I say new version but it was really someone 20 years ago that suggested it to us. Our kids get WAY too much candy. When we lived in Illinois it was 100 times as bad too. The university would hold a trick or treat night and open the residence halls. Each dorm room would be allowed to put a sticker on their door signifying they were handing out candy and the kids would go door to door with an escort. The lobby would include games. It was a LOT of fun for the kids and they came away with bags and bags or candy. My kids would usually plot it out and hit three or four doors in a night. The town would then have trick or treat the next night. Picture a two day sugar high that could last weeks! After a year or two of this it was obvious that sugar comas were coming.
A friend told us a story of their solution. The Great Pumpkin! They had told their kids the story of the Great Pumpkin that visits and leaves a toy after the kids take out their favorite 10 pieces of candy. The kids would leave a stack of candy on the floor in bags and in the morning they would wake to a surprise. It was a chance for us to get the kids that latest must have that they had been begging for and we had the benefit of them not eating tons of candy….. Of course this left us with bags and bags of uneaten candy to give away (or eat ourselves). – Luckily my husband was on campus and the students viewed it as their lucky day!
Now that those kids have grown up and we have a new little one, we live in an area with less trick or treating and my son is special in his own way. He is a wonderful kid and isn’t excited with going out to trick or treat. He much prefers to hand out candy than to receive it. It is still a great idea that love to remember fondly when I think back on Halloweens past.
