October 31, 2010

Hoarders: the Not So Sweet Side of Halloween

"I have arranged my candy in a way so that I can see if it has been disturbed," said my eldest son as he finally walked away from his precious piles and into bed after Halloween last night.

I doubt that he would notice if I pinched a Caramilk bar but I wouldn't chance it. The wrath if he did figure it out wouldn't be worth the minute of satisfaction from the sweet treat. It is like this every year. He is our family hoarder. From candy to toys, his room is filled with whatever falls under his tyrannical hoarding instinct.

It is usually the first-born who is the hoarder. They had their spotlight taken away from them when their sibling(s) were born so they guard everything else with viscious intensity. In contrast, his two younger siblings will instantly gorge on whatever Halloween candy they can stuff into their mouths before bedtime. They are used to having less stuff and figure they might as well enjoy it while they can.

My first-born will eat a little bit of candy, choose which ones he wants to keep and allow the Halloween Fairy to take the rest. But those 10 pieces that he chose will live for another year in the cupboard in a little plastic bag.

I have tried to grab a piece and throw it in a lunch bag (sometimes his, sometimes not) as a treat and if he sees it he will ask: Is that my Halloween candy?

Now that Halloween 2010 has passed I am hoping to throw out the few Aero bars from Halloween 2009, I hope he won't notice.

It's not like we don't have enough to go around:

And don't let me leave you with the impression that the other two are angels. This is how Wonder Woman finished the night (that is a tantrum not a nap):