If you're like us, you've been dealing with the candy for weeks. There was the pre-pre-Halloween party, and then the pre-Halloween party, then the day-of Halloween party, and the pinnacle of it all - Halloween night.

We end up with PILES of candy - way more than any child should (or could) ever eat.

Every year we let the kids have as much as they want on Halloween day/night (within reason of course) and then place it all high on top of the fridge. We have an 8 year-old and a 5 year-old, and so far, they haven't demanded that they keep their goodies in their rooms. As the weeks pass the candle dwindles - some of it is shipped to my office, and other treats disappear at night when parents are watching Netflix.

I am probably overly anxious about these things, but the recent connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's has me worried - studies done in women in their 20s show early signs of Alzheimer's disease as evidenced by glucose hypometabolism in the brain (gulp.)

So short of freaking out about sugar and giving my kids an eating disorder, I've tried to devise ways to deal with the mountains of candy. And this could be helpful at many different times of the year - kids are overwhelmed with sugar at SO many holidays!!

Switch Witch

This cute little gal flies in at night, takes some candy, and leaves one or two awesome gifts behind. I've never tried this, but I've heard it's really successful (link above.)

Donate to the Dentist

Many dentists will pay kids per pound of candy - just call to see if your office will do it! If not, check out my friend Dr. Dan Hwang at Westboro Station Dental.

Bring it to the office

This is not ideal, given that you're just forcing your co-workers to consume pounds of sugar. BUT, most offices house many employees, so really, no one is consuming too much.

Create recipes

Make up fun recipes using leftover candy, like Smarties cookies or Twix brownies. Bring your baked goods to a church Christmas sale or a holiday party.

Christmas gifts

Buy some cute mugs, fill with candy, and wrap them up - tada!! The perfect little gift for a co-worker, teacher or friend.

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