The Candy Trade

Today I got to be a part of something really special that I hope to share with my own children. The girls that I keep went Trick or Treating on Friday night and collected a TON of candy. Each year they get to "trade" in their candy at a store of their choice.
Here is how it worked. After picking out 10 pieces they wanted to keep, they put the rest of the candy in a bag to trade in and donate to children who didn't get to trick or treat. They chose to go to Joann's Fabrics, of all places to trade in their candy. I told them they could get something that was $10 or less because that is what their candy was worth. Seven year old picked out a "make your own lip balm" kit and five year old chose a jewelry making kit with glow in the dark beads.
We went to the cash register with our two items and bag full of candy. I stood behind the girls and told the lady that we would like to trade our candy in to be donated to children in exchange for our items. I'm pretty sure at first she thought I was a crazy woman with a severe eye twitch, but then she caught on to my winking. It was funny because she was speaking in a normal tone until she realized what was going on. She then began to whisper, even though the girls were standing right there and could hear her.
After handing over the candy and scanning the items, I paid for their new treats. Somehow that didn't seem weird or wrong to them. I guess they were too excited about their stuff to worry about that.
Of course they agreed to hand over their loot for something in exchange, but all week they have talked about giving their candy to people who didn't have a Happy Halloween. I love that they are learning at such a young age about sharing with those who have less than themselves.