Pumpkin patches, fall festivals, costumes, parades, and candy can only mean one thing: Halloween is upon us! My daughter loves candy, what child doesn’t? And it is the season of candy!
It seems like everywhere we go someone is trying to give my girl candy; school, church, grandparent’s house. When my daughter looks at me and asks me if she can have some, it’s so hard to say no, but a lot of times I must. You see my daughter is completely dye-free. Most people don’t think about children with food restrictions before asking if they want candy or a treat. Then, in my case when I must say no, I may or may not have a major meltdown on my hands.
After dealing with this scenario for a few years, I had a friend at work tell me about a Halloween tradition that not only helped us with our candy problem but got my daughter excited to give some of her candy away!
Introducing the Switch Witch
After telling friends at work about our Halloween problem, one mentioned the Switch Witch to me. It is quite simple and genius! After Halloween night is over and we have gotten home, my daughter and I go through the candy she received. We let her keep the dye-free candy. Anything else goes in a separate bucket. That bucket is left on the table for the Switch Witch. After our daughter goes to bed we switch out the candy that she left on the table for either a toy, book, or game she has wanted! On November 1 she wakes up to something new and the candy she can’t have is gone. It’s a win-win for everyone.
How-Tos of the Switch Witch
- Introduce the Switch Witch to your children. Either tell your children a story or there is a great picture book about the Switch Witch by, Charity O’Neill-O’Kane. You can find it on Amazon and it’s free to read if you have Kindle Unlimited! I love to read this book to my girl every year to get her excited for the Switch Witch to come!
- Buy your switch item before Halloween! Don’t wait till the last minute. I’ve been the mom that has completely forgotten.
- This is not Christmas, there is no need to go overboard. One item is more than enough for the Switch Witch to bring.
- If your child has food allergies or is on a special diet, help them choose which treats to keep and which ones to send with the Switch Witch.
- Make sure you know what you are going to do with the candy your child sends with the Switch Witch. I usually give ours to some of the teachers at our school. You don’t want your child to accidentally run across the bucket of candy in the house!
We love the Switch Witch tradition and it has worked well in our house over the years! If you’re looking for a fun Halloween tradition, try it out, your kids will love it.
