thank goodness for the great pumpkin!

i don't know about you, but sometimes the idea of halloween and all the candy freaks me out. pictures of kids with chocolate all over there face, sticky hands, sugar overload. i know, i know, for someone who sells cupcakes and treats for a living this a hard concept for people to understand. the funny thing is, and my friends and family all know this, but we are a pretty healthy eating family! i mean, my kids will tell you we are the house that gives out things like pencils and glow sticks, and pretzels and crackers on halloween. i know, GASP! don't get me wrong, i love sweets, i mean how can my tag line for my business be "la dolce vita" if i didn't. the thing is, a snickers every now or then or some peanut m&m's are not lost on me, but for the most part, if my kids eat sweets i like to know where they came from, what's in them and have some sort of control with the amount of sugar and lack of preservatives and food dyes they contain. so instead of going into a panic the year my son finally got what it meant to receive free candy by just looking cute, i had already devised a plan and my daughter fell into it even quicker than my son. we all grew up watching charlie brown, well i did and most people i know have a soft spot for "the great pumpkin". you know the one "who rises from the pumpkin patch and gives children everywhere candy" well where do you think the great pumpkin gets all that candy? in our house he gets it from all the good children everywhere who sort through their halloween candy, and keep a few special pieces and then pack it up and leave it on the front porch for him to collect for his next trip. in return, he leaves them something for their kindness. for my kids, books, coloring stuff, small trinkets have always been their reward.
tada, stress free, de-fleecing of my children's candy every year. ok, so my son is going to be 10 and my daughter is 7, so they may not really believe the whole great pumpkin thing anymore, but what they do know is that if they do this and go along with their crazy mom's story, there will be something good on the other side of the door in the morning.
and this year a few $5 target cards might give them a little extra incentive for next year! ;-)
so don't stress out, and please don't take it upon yourself to eat all the candy yourself to "save" your children. be it a great pumpkin, halloween fairy or the boogie man, get creative and help your kids understand the real fun of halloween, i mean costumes, spooky stories and haunted houses are really whats fun and the candy, be it tasty is not the only reward. then smile and if your really need something sweet to eat, have a cupcake!