Temptations...including Chocolate Candy

Ahhh…a cool breeze fans my face, crunchy leaves dance with the wind, heat of the sun penetrates my bulky sweatshirt and warms my shoulders. Burning wood, the sweet aroma of a distant fireplace, permeates the air. Autumn’s weather refuels me with its crisp awakening of my senses. Autumn also brings those oh-so-familiar food temptations to mind…including chocolate candy.

Why is there Halloween candy on the store shelves before I’ve finished switching gears from summer to back-to-school mode? Why does a normal display of sweet treats seem more appealing when tiny pumpkins are printed on the packages next to little smiling white ghosts? Is candy corn a vegetable?

I am obsessed with chocolate, especially chocolate candy. All I need is a tiny reminder like the cooler weather, to remind me of this personal problem. I’m also reminded of my candy-management-system for Halloween and my kids, and am excited to implement it again this year. In case you’re not already enlightened, here it is:
Candy In the House: I have learned that it is not okay for me to buy my own favorite candy to supposedly give out to the neighborhood kids, but it simply becomes ‘candy in the house’; a definite no-no for me. I became one of those boring neighbors, who gives something OTHER than the gem of all gems, a full-sized Hershey bar. Instead, my creativity spanned the treat-giving from pencils, to bubble gum, to sugarless gum, to pretzels, to coins. I will, once again, choose to give out something other than chocolate candy.
Candy All Over the Stores: I have learned to shop in the stores differently, by avoiding the candy aisles altogether, or adding some cardio workout to my routine by zipping past them as quickly as possible. I’ll do whatever it takes to deal with this chocolate problem of mine.
Candy From Outside the House: My biggest challenge is dealing with all the candy my kids can collect from the neighbors, and it’s a bigger challenge on rainy Halloweens, like we had last year. That’s when people give out double their candy to be finished with the door-opening with the accompanying rain and wind. Several years ago, I implemented the buy-back system with my kids, where I let them choose a handful of Halloween goodies (to be consumed by them within a week) to keep; the rest of the goodies are then ‘bought back’ by me at a current-year’s rate, usually 10 cents or a quarter per piece. It is fun to see their entrepreneurial spirits kick in along with the usual competitiveness and have them challenge each other for the biggest payout of the year.

What do I do with all that candy? Get rid of it---whatever it takes. Trash, dentist offices (some have a buy-back plan), someone’s desk at an office…anywhere but in my home.

Whew, this battle will be won. Time to strategize for the Thanksgiving goodies and Christmas cookies.

Tip of the week:
If chocolate candy is your addiction, go ahead and try these strategies! We sometimes need to resort to desperate measures for desperate times, don’t we?