The Switch Witch: How to Keep Kids from Devouring All of Their Halloween Candy

Avoid a week of sugar rushes.

Night flight. Witch riding a broom.

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Night flight. Witch riding a broom.

Photo by: VladGans

VladGans

Halloween is a fun holiday filled with spooky decorations, adorable costumes...and loads and loads of sugar. After letting kids indulge in their first round of candy, many parents wonder how to get rid of a few piles without their children noticing. Instead of risking them finding out or having to negotiate with your child about how many pieces of candy they can have per day, there is a happy medium that will please you both: the Switch Witch.

The Switch Witch is a friendly witch who comes on Halloween night, after everyone has gone to sleep, and leaves your children a special gift in exchange for all that candy.

Here’s How To Get Ready For The Switch Witch:

Tell your children that this year the Switch Witch is coming. Explain to them that they will go trick-or-treating and will get to eat as much candy as you allow on Halloween night. Then they’ll come home, pick a few of their favorite pieces and set them aside.

Have your children place all the leftover candy in their Halloween bucket and leave it by a window so that the Switch Witch can see it. That’s how she will know that your children would prefer a special toy over candy this year. The next morning, your children will wake up to find a toy right where they left all that Halloween candy.

When it comes to the toy, it should be a surprise they will love. After all, you want to make this a tradition and the gift has to be something your children will love more than candy. We recommend talking about the Switch Witch a few weeks before Halloween so your children can get used to the idea and so that you can discretely ask what kind of toys they would like to receive.

After the witch’s visit, be sure to hide the candy well so your children don’t accidentally find it.

Donate All That Candy:

If you want to get rid of the all the Halloween candy, consider donating it to one of these charities: Treats for Troops, Operation Gratitude, Operation Shoebox or The Halloween Candy Buy Back Program.

Happy Halloween!

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