Now that Halloween is over, do you have a TON of candy?  What do you do with it? How do you minimize the intake of sugar for your kids? Here is a great way to solve all of your questions- Make a Christmas Countdown Chain! This chain seriously saves me from kid tantrums and tears. Instead of them asking every 10 minutes if they can have another piece of candy, they know that they get one piece a day and each day means it’s closer to Christmas! It does take some time, but the kids can help you out!  Here’s how you do it:

Supplies you need:
Plastic Wrap
Ribbon or Yarn- cut into strips long enough to tie
Scissors
Halloween Candy (# depending on when you start your chain-days to Christmas.)

Directions:

Stretch your Plastic Wrap out and keep it straight. Don’t cut it off until you are completely done. Tie Ribbon on the end and add in your first piece of candy. Next you’ll want to wrap the plastic wrap around the candy and twist the end a few times so the candy doesn’t fall out. Then add another ribbon. Repeat this step until you have all of your pieces in your plastic wrap.  End the chain with another ribbon-twisting before you tie. That’s it!

Tips:
#1: If you have more than one child, consider using different colors of ribbon or yarn for each kid.  That way they know which chain is theirs just by looking at the color.

#2: Remember to twist the wrap after each candy, otherwise they tend to fall out.

#3 If you don’t have enough pieces to go all the way until Christmas, consider going until Thanksgiving or even through the month of November. There can be different ending times, depending on the amount of candy you have.