Switch Witch The What Why And How To Do It Right

Switch Witch

Switch Witch is one of the newer holiday traditions that we probably didn’t have as kids and it’s become quite popular around Halloween. The switch witch concept is that kids invite the witch (no worries, she’s nice!) to take some of the extra candy stash they don’t want and leave a “healthier” treat in its place. Or one to replace unsafe candy in the case of food allergies. And while I’ve totally ignored the Elf on the Shelf, we sometimes use witch and find it to be super useful around Halloween—though I have changed it a lot to avoid sending mixed messages around candy.

Switch Witch Book

If you want to go full out with this, you can get the Switchcrafted book and witch doll set…but to be honest, you don’t really need either do this tradition! And I actually find that it’s more fun to just take the idea and run with it at home. I also don’t love that it focuses on Halloween candy being “sugary” in a negative way that may be confusing for kids—especially older kids. TIP: There are printables, poems, and really all manner of things to make this complicated if you spend any time on Google. You do you, but know this is perfectly fine if you streamline it or skip all of that!

Who is the Switch Witch good for?

I like using this idea for kids over about age 3 or 4. Younger than that and the nuances of how it works may be a little hard to understand. I didn’t know about it until my oldest was about 5 and we’ve been doing it ever since.

How to Do the Switch Witch, Step-by-Step

Here’s a look at how we use the concept of the Switch Witch at Halloween. TIP: We don’t go into detail as to who the Switch Witch, where she lives, or any other details, but you can get inspiration from the book or make it up yourself! This is sort of like Elf on the Shelf in that if the kids have friends who do this, it’s likely not the same in each house. Personalizing it is fun!

Why the Witch Doesn’t Steal Candy (this is Important)

If you participate in Halloween and trick or treating, my feeling is that the kids have the right to enjoy the process of eating and tasting the candy. (Don’t want them to eat a lot of candy? Don’t let them trick or treat for it!) The Switch Witch is NOT an attempt to restrict their candy intake, but is an opportunity for them to practice zeroing in on the candy they actually like to eat and enjoy. This is a great learning experience for the kids to flex their intuitive eating muscles. If you feel the urge to use this tradition to prevent the kids from eating their candy, I would urge you to consider why. And then perhaps simply limit the duration of trick or treating to reduce the total candy haul in a way that likely feels less punitive and less confusing. It sends a very confusing message to let the kids bring home a bag of candy only to force them to give it up or not be allowed to eat it. Again, the witch doesn’t force kids to give up their candy and doesn’t take it away. The kids are in charge of what is offered to her and the parents get to decide what object can be given to the kids in exchange. TIP: If you decide to do this one year and you find it to be just one more thing to do (in a not good way!) feel free to change your mind in future years.

Best Switch Witch Ideas

We usually keep the items left by the nice witch simple, but you can be as creative (or not creative!) as you like. Some options include:

book coloring book and markers small car or figurine playdough sticker book bubbles temporary tattoos a coupon for a date with a parent craft supplies

TIP: We usually pick one of these for each child. You do not need to replace each piece of candy with an item! Have you tried this with your kids? I’d love to hear your experiences (or your questions if you have some after reading this post so please comment below!