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Sarah Michelle Gellar Shares Her Clever Trick to Keep Kids From Going Overboard on Halloween Sweets

With Halloween and more festive holidays right around the corner, parents everywhere are gearing up to battle the annual sugar rush that kids crave. For actress and mom-of-two Sarah Michelle Gellar, she knows exactly how to keep her son Rocky, 7, and daughter Charlotte, 10, from going overboard. 

“We have a very specific trick in our house,” she told FIRST. “We do like a big bake day where we bake fresh cookies and truffles. Each kid has a certain amount that they’re allowed, they put it in the bag, and it gets packed before we go trick or treating. Then once we go trick or treating, they get as much candy as they want but they can’t eat it. When we get home, they’re allowed to get their bags [of fresh baked goodies], and we donate the rest of the candy to the troops.”

That’s definitely a clever solution for minimizing the amount of cavity-causing confections. You might expect a little push back from kids being made to give up the candy they worked so hard for, but Gellar explains that her family makes it exciting by explaining how the candy is going to people who don’t get to celebrate the holiday. Plus, they make sure to save plenty of those home-made treats. 

“The truth is, when you make it from scratch and it has all those better ingredients, it’s gonna taste better,” she says. The actress knows all about that as one of the co-founders of Foodstirs, an organic baking company that offers healthier (and budget-friendly) mixes for cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and more.

Of course, there’s always the chance kids will get their hands on sweet treats no matter how much you try to avoid them, but it’s not the end of the world — especially if you’ve already set a good example for your kids to learn from. Gellar told us about how a trip to get flu shots ended with her son’s mouth turning bright blue from a lollipop the doctor gave him. “When he saw my face he said, ‘Don’t worry mama, as soon as we get home I’m gonna brush my teeth.’ When you work it into their lifestyle naturally, it becomes second nature to them.” 

Dental hygiene is clearly important to Gellar, who recently partnered with Colgate Optic White Platinum High Impact Toothpaste ($11.99 for 3 pack, Amazon) to promote bright and healthy teeth. “It’s such a simple and easy choice to have beautiful teeth,” she told us. “It’s affordable for everyone, it’s accessible to everyone, and it really makes a difference.” 

She explained how she first chose the product for herself because it has hydrogen peroxide as its main ingredient, which helps get the whitening action through the surface of the teeth. “I don’t have 45 minutes to put some special device in my teeth and sit at the dentist, it’s not realistic to my lifestyle,” she said. You just need one look at her beaming smile to know just how well the product is working for her.

We’ll all get the chance to see Gellar’s pearly whites on our TV screens again soon when she stars in not just one, but two upcoming series: Sometimes I Lie, a thriller based on the book by the same name ($7.99, Amazon) and co-produced by Gellar and Ellen DeGeneres, and a neighborhood dramedy called Other People’s Houses. She wasn’t able to give us any details on when those will be airing, but we’ll totally be tuning in!

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