10 ways to handle Halloween candy

Is there a statute of limitations on spoilers? Maybe not, so I’ll cryptically tell you that the end of a certain ’80s horror movie—one that involved a day of the week, an unlucky number, a lake, a canoe, and a hand reaching out of the water—scared me so much that my contact lens popped out and flew across the room.

I don’t seek out horror movies anymore. And I could add that I’m not a huge Halloween person, someone who loves planning my costume or decking out my house on October 1. But I do totally get the appeal for kids and can’t help but catch their enthusiasm by the time October 31 rolls around.

I know part of what kids love so much about Halloween is the candy. When mine were really little, I could fill a little bag full of maple buckwheat cereal and they were totally psyched, but we’ve moved beyond that. I like to have strategies on hand to add in some balance to the day without taking away any of my kids’ fun—and the special treat of Halloween indulgence. Here are some ideas: 

1. Add in extra movement

Plan some extra physical activity on the days leading up to Halloween. This doesn’t need to be extreme—just think about whether kids could walk or bike to school, and increase their opportunity for outdoor playtime.

2. Serve a hearty dinner

Depending on the age of your child, they’re about to spend a couple hours traipsing around the neighbourhood. Fuel their growing bodies with a healthy, hearty dinner.

3. Focus on vitamins

Consuming a lot of sugar can increase inflammation, which can lead to a weakened immune response. In the days leading up to Halloween, and on the day itself, make sure your child is eating fruits and vegetables (as we typically do!). You may wish to offer them some additional vitamin C through the form of tablets too.

4. Get moving for a few minutes before you head out

There’s often a bit of a gap between dinner and sundown, when everyone is dressed up and ready to go but waiting for it to get dark. Capitalize on that time by adapting a couple of these activities to make them Halloween-friendly. For example, if your child is dressed up as werewolf, turn the bear crawl into the werewolf crawl.

5. Play or dance at home after trick-or-treating

For the littlest trick or treaters, make a quick visit to a few trusted neighbours and then come home and play musical pumpkins or monster freeze dance to keep the Halloween fun going and your wee ones moving.

6. Trade treats for a toy

Give your kids the option of trading in their treats for an active toy. Consider allowing them to keep some of their treats—decide the number in advance.

7. Promote balance

Try to teach your kids a healthy perspective on food. Don’t label candy (or any food!) as “good” or “bad”—we want our kids to grow up with a healthy relationship with food and their bodies, and moralizing certain types of food can work against that goal. There’s some nuance to this, and you can learn more here.

8. Choose an active costume

Help kids plan costumes that lend themselves to being active. For example, though it was super cool at the time, my Rubik’s Cube costume slowed me down a lot come the big night. Here are some great ideas for active costumes.

9. Sort or budget

Parents have come up with all kinds of neat ways to handle the candy onslaught on Halloween. You might want to use it as an opportunity to talk to kids about budgeting: If they want to have candy into December, eating fewer treats a day will help them stretch it out. (Though you may not want that as their parent!) This mom has her kids separate it into four piles: kids’ favourites, parents’ favourites, chocolate to be used for baking, and candy to be used for December gingerbread houses.

10. Stay safe

Please remember to keep everyone safe on Halloween night! Check out these suggestions from the Canadian government.

Add any of your ideas or ideas to the list by commenting below!

Editor’s note: This article was published on Oct. 24, 2015.