I love Halloween. I love taking an idea and turning it into a costume. I love the groups of little kids dressed up and shouting “trick or treat” at the door. And of course… I love the candy.
When I was little — you may remember this, too — there were all sorts of candy scares around Halloween time. Urban legends (and real news stories) of people doing very hurtful things to candy, like inserting pins or razor blades. I remember carefully checking each and every wrapper for suspicious holes, and being forced to throw out home-made treats. It was a little bit of real fear to go along with the fun Halloween scares.
The other “danger” of Halloween is overeating. It’s probably safe to say I’m not the only one who has this problem. So how the heck do I resist dipping into that bowl of goodies for the trick-or-treaters? What am I going to do with the leftovers? This is my first Halloween in my new home; if I don’t get any kids at the door, I’m going to be left with a LOT of candy.
Here are some things I came up with to help me not overindulge in the Halloween candy.
- Buy a candy that isn’t your favorite. Cruel, right? But if I buy something like Three Musketeers (that I don’t like as much) instead of Butterfingers (my favorite) I won’t be tempted to pork out.
- Ration out a specific amount of treats for Halloween itself. My own personal pile of candy when I feel the need to nibble; the rest is off limits. This will take some self control, but I think knowing I have a pile JUST for me will help me stay out of the big bowl.
- Divide up the leftovers immediately. Stick them in the freezer so they’re out of sight.
- Share with my friends. I attend a weekly writing group and we have a community chocolate basket. My leftovers can go into the community basket so I won’t eat them all myself!