Candy & Gluten Free Kids

Hello Halloween! How much fun is dressing up and eatin candy until you’re sick? Ok. Not my idea of a good time either, but we got three girls. And I loved it as a kid. And they love it too. *sigh* the sacrifices we make, no?

So, I’m interested in knowing what you do with all that candy that may or may not be gluten free?

Our rules, as our girls are all tested negative for celiac, so far, is a candy-tasting. You know how there are wine testings? We do the candy version. Our girls are little so as soon as they are home after visiting/ begging for candy from the neighbours, we dump the candy into onehuge pile to view the loot. Now, IF I had a kid with celiac, this is where some of the exchanges can happen for the GF candy.

Here’s the rules to candy-tasting at our house:

everybody’s candy all together tossed into a pile on the table.
We look through it first, remove any opened or questionable items.
The kids turn to go through and pick their favorite items.
They unwrap said items and taste them. We encourage them NOT to eat the whole candy.
Repeat steps 3-5 for allotted time or until they’re sick.
Clean up wrappers. Brush teeth, off to bed.
this is the kicker: The Candy magically disappears before the next morning. That’s it baby. We will not keep that mood altering, teeth decaying stuff for any longer than that one evening. It is a great fun tribute to dress up and candy. And its over November 1.

I’d be interested to know what you do with all that candy? I know some people freeze it and eat it up throughout the year. But then there’s the Christmas candy, and then Easter. Yeeesh. The stuff is everywhere!

As our kids get older, I think that we ought to replace the candy with a special surprise. Like a tickets to the zoo, or a new board game to play as a family. Something that is not-candy-related. But something to look forward to so that the candy isn’t hoarded halloween night or mourned on Nov. 1.

Tricky business this treat stuff.

Be safe!

Cathy