Comments on stephmodo: Solving the Halloween Candy Conundrum

That sounds great! We do the Candy Fairy, where my...

2011-10-29T12:15:35.215-07:00

That sounds great! We do the Candy Fairy, where my daughter leaves out a bunch of her candy and the Candy Fairy replaces the candy with some little toys. She has no problem trading in her candy for something that will "last longer and be more fun", in her words. And as for "most kids don't finish their candy anyways" Umm, you've never met MY kid, she'll trick or treat from 6p-9pm and then proceed to eat every single piece of candy she collected, if we let her, which is why we don't.

I hope I remember this when I have kids on day. It...

2011-10-29T09:40:42.797-07:00

I hope I remember this when I have kids on day. It's brilliant.

The Halloween fairy comes to our house and takes t...

2011-10-29T09:13:48.888-07:00

The Halloween fairy comes to our house and takes the candy and replaces it with something fun - like a game or toy. The kids get to pick out 10-15 pieces they love (after the initial Halloween night free for all) and then the rest goes away. It works well for us but I love your ideas too!

I love this idea, Stephanie.

2011-04-19T20:47:09.403-07:00

I love this idea, Stephanie.

In my opinion,I think that you should just let you...

2011-01-28T20:26:10.824-08:00

In my opinion,I think that you should just let your kids have the candy.Most kids don't end up finishing it anyway,and there's always the "bad" candy that we don't like anyway,and besides,if your children are that small,they usually don't end up with too much candy because they get tired out while trick-or-treating.

My friend sent me a link to your blog. Although we...

2010-11-01T21:26:25.802-07:00

My friend sent me a link to your blog. Although we aren't doing this with candy we are having major bedtime issues with our four year old and this is a great solution. She can draw a coupon every morning that she sleeps in her own bed all night long. I love your ideas and we added:
One show before school (we don't do much tv), one show after school, two desserts in one night, go to the playground, go swimming, sleep in baby brother's room, mom cooks something special on a night that you don't like dinner, don't have to eat one thing on your plate, Happy Meal, extra bedtime story.

That is just brilliant and warm and sweet and perf...

2010-11-01T16:49:36.697-07:00

That is just brilliant and warm and sweet and perfect. Thank you for sharing!

When my little Henry is old enough, I am definitely going to try this.

I can just see the smile on L's face! That is ...

2009-11-20T14:36:50.879-08:00

I can just see the smile on L's face! That is so great I love this idea, you might have to remind me of it in a few years!

Wow what a great idea! Lots of fun and it really c...

2009-11-20T11:46:29.884-08:00

Wow what a great idea! Lots of fun and it really creates interaction with your kids. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome idea - offering choices with style!

2009-11-20T09:10:00.450-08:00

Awesome idea - offering choices with style!

COUPONS!! That is the answer! THank you! I have ...

2009-11-19T10:49:33.714-08:00

COUPONS!! That is the answer! THank you! I have been struggling for 2 years to think up something (besides candy) to put in an Advent calendar that the kids would be excited about. We don't really "do" candy but I love the idea/anticipation of an Advent calendar. OooH! can' wait to finally pick one out!

Just to be clear.. yes our kids LOVED this and hav...

2009-11-18T20:52:45.371-08:00

Just to be clear.. yes our kids LOVED this and have had a blast trading in their coupons over the last couple of weeks, but we aren't totally anti-halloween candy or anything. The kids stuffed their faces while trick or treating, and before initiating the candy for coupon trading event we had the kids count their candy so that I could carefully calculate how many coupons should be "10 candy" coupons or "5 candy coupons". That way I knew what to offer them and still leave them a small handful of candy to indulge on. It's all about moderation. And to be honest at the get go I didn't know how well it would work. I can't tell you how happy it made me to find out that my little 4 year old boy preferred "2 extra stories before bed from dad" over having 5 pieces of candy in his stash. Plus, it was a great excuse to do a bunch of fun things like dates, extra stories, going on a hike with one child etc. These are things we should be making time for anyway. Thanks to the good ol' american candy hoarding holiday... now my kids have coupons that will force me to be a better dad for a while as they turn them in.

I really like this idea, I want to use it when I b...

2009-11-16T11:56:34.259-08:00

I really like this idea, I want to use it when I begin my family...

brilliant! Our candy has already gone to the landf...

2009-11-13T06:32:42.649-08:00

brilliant! Our candy has already gone to the landfill, but I will be using your method of coersion nest time the occasion arises.

Wow, I love your idea! I have a child with Type 1...

2009-11-11T04:12:26.791-08:00

Wow, I love your idea! I have a child with Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes and have been looking for a way for her and her sisters to enjoy trick or treating but not eat all the candy. Thank you for the wonderful idea!

I had to leave you a 2nd comment to say I told my ...

2009-11-10T22:02:58.161-08:00

I had to leave you a 2nd comment to say I told my kids that we would be doing these coupons tomorrow and told them a few ideas. When they heard "Daddy cleans the playroom" they went wild! Granted, Daddy doesnt know about this plan yet ;-) Then I overheard them plotting to only give me bad candy and wraps. They are tricky!

I also put a link to this on my FB page. Its that good! Thanks for sharing.

This is such a fun idea, I love it!

2009-11-10T09:21:43.056-08:00

This is such a fun idea, I love it!

i love it! I'm not sure our 3-year old would ...

2009-11-10T08:16:10.174-08:00

i love it! I'm not sure our 3-year old would get it, but I think she will next year!

This is a fantastic idea. Very creative and inspir...

2009-11-10T08:14:24.954-08:00

This is a fantastic idea. Very creative and inspiring. I would love it myself.

Cute, cute idea! I am definitely using this one ne...

2009-11-10T08:05:05.312-08:00

Cute, cute idea! I am definitely using this one next year. Thanks.

Um, excuse me, but this is brilliant! Im sooooooo ...

2009-11-09T23:16:47.902-08:00

Um, excuse me, but this is brilliant! Im sooooooo going to do this. Thank you!

this is a GENIUS idea! i just linked to it from m...

2009-11-09T21:35:34.904-08:00

this is a GENIUS idea! i just linked to it from my blog! the way we get rid of the candy temptation in our home is to put it all away to use for decorating our gingerbread house! it saves us from having to buy candy for that project too!

Hi Steph. I found your blog from Marian Chase'...

2009-11-09T20:59:54.304-08:00

Hi Steph. I found your blog from Marian Chase's. It's been great to see what you and your family have been up to since MIT. I must say I'm very impressed.

What a fabulous idea of giving up the candy! I love that the kids are happy it and ultimately get to spend quality time with mom & dad.

stephanie, this is such a great idea! i've hea...

2009-11-09T19:23:07.479-08:00

stephanie, this is such a great idea! i've heard all sorts of things for getting the kids to give up candy, but this takes the cake...such great coupon ideas, too.

I read your post and then thought about it all aft...

2009-11-09T18:56:26.615-08:00

I read your post and then thought about it all afternoon. My husband and I put it together this evening after bath, and can I just tell you that I haven't felt (at the end of a day, no less!) like a good mama in awhile, and this did it. My daughter was so excited to exchange candy for coupons, and then use the 'stay up late' one tonight, too. Thank you for the great idea!