I hope you had a fun Halloween! Our started out a little rough when Leila woke up sick. She ended up sleeping most of the day, waking up to drink and eat small snacks. While she was on her third nap of the day, Joe and I snuck out to the pumpkin patch.
He had been looking forward to going since last year when he had braved the gigantic pumpkin slide in misty weather. Unfortunately, we didn’t know the rules about having to wear socks on giant slides. So while we waited for Nanna to run and get Joe a pair of socks (thank you Nanna!), we checked out the small petting zoo. The best part was watching Joe touch the pig and then jump out of his flip-flops as the pig whacked him with his tiny tail.
Finally, with a pair of oversized socks on his little feet, Joe made his way up the inflatable ladder. For a few seconds, he paused at the top and questioned his bravery. Then he took the plunge. After mastering the pumpkin slide, Joe took on the smaller slide and obstacle course.
We came home to our sweet girl who mustered up enough energy to go trick-or-treating for a little bit.
Joe was more than ready to go. He had told me for months that he wanted to be a pirate for Halloween. Then last month he changed his mind and decided to be Thomas again after finding last year’s costume in his closet.
We came home and enjoyed a few treats. I checked out the gluten-free candy list to see what I could indulge in. I don’t have a giant sweet tooth for most of the year, but on October 31st, someone better hand me a Butterfinger bar.
In case you were wondering, YES we do let our kids have candy on Halloween. They each pick out a few candies to eat. Then for the rest of the week, they get to pick out something from the candy dish as a dessert after dinner. After that, the candy is gone. While we like to celebrate Halloween, there is no reason to let the candy celebration stretch all the way until Christmas.
Does your family have “candy rules”? We had a conversation about the topic on Facebook, and I would love to hear your take. Leave a comment!
I hope your Halloween was boo-tiful!
Awww poor Leila… but glad she could participate (nothing gets in the way of a kid and her candy!).
I did see the conversation about the kids and letting them have candy on Halloween…Our Rules…we didn’t have any, Micah isn’t much of a candy eater, he just LOVES “collecting” it, so no rules…for this year at least! I do think that a huge part of the Holiday is CANDY, it’s part of the concept of the holiday that we have been tought since we learned what trick-or-treating means, so weather it’s 1, 2, 10 pieces of candy or whatever treat makes your kid happy, it’s worth the smile and joy. Not everyone hands out candy either, there are some pretty cool toys, and healthy things out there that people are giving too!
…not sure what we are going to do with the candy at this point.
This year we let our kids eat candy until 8pm. They are young enough, they don’t go overboard. Maybe three or four pieces each. Also, when they are done with a flavor, they tend to throw the rest of the sucker or whatever away instead of finishing it. I’m not about to discourage that behavior.
On November 1st, they each pick out a few pieces they really want (I cap it at 10) and then they trade the rest at a nickel a piece. The candy gets donated and the kids take their money to the store and buy toys.
Everyone wins!
The candy they pick I let them eat as they choose. We just brush really well twice a day until it’s gone. Usually by November 2nd. Then we don’t indulge in much sugar until Thanksgiving Day Pie. My side of the family struggles with weight, so we are trying to teach the kiddos that sweets are for special occasions, despite the fact that EVERY OTHER PERSON on the planet is trying to ruin that. Why, why why does the music teacher have to give out candy every single week? Seriously. Why? They’d be just as excited over stickers.
PS We also hand out glow sticks and pencils because I can’t say no to Halloween Candy so it’s better if it’s not in the house at all.
http://www.txkidskitchen.com/2011/10/trick-or-treating-sugar-attack.html
I blogged about this yesterday! Check it out. I say, we are fairly close to the same “rules”.