Monday, October 30, 2006

No Tricks Just Frugal Treats

My schedule at work has definitely improved but not quite as much as I'd hoped. Oh well, such is the life of a manager. At least the gym doesn't have horrible hours overall or I'd be sunk.

One of the challenges I have at work is to constantly make my members feel special without spending too much money out of my own pocket or compromising my beliefs. I have to confess, I despise Halloween. I'm not sure if its the nutritionist, the vegan or the mother in me but I do hate Halloween. The whole thing seems like a shakedown to me.

That having been said, I'll be hitting the store tonight to grudgingly buy candy for neighborhood children, (although they have these little bags of pretzels that intrigue me). I've also heard of people giving out little toys, a la Oriental Trading Company, but that stuff can be such junk plus I never think of it soon enough to order. Never you fear, my kids do trick or treat. We have two 80's chicks, Batman and Harry Potter living at my house right now.

I wanted to do something special for the members of my gym as well. Lets face it, deep down we all want a treat, don't we? Snack foods after a workout seemed like a bad idea so I opted for an non-edible Halloween treat. I bought several boxes of votive candles in fall colors from the dollar store and put them in a large clear candy bowl with this poem:

Trick or Treat
Here's something that smells sweet
And you can't feel guilty
'Cause its nothing to eat!

I'll let you know on Wednesday what everyone thought of it.

For tonight's dinner I'll be trying Autumn Harvest Stew a recipe that Sally Parrot Ashbrook posted a few days back. I've also been making batch after batch of apple butter and freezing it. Unfortunately, my new job responsibilities coincided with canning season and I don't have the solid block of hours to dedicate to canning this fall.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great idea for the gym members! As for the kids, I agree that little trinkets are pretty useless, but I like the idea of giving our Halloween pencils or something else themed that still has a purpose (such as the candles for the adults). I think kids would enjoy that more than pretzels.

AnnMarie said...

Ahhhhh....another Mom who feels the way I do about H'ween. For the last few years, I told DH that if HE wanted to hand out candy, he could do so. I wouldn't do it. Every time, he ended up not feeling like it and I didn't want all that candy in the house so I had to do it. This year, he's trying it again but this time, intends for our daughter to do the handing out. I also warned him that he'll be tkaing her around the neighborhood when she's older. I just don't think kids begging for candy is a good idea! He also won't allow me to buy non-candy treats, although I ADORED things like stickers and spider rings when I got them as a little kid. ::sigh::

Ruthie said...

Yuck, I agree. Can't we go to the pumpkin festival instead? http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com/2006/10/pumpkin-festival.html

Still haven't decided how to deal with Halloween when I have kids. I think I'll probably end up doing parties.

James said...

Here is a link for you.

Lots of recipes!

http://www.geocities.com/sandieb101/Menu2.html

Katie said...

Its nice to know I'm not the only Halloween Grinch.

The pumpkin festival looks cool Ruthie.

Thanks for the link James. It looks like an awesome site.

Jacq said...

Hey, I'm also a Halloween Grinch! I lucked out though and mostly no one comes to my house. My kids do go out though. It has been a junk food fest here unfortunately. My 5yo has been sneaking treats whenever I turn my back. :( I can't wait for it all to be gone.

I've been known to give out granola bars and my 5yo's dear teacher gave everyone in her class battery operated toothbrushes!