The Switch Witch- What to do with Halloween candy
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Have you heard about the Switch Witch? The Switch Witch is a great way to deal with all of that Halloween Candy.
The story goes like this: a child gets to eat all the candy they want up through Halloween night. On Halloween night, before the child goes to bed, s/he lays out all their candy for the Switch Witch. The Switch Witch comes when they are asleep and takes the candy and switches it for a toy. Ta da! Cavity-creating candy is gone and desirable new toy is there instead!
A few of my friends told me about it last year and said that their kids LOVED the idea of the Switch Witch and eagerly put out all the candy. Apparently, none of them even mentioned the candy again as they were so happy to have a new toy.
Our Birch is a stickler for details though, so here is how I am going to explain how the Switch Witch comes to our house. If your kid is the kind that asks for details too- this might help spark your own stories:
The Switch Witch lives in Hallow Heights which is a little island in the sky by the moon. The Switch Witch loves candy. All witches love candy, but the Switch Witch loves candy the most and she has the biggest candy stash of all the witches. Do you know how the Switch Witch gets her gigantic candy stash? The Switch Witch gathers most of her candy for herself and all the witches and cats on Halloween night. (Did you know that witches’ cats love candy too? They only eat milk chocolate though as it has delicious milk in it! –this is true only for witches’ cats though!). So, here is how the Switch Witch gets her candy: late Halloween night, when all the children are sleeping, she visits the houses of children who choose to switch their candy for a toy. How does she know which ones are switching their candy in? A child puts a piece of candy on the door (of their room or house) to let her know that they want to switch. The Switch Witch flies from building to building on her broom, with her black cat Corn (as in Candy Corn) on the back. They come in through a window. They fly in through the window with magic- the window does not need to be open. She takes all the candy the child puts out and puts it into a sac that Corn holds open for her in his mouth. Then she ties the candy bag to the end of the broom. She takes out a shiny black bag that is full of toys. She leaves one toy for the child to thank them for the candy. Then she leaves just as quickly as she came: on her broom, out to visit other children and perform more switches. By early morning, she and Corn return home to Hallow Heights where she sorts all the candy into large glass jars. That night, all the other witches come to visit and the Switch Witch doles out the candy they want. They eat their candy with her, share stories of Halloween, hear about what toys she brought to the children and come back night after night for a treat. You know how most pictures of witches are flying near the moon? That’s because they are on their way to Hallow Heights to visit the Switch Witch and share in her gigantic candy stash. By next Halloween, the Switch Witch has run out of candy and goes back out to do her switches.
Hooray for the Switch Witch. I guess toy stores like the Switch Witch too!
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HI Alison
Great idea- we didn’t get much Valentine’s candy this year (school restrictions)- but I’ll know what to do if they get some next year.
We just put candy out for the Switch Witch after Valentine’s Day. It isn’t Halloween, but there is still a lot of candy. It worked great!
the swich witch is a great idea some kids just go trick or treating becaus the parents tell them too but now they can just do it and then if they dont want some of the candy they can swich for a tor and or money
Ridiculous! What’s scary is that these kids, being raised by parents like this, are going to be in charge when we are old.
I don’t buy that the candy is thrown. It’s being hidden and eaten by the mothers-of-dooms when their precious kiddies are asleep.
How about you teach your kids moderation? Set some rules and if they violate the rules, throw the candy out.
If you feed your kids right and teach good dental health, you shouldn’t have to worry about candy at Halloween.
Parents, stop being afraid of saying “no” to your children. It happens every day as an adult. You are teaching them that if they can’t have something they want, they get to have something else. That isn’t how the world works. It’s partly why this country is in the financial mess they are in.
The Switch Witch has been coming to our house for the last 5 or 6 years now. It was the best idea I had ever heard! My daughter has always been prone to cavities and trying to explain to her why she can’t eat all that candy but all the other kids can was just awful.
Our story has always been that the Switch Witch is the Tooth Fairy’s sister. She helps her sister out by switching the candy out for a special toy (or some quick cash in a pinch) this way when a tooth falls out it will still be in good shape for the Tooth Fairy to collect!
I guess I can (somewhat) understand some comments in saying that it’s just a big fat lie, but I figure it like this….we are only kids once and growing up without all those AMAZING & MAGICAL “lies” that we all come to know as Fairy Tales would be a sad way to live as a child. Imagination is one of the most incredible gifts we are given as children and without adults feeding those incredible imaginative appetites this world would be one boring place to be. It’s bad enough what all these gaming systems and computers have already done to the younger generation. Kids just don’t get to play anymore because everything plays for them.
YOU GO SWITCH WITCH, GET THAT CANDY!! =)
Why not just make rules about eating candy with your child? Why introduce yet another fake creature into your kid’s life? Why lie?
I don’t see it fostering creativity. I see it avoiding a conversation about healthy eating habits by focusing on a toy, not seeing the conversation through about food choices and how that affects the body. It’s also easy to avoid arguments or defiance over dessert or snacks by not having it in the house. If you can’t win an argument with your kid about eating too much candy, maybe the issue is the way you communicate with your child, not that there is candy in the house.
Wow, what a buzzkill. How awful for the kids who are exposed to this nonsense. No wonder I left Brooklyn. A bunch of senseless people came, gentrified, and ruined it. This ridiculous post shows every single thing that is wrong with THOSE types of Brooklyn people. The ones who wouldn’t know a decent slice of pizza if it slapped them upside their trendy little heads, knocking their fancypants coffee out of their hands.
So happy to hear it! It worked well for us too. This year they each got to eat their fill of candy and save 8 pieces out for themselves before giving the rest to the switch witch.
I don’t know what she looks like! Maybe you all will come up with something brilliant and share it with the rest of us?
Hi! The switch witch worked so great that my kids want to be a switch witch for Halloween next yr and want to know what a switch witch looks like.
Switch Witch = Destroyer of Halloween tradition
Hi Debbie
I am SO happy it worked for you. They eat so much that night that it seems they don’t mind giving it up! Birch was happy about it too- but when we woke up, he was “sad that the switch witch didn’t give him a flatbed”. Oh man! Way to knock the wind out of my sails. But, oh well- he got what he got- disappointment is part of life!
We did the switch witch last night and it worked beautifully! This was my 3yo’s first time trick-or-treating and we let him go wild the whole time–he ate his weight in candy before we even got home. Then we told him that whatever wasn’t eaten before bed that night would go to the switch witch, and he bought it completely. The first thing he said when he woke up this morning was, “Did the switch witch come yet?” He was THRILLED to get a toy in exchange for the candy. Thanks so much for the idea!
Hi Rich
I think doing the half/half is a good idea. Thanks for writing that in. We ended up doing something like that too. I couldn’t ask him to give up ALL his candy last night. He came down the stairs this morning with the empty halloween bucket and his present- screaming at the top of his lungs- “The switch witch was here!” He was thrilled. He hasn’t even asked for a piece of his halloween candy yet! (I have!)
I have been doing he switch witch for the past few years. My youngest is now 12 years old and still looks forward to the switch witch. We make him pick half of the candy that he gets and the other half goes to the switch witch. It always works out.
the switch witch sounds like a bitch.
poor kid, just let him eat the candy.
Here is a book that I published to help make the Switch legend/story real for your child.
The Switch Witch
By Charity A. O’Neill-O’Kane
Mrs. Switch is no ordinary witch. She has the power to create a healthier Halloween that boys and girls look forward to each year. Come and read how a little boy named Gavin learned about this special magic–the magic of the Switch Witch.
Read the legend/myth and create a Halloween tradition in your home. Your kids will love to see it in print and read the story over and over. The Switch Witch fosters creativity and healthier living.
Publication Date:
Aug 22 2009
ISBN/EAN13:
1448695880