Alternatives to Handing Out Candy at Halloween

!±8± Alternatives to Handing Out Candy at Halloween

For most children, Halloween is all about the candy. It's the one time of year when all the talk about healthy eating goes out the window, and eating sugary treats by the pound begins. Although this is an exciting prospect for children, for parents, all they can think about is tooth decay and empty calories. Thankfully, there are alternatives to giving the children in your neighborhood a bucket of candy when they come trick or treating.

What Not To Give

Before deciding on an alternative to candy this Halloween, think about items that are not good ideas to give to children. Most Halloween safety web sites, as well as almost every local news channel, warn of the dangers of homemade treats. Stories of poisoned Rice Krispie Treats and apples with needles stuck in them are mostly exaggerated, but for safety's sake, parents are often warned not to let their children accept or eat these kinds of treats. Anything that doesn't come in a package is treated as suspect and disposed of by these safety-conscious parents.

Edible Alternatives

Instead of tooth rotting, fat building candy and chocolate, consider giving children sugar-free gum. This will satisfy the sweet tooth cravings all kids develop as Halloween approaches without the harmful side effects. You can also consider other, healthier snacks. Many people have offered Goldfish crackers as an alternative for toddlers and babies at Halloween, only to be surprised by how older kids reach for them too. Granola and cereal bars are also popular, healthier alternatives to sugary sweets.

Other Alternatives

Edible items are the traditional treat for Halloween, but there's no reason that you can't give out other items as well. Halloween is all about making the little ones happy, so anything that is interesting to them will be appreciated. Try giving out stickers with fun Halloween-themed pictures. Small, inexpensive party favors are a fun alternative as well. Temporary tattoos of bats, black cats, and witches would also be a big hit in the neighborhood. In order to make everyone happy, be sure to have some prizes that are appropriate for babies and toddlers as well - the point is to have healthy alternatives to candy, and you don't want to give a small child something that isn't safe for them instead.

Alternatives for Parents

If you are the parent of a child going trick-or-treating, you are probably concerned about what they are bringing home after their adventure in your community. Although you can decide what you give out for Halloween, you can't control what your neighbors give your kids. Refusing to let them have their hard-earned candy is going to be a struggle, so offer to buy it off of them by helping them get a video game or other toy that they've had their eye on in exchange for their candy. Cold, hard cash will probably get their attention as well.

By taking these Halloween candy alternatives into consideration, you can relieve some of the stress about your child's health this holiday, leaving you with more time to perfect your costume, rather than worrying about their next visit to the dentist.

Alternatives to Handing Out Candy at Halloween

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Scary Halloween Leftovers

!±8± Scary Halloween Leftovers

I hope you were strong. I hope you didn't let the diabolical marketers who put the Halloween candy out in July or August entice you into buying it, seeing it around the house, and then eating it so you were forced to buy it again. Personally, I think there should be a law that stores cannot put Halloween candy displays out before September 15th (or later). Write your representative.

But the day is here, and in theory, adorable tots should be showing up at your door to remove all the calorie-laden goodness and take it home to ruin their dinners for many nights to come. But if you're like me, and you live on a major street in a safe, kid-friendly neighborhood, you've laid in enough candy to decorate every witch's house from here to Düsseldorf, and that means you're going to have leftovers. So unless you want to fit into that Santa suit without padding by Christmas, it's time to get creative.

The simplest solution is to avoid leftovers in the first place by becoming increasingly generous as the evening wears on. If you're giving out one or two pieces of candy early in the evening, and you can see that you're going to have more candy than you need, start passing out double portions. The older kids tend to be the ones out well after dark, so it actually makes sense to hand out more candy per trick-or-treater at 8:00 than you did at 6:45. If you play your cards right, you can empty your candy bucket and turn your lights out when the traffic dies (around here, that's between 9:00 and 9:20).

If November 1st still dawns with pounds of sugary bliss left in your living room, start looking for places to give it away. A lot of schools and churches have leftover candy drives. Take it your next meeting. Take it to the police or fire station. Do not take it to work, as it will sit in a bowl on your desk and you'll still eat most of it. Look for places to take it so that other people will eat it.

If you really want to get creative, and you can do some advance planning, start looking at the candy in a new way. If you do Christmas baking like I do, you will soon be buying the ingredients for that baking, and if you think about it, you're going to be buying a lot of the same stuff you just gave away. Next year, before you buy your Halloween candy, take a look at the recipes for your Christmas baking. M&Ms can go into cookies and Rice Krispies treats. Hershey Kiss cookies? Hershey's Special Dark bars and nuggets can be chopped into chocolate chips or melted down for icings, fillings, and more. Jolly Rancher candies and Life Savers make gorgeous "stained glass" cookies. Do a search for "leftover candy recipes" and you'll probably find some way to use up whatever you're stuck with, and you might find a new recipe you really like.

If you don't bake, you might have a neighbor who does, and you can work a trade of ingredients for finished baked goods. If you like toppings on your ice cream, you can crush most chocolate candy bars into sundae toppings. Crush them up and place them in well-marked bags in your freezer; that way, they'll be out of sight (and hopefully out of mind) and you'll use them by the spoonful instead of by the bar. If you are really virtuous, you'll simply buy candy you don't like yourself, so you'll never be tempted by the leftovers. Write and tell me what that kind of virtue feels like, because I sure don't have it.

The bottom line is, get them gone. Get them out of the house entirely, or earmark them for another purpose and get them into the freezer. Otherwise, you'll hear them calling you in their little chocolate voices every time you pass by the bowl. And you don't want to pack on extra pounds now, because turkey, stuffing and pie are waiting right around the corner. Boo!

Scary Halloween Leftovers

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Make Her Fantasies Come True

!±8± Make Her Fantasies Come True

1. Shag your guy's ticker into shape. According to a study at Queens University in Belfast, men who have sex three or more times a week can cut their risk of heart attack in half.

2. According to that same study, regular romps will also halve your man's chances of suffering a stroke.

3. Work off that Rice Krispies Treat without hitting the treadmill. One 30-minute roll in the hay burns about 200 calories.

4. Avoid going postal at work. Nooky helps the brain produce neuro­transmitters, chemical messengers that help mellow our moods.

5. Get more z's. A little sensual massage followed by some dancing in the sheets releases sleep-inducing endorphins.

6. Wake up and smell the roses. Post-romp, you'll experience a surge in the hormone prolactin, which develops new neurons in the brain's olfactory bulb, improving your sense of smell.

7. Unless you're a kinky, wayward politician, it's free!

8. Kick colds to the curb, that having sex once or twice a week boosts the immune system by 30 percent.

9. Protect your pearly whites by stepping up to the mic. Semen contains zinc, calcium, and other minerals proven to fight tooth decay. (Only trace amounts, but who's counting?)

10. Watch a Lost DVD marathon without constant bathroom breaks. Sex tones the pelvic muscles that support your uterus, bladder, and bowel, meaning better pee control.

11. No pain, all gain. Right after your big O, you'll be practically swimming in oxytocin (we're talking a seriously intense surge). The overload releases endorphins, which help alleviate pain from arthritis...

12. ...and--hallelujah!--menstrual cramps.

13. Take him to your level. How a Man's Mind Really Works, the one time a man's oxytocin level can match ours is after his happy ending.

14. Put more pep in your step, that women absorb some of the testosterone men secrete in their ejaculate. The payoff: "The increased testosterone can have energy-­boosting effects in women."

15. Blow him away in your bikini. According to researchers, regular shagging can tighten your tummy...

16. ...and firm your bum.

17. Aunt Flow, we meet again, women who have sex at least once a week have more-regular menstrual cycles than those who do it once in a blue moon.

18. Curb irritability. "Tactile stimulation soothes nerves!

19. Prove that yes, good girls do do that.

20. Forget flowers and the flat-screen: Sex is an easier (and cheaper) way to make up after a fight.

21. Explore your limits. "There's a thin line between pain and pleasure. Sex can help distinguish between the sensations"

22. Stir creative juices. "When people are together long-term, sex can become boring, "Coming up with new ways to keep things interesting improves the imagination."

23. Two words: "I'm preggers!"

24. Sex can trigger the onset of labor when you're at term. "Semen contains prostaglandins," When they're against the cervix, prostaglandins help it dilate and induce natural labor."

25. Getting busy on the regular can improve your flexibility.

26. Use it or lose it. The more you have sex, the more likely you'll be to continue to produce testosterone, one of the primary hormones responsible for sexual desire.

27. Love the skin you're in. For some people, gettin' busy can boost body image, Resh says.

28. Keep closer tabs on your health. Sex means exploring your body--and your honey's--so you'll notice if things feel or look wonky and might need a doctor's attention.

29. Seriously pissed? Instead of screaming your head off, save your voice and have sex. It's a great way to release tension.

30. Improve your communication skills. Speaking up about what's working (or not) in the sack can help you express yourself in other parts of your life.

31. I Cross language barriers. He speaks Italian. You're from Texas. But in the boudoir, you both speak the universal language of l-o-v-e (nothing gets lost in translation).

32. Give him a booty biscuit. "Guys see sex as a sign of approval from their partner," Jake Davis says.

33. Add your share of smut to the girls' night cocktail chatter. Even bad sex is fun to dish about.

34. Express some of your more risqué emotions and behaviors--aggression, domination--in the comfort of your own bed. (Can you say S&M?)

35. Yes, tonight, honey--I have a headache. Recent studies have shown that doing the horizontal hustle can bring temporary headache relief.

36. Feel the power. "When things go well in the bed and you're pleasing your partner, you feel more confident and powerful in other parts of your life."

37. Give your guy a helping hand. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the more he ejaculates, the less likely he is to develop prostate cancer.

38. Activate your taste buds. "Your sensitivities are heightened after sexual intercourse. "That bottle of wine or chocolate bar will taste even better."

39. Strengthen your core--it's like Pilates without the annoyingly perfect instructor.

40. Having sex eases the tension around sex itself. (Circular logic, but it's true!)

41. Best excuse in the world for pricey, pretty, frilly, silky lingerie.

42. How else will you get better at it?

43. "Increase the amount and quality of cuddle time. The best comes immediately after the orgasm.

44. "Good sex creates more love each time.That's why it's called 'making love.'"

45. Share a laugh about your O-face...or not.

46. Vitalize the vag. Increases in blood flow to the pelvis keep the oven in good order47. It's the perfect excuse to crank some Prince...

48. ...then follow that up with some Marvin Gaye.

49. Because it's 3 a.m. at 30,000 feet, and your red-eye doesn't land for another two hours.

50. You can make like a leading lady and reenact steamy sex scenes from your fave flicks. Start with 9 1/2 Weeks.

51. Sex makes you happier than having money does, according to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. A marriage that included regular humping was figured to bring the same levels of happiness as earning an extra 0,000 annually.

52. Be at one with nature. After all, birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.

53. Because the clitoris is the only organ whose sole function is pleasure...

54. ...and it would be a shame to let that go to waste.

55. I Skip the Botox. In his book, Secrets of the Superyoung, neurophysiologist Sandra John, M.D., of Jake Long Hospital, writes: "An active sex life slows the aging process."

56. Come on, do you really need a reason?

Make Her Fantasies Come True

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