Halloween is over and you’re looking at that big bag of candy sitting on the table and thinking, “What are we ever going to do with all that crap?”
If your house is like our house, all that candy sits around, you or the kids sneak a piece here and there, but then 6 months down the road you’re shoving that bag over to make room in the pantry for holiday fare, only to throw it out for good around…April. Well, why wait to do that dirty work until next Spring? Here are some creative ways you can whittle away at that mound of sugar now.
Using Leftover Halloween Candy
1. Sell it. Many local dental offices participate in “buy back” programs where you can get coupons to local businesses, fun items or even cash. Check out the Halloween Candy Buy Back site to find dentists near you participating in the program.
2. Donate it. Call your local homeless shelters, women’s shelters, or even nursing homes to see if they would like the candy. For many staying in those places, candy will be a nice treat that they don’t often spend money on as a splurge.
3. Freeze it. That’s right, most candy will freeze just fine to keep for later dates. The freezing method will also help you to monitor candy consumption. It’s easier for kids (or you) to eat three Snickers out of a bag then to wait for the same three to thaw before you eat them.
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4. Cook/bake with it. There are so many great recipes out there for using candies–from candy bars to red hots and even those awful traditional candy corns. Try the Snickers Salad, turkey cookies for Thanksgiving, or search the internet for recipes using the kind of candy you have left.
5. Decorate with it. With upcoming holidays, you will have plenty of opportunities to use the candy for homemade Christmas presents, as hot chocolate drink bar garnishes at parties, gingerbread house and cookie decorating parties and more. Just sort out (or unwrap) the ones that are in traditional Halloween black and orange and go from there. (And believe me, a box of Nerds can make an awesome cookie or gingerbread house decoration).
6. Make party drinks. Look, why are the kids the only ones who get to have fun? You can use leftover candy to make or garnish yummy adult drinks for your parties. Have a ton of leftover suckers? Make the Tootsie Pop drink, unwrap a sucker and then plop it right in the drink for garnish. (Works the same with Jolly Ranchers or Sweet Tarts.) Or, try the Liquid Snickers drink, cut up a Snickers bar and put on the rim of the glass as a garnish.
What do you do with all of your Halloween candy?
