What to do with all that leftover Halloween candy
The Biggest Question is What to Do with All that Candy?…. as a child this was a fantasy and Halloween always fulfilled that fantasy of candy everywhere. Now as an adult, I’m not sure many of us do much better at the first glance of a Snickers or a Reese’s, it can send many of us to a breaking point – of just one bite.
Having four children of my own, the candy surplus at our house on Halloween mounts up into huge heaps. But rather than dump your excess in the office candy jar or let it go stale under your child's bed, consider some creative and seriously sweet ways without overindulging. Every family has its own methods of getting through the post-Halloween mounds of joy. Some let their kids gorge themselves for a day or two. Others dole it out a little at a time. Some parents even ban the candy bars altogether. For some nutritionists, doctors and dentists Halloween candy is downright scary. Whatever candy camp your family falls in –– there’s more to do with candy than eat it. Check out my top ten list of what to do with leftover candy:
1. Recycle it. Practice instant recycling. Screen the candy your kids bring home. After throwing away any unwrapped goodies, take out any candy your children don’t like or you don’t want them to have and then send that candy back out the door with other trick-or-treaters. Since Halloween night is done and gone - think about this for next year.
2. Freeze it. Put the chocolate bars right in the freezer to save them for later. Frozen chocolate takes longer to eat, so children can’t wolf it down so quickly.
3. Bake it. You don’t have to freeze the candy to keep it fresh. Kept in an airtight container, it will last long after Halloween. Later, you can bake surprise cupcakes. Push a soft candy into the middle of the batter in each cup before baking. Decorate the icing with more candies. You can also substitute bits of chocolate bars in your favorite chocolate-chip cookie.
4. Stuff it. Gather the leftover goodies and stuff them into a (homemade or store-bought) piñata. Crack the piñata open at Thanksgiving or wait until your child’s birthday.
5. House it. After Halloween, kids can’t wait for Christmas. Save Halloween candy for gingerbread houses.
6. Decorate it. Create Christmas ornaments from candy.
7. Share it. Take your leftover candy to the office. Even if your co-workers who are parents are sick of the stuff, chances are your younger or older colleagues will relish in memories of Halloween.
8. Wrap it. Birthday and Holiday Gift Wrapping– Do you end up spending a small fortune every year on gift-wrapping? Create our own gift wrapping for birthday or holiday gifts in plain paper or purchasing plain gift bags at the dollar store. Then sit the kids down with a pile of candy and some glue and let them at it. Glue the candy onto the wrapping/bag still enclosed in its wrapper for a treat as well as a gift or unwrap the candy for a colorful, creative, non-edible wrapping. The recipients will love this unusual packaging, the kids take pride in their efforts and the best part of this activity keeps the kids happy and quiet for hours!
9. Calendar it. Make a Christmas Countdown Calendar– Buy an inexpensive calendar or tear out the December page of your family calendar. Have the kids glue their favorite pieces of candy (in wrapper) onto each square in December leading up to Christmas Day. This is a great counting exercise as well as enables children to visualize how many days until the big day so you only have to point to their calendar when the question “When is Christmas?” is repeated over and over and over… This is also an excellent way of distributing sweets in small portions. In our house, eating the daily item from their calendar becomes each night’s dessert!
10. Donate it. The best thing to do with your leftover Halloween candy is to donate it. Contact local Ronald McDonald Houses and pediatric hospitals prior to Halloween to see which facilities accept donations. Children in these facilities and often siblings staying Ronald McDonald House don't get the opportunity go trick or treating on Halloween. Here in Atlanta check with the AFLAC CancerCenter and see if donations are being accepted (this is wear our youngest child receives treatment). The food bank, homeless shelters or a church food pantry love to get candy, as well.
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What to do with all that leftover Halloween candy
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