I wanted to write a Part 2 for my Halloween post yesterday, using this as my outlet to brainstorm ideas for the aftermath of the Halloween candy tsunami expected to hit here in about 4 hours. Phew!

I gave you all 30 Things to Hand Out Besides Candy to the trick-or-treaters, and I was ecstatic that many of the parents at the bus stop this morning were saying, “I’m handing out paper airplanes this year” or “I’m giving out Made Good bars” or my favorite “I’m giving out Hot Wheel cars my kids don’t use anymore”.

I am all for reusing items in good condition, especially toys. We all know those will be played with for three weeks and then hit the bottom of the toy box, so why not find them a new home to be appreciated again?

There will still be oodles of candy, including soooo many full size candy bars that will be sitting on the counter staring at us for the next few days, begging to be the next one chosen.

It got me wanting to brainstorm some great ideas of what I can give my kids to swap with their candy buckets. I want it to be a no-contest decision for them. No tantrums on the floor because the option doesn’t seem as fun as candy.

Here’s what I have come up with:

• A trip to Brick and Minifigs to pick out one small set or a few minifigs

• $10-$15 Target trip for a book, craft supplies, or small toy

• A morning where they get to decide everything: what’s for breakfast, what park we play at, and to be silly – what mom and dad wear

• A clearance Halloween costume, mask, wig, etc to use as dress-up

• A squishmallow

• Movie tickets including popcorn

• Gift card to a local bookstore (ours has a cafe so a hot cocoa or apple cider included)

• Choice between 3 activities like a museum, science center, zoo, etc

• Five 30-minute video game sessions

• $10-$20 to their school book fair

Different things motivate different kids so we might have to mix and match to get everyone on board in our house since we have a 7, 5, and 3 year old.

Plus I know we don’t always want to add more “stuff” to our homes, so  I love the ideas that are more of an experience than a thing. 

I’m going to give my kids this list to choose from on Saturday, so I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. I would love to hear if you tried something like this in your house and what worked for your kiddos.

Oh, and happy ‘fall back’ this weekend everyone!

Traci xx