If your house is anything like mine, perhaps you’ve spent the past three days locked in intense negotiations.

“Can I have some candy.”

“No,” I say, laughing and looking at the clock. 6:22 a.m.

“How about after breakfast.”

“That sounds delicious, but no, let’s save it for dessert tonight.”

“No, I’d rather just have mine right now.”

I did the math. If I combine the size of our candy pile with my one-piece-per-day rule,  we’ll have ongoing negotiations like this long after the Minnesota’s Governor race is finalized!

We’ll have pumpkin-foiled chocolates coexisting with Santa-foiled chocolates. Chaos!

Luckily there is a simple way to prevent such madness and do a little something good in the world.

Monday morning, I asked both girls to pick out their five favorite pieces of candy, and I told them we could send the rest to thank our soldiers. I expected to negotiate about the number of pieces to keep. I expected protests or whining.

Instead, I had two girls carefully weighing the pros and cons of a Baby Ruth versus a candy bracelet. Once their own selections were made, the rest was piled into a box along with a couple of coloring pages. They actually spent more time decorating the box than picking out candy.

Honestly, I was a bit afraid to lead much of a discussion on the topic. I suspected that too much thought might make them realize  they were giving away all their loot.

Apparently, I had nothing to worry about. Miss Kindergarten took the lead when I did not, telling Little Miss Three that these candies might end up in the paper bags they colored for soldiers a few weeks back. She talked about making the soldiers feel happy and remembered. And she told her little sister that it was healthier for the soldiers to share the candy than for the two of them to eat the whole box full.

Our stash made its way to Operation Gratitude, which is accepting all excess candy through December third.

Shipping on a heavy box of chocolate can get a bit ridiculous, so if you’d like to keep this a free donation effort, consider calling around. Local food shelves often accept candy donations, and many dentists buy candy back at a dollar per pound, sending the excess to military support projects like Operation Gratitude!

Good luck sharing your loot.

Tags: Free, Improving Lives

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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