Halloween Switch Witch
When my boys were small they enjoyed trick-or-treating but I didn't want them to eat all that candy. My friend told me about the Halloween Elf who takes away the candy and leaves a toy in its place. I thought that was a great idea. We let them choose a few pieces then put the rest out by the doorstep at night and in the morning a new toy would be in its place!
Since then I've heard about this tradition from many other parents. Some call it the Halloween Fairy or Switch Witch.
What does your family do?
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My daughter is 3, so this will be her first time experiencing the Switch Witch! She is super into Halloween, dressing up, and the idea of trick-or-treating. So, although the concept of trick-or-treating goes against most of our feelings as parents, we don’t want to take away the fun experience! We practice holistic medicine in our household, and our daughter loves playing “witch doctor” rubbing salves on her doll and giving them tinctures. So, as her Switch Witch gift, we are excited to leave her a handcrafted felt medicine bag, complete with felt bandaids, herbs, and more. To encourage her interest in healing & of course to keep her from eating copious amounts of free posion (candy) ;) happy Halloween!
Stacey V on
Before Halloween we buy some candy that we are okay with like high quality dark chocolate and dried fruits. We trade our candy for hers and let her have one piece at a time throughout November. We will see how long that lasts!
Willlow Longo on
Our dentist does a candy swap. You bring in your unwanted candy and for every pound you get to choose a small treasure box prize. It builds community and the kids enjoy the treasure AND seeing their awesome dentist without an exam!!
Terie Moreno on
The switch witch has been coming to our house on Halloween and we all love it! My husband takes the candy to work and we donate any small toys or trinkets.
Cassidy on
We usually let our girls keep them and they forget about it within a week or two but I think we want to start doing something like this! Tired of having candy stowed at the back of the top cabinets for months because we all forget about it. 😂
Sara S. on
Halloween is challenging when your little goblins have allergies! We do the switch witch in our house. They are allowed to keep one piece of “safe” candy per year of age (ie. My six year old gets to keep six pieces and his three yr old sister gets to keep three). Then the switch witch leaves a toy and thank you note in place of the sacrificed sweets. I love reading the other parents traditions, having the switch witch leave a piece of organic candy with the gift seems like a good idea to sweeten the deal :)
Katrina on
I have no kids, but my cousin does and the switch witch visits them every year. I help (because her kids seem to find stuff she hides) by coming after they go to sleep and swich the candy with a small toy, book or something. Then my cousin donates the candy. The 3 year old told me yesterday that the felt witch decoration they have will take his candy and leave him a toy. So he is excited. Which is nice because he can’t eat candy/sugar, so sometimes he has Larabars or Lily’s chocolate for special occasions. But his 10 year old sister asked me if I was the switch witch. And when I said no. She told me she suspects her Mom because the witch doesn’t visit the other houses in the neighborhood. oh, my!
Andrea G on
We’ve been doing switch witch from the beginning & our kids are totally cool with it – which has been a relief! We swap it out for small organic candies & gifts.
ana h on
My daughter is 5 and so far we’ve just been letting her eat some the first few days then we put it away and she forgets about it. I fear now that she is getting older she will realize this so I need a new plan…
Amy Brown on
My son just turned 5 and loves handing out candy more than eating it. We try and go trick or treating pretty early to make it back to our home which is pretty busy. We usually run out of our giveaways before trick or treating ends, so my son gives out most of his candy loot. I love the idea of the switch witch . . . and definitely will use son of these awesome ideas.
Christa on
The Switch Witch has visited our house the past 3 years. The first year my daughter who has the biggest sweet tooth EVER refused to give up her bucket of candy, but my son was willing to set his bucket out. That first year he received a spiralizer which has led to many healthy and fun eating adventures ever since. Last year my daughter was brave enough to release her candy too. The received a super shiny penny, a poem, and a new pair of shoes wrapped in spiderweb. This year the Switch Witch plans to leave Sarah’s BLACK silks and a small wooden toy if my children chose to leave their candy out. They always have a choice if they want to participate each year. Any candy switched gets donated without my children’s knowledge as they are still fully enthralled in the magic of this yearly visit at ages 6 and 8.
Heidi on
We usually let the kids pick a few favorites then take the rest to the dentist who trades for $1 per pound of candy.
Krystal B on