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LOVE WELL
I Have Never Let My Kids Keep All the Halloween Candy and They Still Love Halloween
What this is
Though I have a lot of boundaries about the kinds of foods we choose to eat in our house, I have lots of fun memories of trick-or-treating as a kid and I wasn’t willing to give up those memories for my kids just because I hate how much crap there is in today’s candies (it’s not really about the sugar).
This post is a rundown of the tradition we run instead, a pumpkin tool I wish I’d known about sooner and what actually goes in our own bowl to hand out. There’s also a free customizable printable letter at the bottom if you want to start the tradition this year too!
The story
How it started in our house
The Switch Witch is a tradition we’ve been doing since my oldest was old enough to go trick-or-treating, probably when he was two or three. We eat pretty cleanly and we don’t eat a lot of candy and refined sugar, especially back when they were little. Now that they’re eight and ten we let it slide a little more when they’re out and about, but in those early years we didn’t eat refined sugar at all, and Halloween candy is full of so much JUNK that I wasn’t going to let them eat it, sugar aside. So the Switch Witch was how we could still go out, do the whole trick-or-treating thing, and come home without a month’s worth of candy in the house.
She sits on the counter for a few weeks and leaves on Halloween night
The Switch Witch I bought 10 years ago was a little stuffed doll that came with a book explaining the story behind the tradition of the Switch Witch. She’d show up at some point in October, we’d read the story, and then she’d sit on our counter for the rest of the month (a la Elf on the Shelf, minus the nightly moving and mischief). Then on Halloween she would take the candy and trade it for a present (usually a toy or something they really have been wanting.)
The presents
Let me back up on the candy for a second. As they got older and actually wanted some candy after all the hard work trick-or-treating, we’d let them keep a piece or two, or swap some of what they collected for the clean candy we keep in the house. Often our own trick-or-treat bowl hadn’t been emptied either, so they’d swap something they got for the cleaner candy we were handing out, and the rest went to the Switch Witch.
And as they got older and realized what was going on, the presents went from something like a $5 coloring book or a race car to real presents. They have opinions about what they want and they ask for things! Like the Elf on the Shelf, they’ll talk to the Switch Witch and ramble on about what gifts they want. I’m pretty sure my oldest doesn’t really believe anymore and knows it’s me, but he’d rather get the present, so we’re all just going to keep playing along. Both of my boys have spring birthdays, so this is a good way to get one present in between their birthdays and Christmas. April to December is a long way to wait when you’re eight, so they know the Switch Witch brings them one thing and they’re always thinking about what to ask her for.
Where the candy goes after she takes it
After Halloween I get the candy out of the house FAST. When we worked in a corporate office we’d just take it in and put it out for everyone. We’ve donated it to people who collect for the troops, and we’ve given it to dentists who collect Halloween candy (yes, that’s a real thing). I get it gone as quickly as I can, because if it’s still in the pantry they will find it.
The one we have is discontinued, so here’s what I’d do instead
As I mentioned, we’ve outgrown the actual story because they know it by heart, and the doll I have doesn’t always make it out more than a week ahead of Halloween at this point. That exact book and doll set I bought 10 years ago isn’t sold anymore, so I did a little search to see what’s out there.
These are the ones I found, and since I have not personally read any of them, I can’t tell you which is best but they all seem to have the same gist and tell the same type of story. Book 1 · Book 2 · Book 3 · Book 4
If you want the physical doll, this one is closest to what we actually have.
And if none of those appeal to you, I’m going to let you in on a secret: you don’t need the book (or doll) at all. You can just write your own letter explaining the whole thing, customize it to your own kid, and be done. This is what I’d probably do if I were starting over today. I wrote one you’re welcome to use as-is or change however you want, and it opens as a Google Doc so you can make your own copy and fill in your kid’s name, details, etc. Grab the letter here.
And if your family eats all the candy and everybody’s happy about it, that’s completely fine! I get it! Even if you eat clean and healthy the rest of the year and let your kids go wild on Halloween I completely can understand that and I’m not telling you to change a thing. This is for people who don’t want to give up the fun of Halloween but also don’t want their kids eating all of it. A few years ago I decided to just let my kids have at it with their candy instead of holding this boundary and after a fun-size Snickers and a mini pack of candy corn, my 5-year-old vomited all over. Neither he nor I want to experience that again so we stick with cleaner alternatives and pump up the idea of swapping it all to the Switch Witch. It’s been a great way for us to have our own tradition that they still look forward to every single year, and they’ve never once felt left out!
The pumpkin carving kits are the wrong tool
Speaking of Halloween, the fastest tip I have is that the best tool for carving a pumpkin is a drywall saw. Mine was dug up from the bottom of an ancient tool box in the garage but if you need one it will run about $5. It’s small, and it’s sharp enough to get through the pumpkin with relative ease. A lot of the kits you buy on Amazon aren’t really strong enough, or if they are strong enough, they’re too sharp for kids.
Obviously with supervision, we let our kids do this when they were as young as four or five. But our kids have always been given the use of tools with supervision so you know your kid and can either do it all yourself, help them along, or supervise given their age and abilities. Slight warning - the drywall saw has teeth, so the pumpkin might need a little smoothing after if you care about perfectly smooth edges but I think it adds to the appeal to have a little texture.
When we went to school for a pumpkin carving event with the 1st graders, we brought our drywall saw along, and it ended up being used to cut open the top of everyone’s pumpkin after all the other parents were cursing the “pumpkin carving knives” that came in their kits or even the kitchen knives that just couldn’t cut it (pun intended). The drywall saw saved the day.
What actually goes in our bowl
We hand out the same clean candy the kids trade for, partly so it makes it easier for me to have switchable candy on hand and partly because I know there must be other parents out there that appreciate a cleaner option for their kids now and then.
The brands I typically buy are UNREAL and YumEarth because both can be bought in bigger packages for Halloween. For chocolate, UNREAL is the closest thing to conventional candy I’ve found with alternatives for M&Ms, Snickers, Reese’s Cups, Almond Joys, etc. For sour and fruity it’s YumEarth all the way (alternatives for Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Bears, Starburst, Skittles, Jellybeans, etc). I usually check for sales (shop early like August/September for best pricing and availability!) at Whole Foods, Amazon, Thrive Market and Vitacost. This year Costco carries UNREAL so I’ve stocked up there. I will sometimes put out bags of popcorn or snacks too – kids LOVE it because it’s a snack for the road with some salt as a welcome break from the candy fuel. LesserEvil brand is clean and available at those same places named above (usually Thrive is best pricing).
All of these are better NOT perfect alternatives. They are still candy, but they have no dyes, no artificial flavors and slightly better ingredients than the traditional candies. There are other better-not-perfect brands out there too, so just read the labels. But most of the time candy is just that, candy, and we only have it occasionally so I’m not looking for perfection.
The teal pumpkin sits right next to it
One more aside before I wrap up. We also put out a teal pumpkin on the porch as part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, to signal that we have non-food items for kids with food allergies. We have been doing it for years and are always trying to spread the word because even though my kids can now have some candies, there were other years where our food allergies and sensitivities wouldn’t allow it and so I hope that the Teal Pumpkin lets other people know they are not alone. The joy on the faces of the kids that really need it can be priceless! The whole ask is three things: put out non-food treats, put the pumpkin somewhere people can see it, and tell other people about it.
Ours usually has glow sticks, stickers, and pencils with Halloween erasers on them. We don’t get a ton of trick-or-treaters, so it’s not a big expense, and honestly the glow sticks get taken by the kids who can eat anything they want fairly often! For me it was just an easy thing to do that might help other families out so maybe you’ll consider it too!
The short hit
Want your kids to do the whole Halloween thing without a month of candy sitting in your house?
The Switch Witch is the way to go. She shows up in October, sits on the counter, and on Halloween night she takes the candy and leaves a present. Here’s a letter to personalize to jump right in.
Want to have some clean candy for them to swap to or to pass out at your house? I recommend UNREAL and YumEarth for their bulk Halloween options.
Want to be the GOAT at pumpkin carving? Invest $5 in a drywall saw.
Hope you all have a great Halloween!
Before you go
We’ve been following this tradition since my oldest was a toddler and they still look forward to it every year.
What non-traditional traditions does your family have for Halloween? Drop it in the comments, because I’d love to see the ones I haven’t thought of!
Talk soon,
Kristen ❤️
Same!