Okay, this post is not going to win me "Coolest Mom of the Year." But if you're like me, you're looking down the barrel of a full-out sugar rush this weekend. Kind of like this:



We'll indulge for a few days, snacking on all this Halloween loot. The kids love to sort all the candy they've collected (and smell them!). But after a few days of Peanut Butter Cups, fun size candy bars and sugary candy corn, we are ready to rid our house of all Halloween candy (because I will eat them all).

For the past couple of years, we bring our candy into Magic Beans for their Candy Buy Back program. Bring in at minimum of one pound of candy between 11/1-11/5 and your kids get 20% off a new toy. Magic Beans donates the candy to food pantries and the military overseas.

Green Planet Kids in Newton is also accepting your leftover candy of a pound or more between 11/1-11/7 in exchange for a $5 gift card. Green Planet Kids is sending candy to military troops overseas as well.

Be sure to check out your kids' dentist offices as most do a candy buyback too. Our kids' dentist office will give $1 for every pound of candy donated to the troops. Here's a complete list of candy buy back in Massachusetts from Boston Parents Paper.

Sweet, right?

Most Gen-Xers and older are probably familiar with the classic advertising campaign from Prince Pasta: the little boy (Anthony) running through the narrow streets of the North End of Boston to get home for dinner because "Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day." As an college student studying advertising, this memorable commercial was highly regarded. Prince Pasta became one of the country's iconic brands, firmly establishing itself in our food culture.