pieces from their stash (for example, a family movie night). Just make sure you don’t offer it as a reward for an achievement.
- Throw it out and replace it with a non-food treat – You’d be surprised how many children are willing to get rid of all (or most) of their candy in exchange for a coveted toy. A new Lego set, an outing to the movies, or a new book are good options. In exchange for the surprise, you take the candy and throw it out. (Make sure the treats actually make it to the garbage – you want them away from the temptation of everyone in your household!)
The Chocolate Holidays can quickly become overwhelming when you see how many sweets accumulate and never seem to go away. Come up with a game plan to get the candy out of the house before it sneaks its way into everyone’s daily diet!
We hope these tips help you, and if they do, we’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!