Something scary is coming soon. 

Halloween.

For lots of us, celebrating Halloween is tons of fun. 

We get to decorate our houses with lots of fun stuff, carve pumpkins, put on costumes, and see lots of cute kids in adorable costumes.

But for some people the thought of having all that halloween candy in the house is scary. 

They are worried they will be tempted to eat the candy.

Because maybe that is what happened in the past.

Does this sound like you?

The secret, as always, is:

Have a plan.

A plan for how and when to purchase the Halloween candy.

A plan for where to store it until set-up time.

And perhaps most importantly, a plan for what to do with it at the end of the evening, since living with an open bag of candy may be more of a challenge than living with an unopened bag.

Below are 13 tips to help you survive Halloween without eating the candy! Yes, 13! Because it's Halloween!!! 

1. Buy stuff you don't like (you KNOW there is some candy you don't like).

2. Buy stuff you wouldn't eat even if you did (used to) like it - for example as a vegan I wouldn't be tempted by anything with milk chocolate since it has milk in it.

3. Buy about the amount you think you will need (keep track of how many trick-or-treaters you get each year).

4. Buy it only a day or two before Halloween.

5. Store it in an inaccessible or out-of-the-way place until it's go-time (for example, leave it in the trunk of your car until it is time to set it out).

6. When you set it up, if you have multiple bags, only open one at a time to put in the bowl. Open the other bags as needed to replenish the bowl.

7. If you think you will be tempted to eat the candy as you give it out, delegate that task to someone else in your household if possible. If you have young kids who need an escort, maybe you can be the one walking with them, and your spouse can stay home and give out candy. Note: if you do this, it can be more fun if you buddy up with another parent who is a friend, either someone from your neighborhood or not.

8. Eat your dinner and brush and floss your teeth BEFORE the trick-or-treaters come.

9. Give whatever is left to the last kid(s) right before you turn the porch light out and call it a night.

10. Bring the rest of it to work - it can be your colleagues' problem instead of yours (as long as you can leave it alone there). If this is your plan, put it in the trunk of your car as soon as your last trick-or-treater has departed! You don't want to be having just one (because, you know, they are just the small size treats), and then another , and another and another as a "last hurrah" on Halloween night or on the way to work in the morning if they are sitting in the passenger seat of your car.

11. Give it to your kids (if you must - I know you don't really want them to eat a lot of it either, but they are kids and it is Halloween and they are eating candy from the other houses too).

12. Throw it in the trash! Really!  And notice what emotions come up for you and do some journaling and/or tapping about that.

13. And if you do eat some of it, forgive yourself, figure out what happened, and move on. Don't be mean to yourself!

Have a great Halloween everyone!  

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