• Start with a healthy(ish) snack before sending the kids out the door.
• Set limits and consider the size of the bag/bucket.
• Trade candy for a book or toy, leave candy for the Halloween Fairy, or looking into a ...

Candy Buyback Program

• Participating dentists buy back kids' Halloween candy at a scheduled event; you can find participating local dentists HERE.
• MOMS Club® of Sammamish Plateau is sponsoring a community-wide candy give-back program to support active U.S. service members through Operation Gratitude.  Get all the details HERE.
• Operation Gratitude sends the candy  to U.S. Military deployed in harm's way

Save costumes for next year's National Costume Swap Day

A costume swap can be as simple as getting together with a few neighbors or as large as a citywide event.  Either way, you'll be making a difference in your community by saving resources (and money, too!). Costume swaps not only mean less resources are used to make new product, it also means less packaging, less transportation of the product and less waste (from products being trashed as they sadly often are!).  Swaps are also a lot of fun and can be a great way to kick off the Green Halloween® season!

What  to Do With Your Carved Pumpkin
If you never got around to carving that pumpkin, you might want to try a few pumpkin-inspired recipes here and here.

Of course, if you already carved it as a jack-o-lantern, there are some do's and don't's from PumpkinPatchesandMore.org:

Do:
   1. Put it in the compost heap - it will make good fertilizer
   2. Bury it in the garden - it will decay quickly and enrich the soil
   3. Wash, dry and save the seeds to plant next year (they will grow!)
   4. Wash and roast the seeds - they make good eating.
   5. Dump it in the trash, if you haven't got a garden

Don't:
   1. Use it as a door stop.
   2. Keep it indoors: it will rot and stain the floor
   3. Put it in the attic for next Halloween
   4. Attempt to eat it or cook with it.