Trick or treat -- and merry Christmas!

Here's a tip on a great place to shop for Christmas stocking stuffers.

Look no further than the kids' trick-or-treat bags.

When my daughter Rebecca was a child, Halloween would be followed by a week of my little darling flying around like an airplace on a sugar high. I'd hide the goodies -- and she would find them, falling on the treats like a ravenous wolf with a sweet fang. (My mother used to secrete our Halloween candy under her bed, after weeding out the apples, inspecting them for razor blades and then baking a pie. Guarding the candy prevented my sisters and I from overindulging and also provided Mom with handy Hershey bars with almonds, her personal favorite.)

Then, I struck upon the idea of sneaking a dozen or so candy bars out of Rebecca's treat bag and setting them aside for Christmas. I tucked the treats into a zip-lock plastic bag and hid the sack in the back of the freezer until it was time to fill the stockings on Christmas Eve. This spared Rebecca from temptation -- and me from having to make a last-minute dash for candy.

Rebecca was none the wiser. Until now.