It’s coming.
Zombies, ghouls, witches, princesses, and superheroes will soon be knocking on your door, expecting a small gift.
Naturally, they expect that gift to be individually wrapped, and full of more sugar than you would need in a week.
Every Halloween, American children consume 90 million pounds of chocolate. We don’t need to tell you how much it contributes to childhood obesity and diabetes.
And let’s not kid ourselves, mom and dad are likely to “help” the young ones consume all the candy.
So, what if you enjoy Halloween, and want to participate in the fun, but you don’t want to contribute to unhealthy habits? What can you do? Are their healthier options you can give Elsa and Batman when they show up at your door?
Yes, there are.
Here are two ideas:
- Oriental Trading. The mail-order novelty company has lots of inexpensive options for small trinkets the kids will love. For example, you can get a large bag of sticky hands for only about $9. You can also get a bag of assorted toys to hand out. You know, the same spider rings, paper fans, and Groucho glasses you get from the prize counter at the arcade. Remember, the kids love collecting candy. Not necessarily eating it. Often, given the choice between candy and cool toys, they’ll take the toys. Temporary tattoos are especially popular.
- Maybe you don’t want to hand out toys. Maybe you just have to hand out snacks. That’s fine. But instead of Snickers bars and M&Ms, how about Goldfish crackers and fruit leather? Or granola bars, pretzels and trail mix?
Regardless of what you put out for the kids, you are sure to end up with tons of candy in your house, anyway. (Unless your kids are all grown up, in which case it may be a little creepy for you to go trick-or-treating by yourself.)
Just remember moderation. Don’t let your kids eat all the candy in one night. And don’t you do it, either. It’s not good for any of you.
Spread the fun out over several days. Maybe one small candy bar per day. Then after a week or two, get it out of your house.
Take it to work. Donate it. Put it in the trash.
If it stays in the house, it will just get eaten.
It may seem like a treat when you are eating the candy. But when you realize how it makes you look and feel, it might seem you were tricked.
We wish you good health,
Columbia Basin Racquet Club