We went to our town's annual Halloween parade tonight and had a blast. The parade made me (finally!) realize that Halloween is just a few days away. I have not purchased a pumpkin to carve. I have not come up with a dog costume for Shadow, even though I promised Molly I would. Most importantly, I have not finished eating the kids Halloween candy from last year.
I tried, really I did.
But as the kids have gotten older, their ability to stay out later and hit more houses for trick or treating has meant a huge increase in candy. They weighed their bulging pillowcases last year, and Jake had 11 lbs and Molly had 5.
I thought eating 16 pounds of candy was in my realm of expertise, and I tackled it at a steady clip. Unfortunately, March-May I forgot about it completely, and I never really got my groove back. Valentine's Day and Easter also threw me for a loop. So here we are, less than a week away from the big day, and I'm not just not ready for the big re-supply.
If you are wondering if the kids know about my habit, which usually takes place when I sneak in their rooms late at night, I would have said no, but tonight on the way home from the parade I heard them talking to our neighbor in the back seat:
Jake: "I only eat about 2 pieces of Halloween candy a year. I leave the rest in my closet."
Neighbor: "Really?"
Molly: "Yeah, me too."
Neighbor: "Then what happens to it?"
Molly: "My mom eats it."
Jake: Head nod
So, with only four days remaining, I have an idea. I am seriously considering handing out last year's candy this year. Sure all the Kit Kats, Twizzlers and Snickers are gone, but there's still a decent variety.
Cheap and resourceful? Or just plain icky?
you could definitely choose to be cheap and resourceful ... and just retreat it.
ReplyDeleteyou know ... like after you've gone through all your candy and you have a few extra groups of kids show up just as you were about to turn the light off to indicate that the candy store is now closed?
i never have, though ... i'm just sayin.
Go for it. Haven't you heard of preservatives?
ReplyDeleteI've actually handed out candy from Carlie's bag later in the evening on Halloween when we've run out. WARNING: if you are going to do this, don't let your kid see. I found out that our new dentist has a Halloween candy buy back policy - he pays $1 per pound and ships the candy to Iraq. Score.
ReplyDeleteResourceful, dude. But I never heard of kids who keep their candy in their bedroom closet...did I read that right? You are the best mom, ever. I force my kids to keep the candy in the kitchen, otherwise it would be gone in 3 days.
ReplyDeleteI have to know - really?! Did any chocolate make it a year? Did it get stale? And how in the world did he haul 11 pounds around? Did he come home to drop off loads and then go back out.
ReplyDeleteBut if the candy's still good, I say use it! hehe!
When my kids were younger, they used to get TONS of candy from preschool/school/church in the week before Halloween. They were always willing to turn in whatever they didnt really like... so we could fill up our bucket and re-treat it on the night of the big event. It was a better deal than any coupons!!
ReplyDeleteAnd when they got home with their candy, I would joke.... eat the ones with the orange and black wrappers first... we can use the rest for Christmas goodies. A few years I was able to donate to their teachers and still have plenty left for their Christmas holiday parties.
These days I have to buy my own candy. It's hard to get a single bite in middle school and high school.
They keep it in their ROOMS? If we did that, my kids would be puking their guts out every night. Did yours get all the self-restraint?
ReplyDeleteThere is still a large solid chocolate rabbit in the pantry that my youngest son got for Easter that he has clearly forgotten about. There's a good chance that I'll be carving that thing up Friday night and handing out pieces of it to the trick or treaters just so I can finally get it out of my house!
ReplyDeleteResourceful. Kablooey's right - with all the preservatives, that stuff probably would still be edible in five years.
ReplyDeleteWe've got a local dentist that buys back too, but my brother-in-law who's been deployed to the middle east several times warned me that those programs just create more problems for the kids over there who have no dental care at all.
ReplyDeleteI usually melt our chocolate bunnies down to make chocolate fondue at Easter, but Halloween Candy usually gets eaten by me. I never thought about donating it to teachers for treats. I may try that this year...
Hilarious post - and if I were you I'd totally redistribute it!
ReplyDeleteSooo funny! Yes----I would do it!!
ReplyDeleteAnd we always have old candy around the house----left from birthday parties, Halloween, Christmas, Easter---whatever....
I vote resourceful, but only because I'm doing the same thing. I bought a big bag of Reese's to pass out and then realized that, hey, I still have all the dum-dums and smarties and crap candy from last year. So I just put the Reese's in the crap candy drawer and put the crap candy in the Halloween bowl. Genius!
ReplyDeleteYou ARE weird! But I like the way you think!
ReplyDeleteSo, what did you do???
my dad used to try and steal mine. I caught him and he was so pissed.
ReplyDelete