Trick or Treat

Halloween is just around the corner.  We try to eat healthy (obviously - given the nature of this blog) and not let Halloween derail the healthy habits we work so hard to foster.  Halloween is NOT the beginning of holiday eating.

Here is how we manage a cavity-free Halloween:

1)  Make the focus on dressing up.  The kids love choosing  their costumes and picking out the finishing touches.  This year Hannah is going to be Cinderella and Ben is going to be Elmo.  Hannah made sure to point out that Cinderella does not wear a tiara, she wears a blue satin headband and matching choker necklace.

2)  Limit trick or treating to one event.  In my town there are many many opportunities for trick or treating.  Just about all the shopping centers, malls, and even zoo have trick or treat hours that are not on Halloween.   We only go trick or treating once, around the neighborhood on Halloween.

3) Eat most of the Halloween candy on Halloween night.  I know, this probably sounds crazy.  Normally I would not condone eating large amounts of sugar but it is Halloween.  I have read that it is better for your teeth to eat a heavy dose of sugar once (and then brush well) than to be constantly snacking on sugar.  My kids are allowed to eat as much candy as they want when they come home from trick or treating.  They are usually so overwhelmed that they only eat about 5 pieces.

4)  Get rid of the candy that isn't an absolute favorite.  There is no need to eat candy that you don't like just because it was free.  The neighbors will never know you threw it away.

5)  Switch Witch!!  Every year on Halloween we have a special visitor - the Switch Witch.  The Switch Witch is kind of like the Halloween version of Santa Claus.  Instead of leaving milk and cookies we leave the majority of the Halloween candy.  The kids each pick 10 pieces to keep and the rest is left on the table.  In the morning the candy is gone and a gift is left in it's place.  My kids typically only get new toys on their birthday and Christmas so this is very exciting to them. 

How do you handle Halloween in your house?  Do you place limits on the amount of candy allowed to be eaten at once?  Do you pass out anything other than candy?