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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Disgusted by excessive Xmas treats!

402 replies

PinkPomeranian · 04/01/2022 14:52

My kids are doing a final clear up before going back to school tomorrow, and 8yo trotted off to fetch her Xmas sweet haul which she had forgotten about and therefore barely touched.

Seeing it all laid out I am absolutely astounded by the amount of chocolate/sweets she has accumulated. (Even more horrified to realise that 5yo currently has a pile half this size despite receiving the same stuff as her elder sister!) This is over the last month alone. She also has two large tins full of the sweets she's been given at parties and Hallowe'en etc. I don't think our friends or family are particularly big on sweets so guess lots of little or one-off things have just accumulated.

AIBU to be a bit taken aback by the amount she's received? And what do other people do with it all? I don't think she'll get through it all but seems a waste to bin it.

Disgusted by excessive Xmas treats!
OP posts:
SouthParkCovid · 04/01/2022 16:08

I could eat that in one sitting 😂

anotherbloodyyearofcovid · 04/01/2022 16:09

bin the lot of it, horrible poor quality shitty stuff. The kids won't miss it.

Some idiot posted somewhere recently that making a child wear a mask is abuse. Giving handfuls of sugar and e-numbers to a child to eat is abuse. I grew up with kids who had more fillings than teeth because their parents fed them sugary rubbish like this.

Don't feel bad, it's rubbish and belongs in the bin.

No, I'm not a dentist.

(sits back and waits for torrent of abuse)

girlmom21 · 04/01/2022 16:10

@WorraLiberty

If it's a space issue, ditch the kids and keep the chocolate.
GrinGrinGrin
Original poster
PinkPomeranian · 04/01/2022 16:10

@EerieSilence

Donate it to food bank, FFS. Seriously.
I just wasn't sure whether it was very nice to rock up with Santas and the like in January, or things that had obviously been part of a bigger pack.
OP posts:
CMhater · 04/01/2022 16:11

@SouthParkCovid

I could eat that in one sitting 😂
Me too. My 12yo ds would inhale it in an hour if I let him.
LadyJJ · 04/01/2022 16:14

Also don't think its massive, DP got more sweets than that for Xmas.
Could you donate it to a food bank if you don't want it in the house?

WorraLiberty · 04/01/2022 16:14

@anotherbloodyyearofcovid

bin the lot of it, horrible poor quality shitty stuff. The kids won't miss it.

Some idiot posted somewhere recently that making a child wear a mask is abuse. Giving handfuls of sugar and e-numbers to a child to eat is abuse. I grew up with kids who had more fillings than teeth because their parents fed them sugary rubbish like this.

Don't feel bad, it's rubbish and belongs in the bin.

No, I'm not a dentist.

(sits back and waits for torrent of abuse)

No, I'm not a dentist.

With that attitude I hope you're not a parent either.

feedthepeony · 04/01/2022 16:16

@Sakura7

It sounds like she has picked up on your attitude towards food to be honest.
Agreed with this.

"Mummy this excessive amount of chocolate is far too much for my temple and I would like some quinoa instead from Waitrose."

Put it in your junk cupboard and be done with it 😂😂😂

Original poster
PinkPomeranian · 04/01/2022 16:16

@SleepingStandingUp

The tubs of sweets contain lollipops, packs of Haribo, Maoam, Swizzlers, Love Hearts, Chew-its and that kind of stuff. Usually from party bags and Hallowe'en. meh they'll be fine to either give out in party bags or give out at Halloween if they're not gone

I can just see it being shoved in a cupboard and forgotten about when newer things or baked goods are on offer. so don't buy new things. If they're likely to want a snack, get them to get something from their box. If you're doing shopping, don't add tests for the kids. No way will chocolate be brought in my house any time soon.

I did a pass the parcel recently with a parcel that had been prepared for a party that couldn't go ahead last year. The sweets (packets of Haribo Starmix) had gone all hard. The kids complained about them so they must have been bad! I guess they have some kind of shelf-life.

Most people round here bring a box of biscuits to playdates, and relatives often bring a little something for the kids when they visit, so it's not as simple as just not buying more. The things brought tend to be opened by or in front of guests.

OP posts:
HelloBunny · 04/01/2022 16:18

I’d have Easter eggs in the fridge well into summer... And I don’t have an eating disorder.

I think balance is the key, and the OP is trying for that. Some saying that the stuff will last, but the kids will be given more at Easter.

Most parents here are responsible around this kind of food. But sadly, some kids eat rubbish like this all day long, and that’s an issue too.

Original poster
PinkPomeranian · 04/01/2022 16:18

@WorraLiberty

Maybe a helping a week until Easter would do the trick! I can just see it being shoved in a cupboard and forgotten about when newer things or baked goods are on offer.

So you do have room in your cupboards? Confused

At the expense of other stuff that then clutters up the counter tops.
OP posts:
ashorterday · 04/01/2022 16:19

I'd be helping them eat it tbh.

Joystir59 · 04/01/2022 16:20

Take it to the food bank so that it can be given away to families who can't afford treats

JuergenSchwarzwald · 04/01/2022 16:21

Chocolate doesn't go off (not that quickly anyway). Just ration it. And you must have space for it - keep it in the garage or somewhere if it doesn't fit in the garage.

I do find all these posts so virtue signally - just ration the chocolate - or give it away. But don't come onto MN and Facebook wringing your hands about how much chocolate your kids have got. Easter is late this year, so plenty of time to eat it before the next onslaught.

JuergenSchwarzwald · 04/01/2022 16:22

@Joystir59

Take it to the food bank so that it can be given away to families who can't afford treats
But the food banks say that poor people can't have nice things. No sugar allowed at our local food bank!

They make an exception for chocolate advent calendars, I believe.

ShrinkingViolet9 · 04/01/2022 16:23

bin the lot of it, horrible poor quality shitty stuff. The kids won't miss it.

Don't feel bad, it's rubbish and belongs in the bin.

I wouldn't call a Lindt Father Christmas "rubbish".

WorraLiberty · 04/01/2022 16:23

I do find all these posts so virtue signally - just ration the chocolate - or give it away. But don't come onto MN and Facebook wringing your hands about how much chocolate your kids have got. Easter is late this year, so plenty of time to eat it before the next onslaught.

Exactly. It's so tedious and transparent.

As if the OP didn't consider contacting a food bank to ask if they want them 🙄

girlmom21 · 04/01/2022 16:23

And you must have space for it - keep it in the garage or somewhere if it doesn't fit in the garage

We all agree this thread is daft but do you really think everyone has a garage if they're saying they don't have storage space enough for a handful of sweets?

ashorterday · 04/01/2022 16:23

Put it on olio (food waste app) it'll get snapped up.

Original poster
PinkPomeranian · 04/01/2022 16:24

@HelloBunny

I’d have Easter eggs in the fridge well into summer... And I don’t have an eating disorder.

I think balance is the key, and the OP is trying for that. Some saying that the stuff will last, but the kids will be given more at Easter.

Most parents here are responsible around this kind of food. But sadly, some kids eat rubbish like this all day long, and that’s an issue too.

Thank you very much for seeing that I'm striving for balance.

Obviously I'm not really clutching my pearls over this, but the point is that my daughter doesn't want all of this (and actively wants to get rid of some of it, I wouldn't get rid of anything without her say so) and a lot of her sweets get wasted. I'm grateful for the useful suggestions.

DD was quite keen to try to sell some bits for charity but I can't quite see how she'd manage to sell 5p lollies, especially when few of them look brand new.

OP posts:
Meatshake · 04/01/2022 16:24

Behave yourself 🤣

"Kid receives chocolate for Christmas, more on this breaking story as it develops".

Also, my 5 year old has definitely eaten more chocolate than that over the Xmas holidays. The rest of it has quietly been binned if it's crap, or if decent chocolate I will spread out over the next month. Not exactly the end of the world.

Joystir59 · 04/01/2022 16:25

I'd throw it away to be honest.

eagerlywaitingfor · 04/01/2022 16:25

Some lovely ideas about giving it away or donating it to a food bank.

Except for one thing. That haul does not belong to the OP. It isn't hers to dispose of.

Joystir59 · 04/01/2022 16:26

I've binned the last of the mince pies as that's less harmful than me stuffing them in my stomach

girlmom21 · 04/01/2022 16:26

@eagerlywaitingfor

Some lovely ideas about giving it away or donating it to a food bank.

Except for one thing. That haul does not belong to the OP. It isn't hers to dispose of.

But her daughter said it's too much