It hasn’t even been a week since Halloween but if you’re looking at all the leftover Halloween candy in your house and don’t know what to do with it, here are some ideas.
Donate It
If you missed my post a couple of weeks ago about the organization Operation Gratitude, you can read all about it by clicking the link above.
You still have time to donate your leftover candy to them. Once they receive it they will include it in their care packages to those in the Armed Forces deployed overseas and to their families left behind. They also send care packages to First Responders, New Recruits, Veterans, Wounded Heroes and their caregivers.
You will need to ship your candy no later than November 8th. To download their form and for additional instructions, follow this link.
Share It
You can’t go wrong with taking your candy to the office. Trust me, word will get out and you’ll see employees in your building that you’ve never met before suddenly come by your office. If you really want to see your candy disappear quickly, leave in it the break room and walk away.
Use It to Teach Your Kids About Science
At the website science20.com, Kimberly Crandall, a mother of three who holds an aeronautical engineering degree has written about 10 fun ways you can use candy to perform science experiments. My son and I have done the Mentos and Diet Coke geyser out in the street and it is a lot of fun.
Dashboard Fondue
If you’re lucky enough to still be enjoying warm weather like we are in northern Nevada, take your leftover chocolate bars, unwrap them and lay them on tinfoil. Curl up the ends and put it on the dashboard of your car. On a warm day, the chocolate will melt and you can dip marshmallows, pretzels, bacon, bananas, or anything else that goes well with chocolate and you’ve just made your own fondue with the help of the sun.
Is it a mess? Of course it is but your kids will have fun with it. If you want to keep it indoors, put your chocolate bars in a microwaveable bowl and melt them in the microwave and do the same thing.
Freeze It
Put your candy in the freezer to enjoy at a later time. You can freeze chocolate bars for 10-12 months and peanut butter cups for about six months. I’ve never tried to freeze other candies so I’m not sure what the taste or texture of Skittles would be after being frozen.
Add Candy to Your Desserts
Add candies to your ice cream just like Cold Stone Creamery does. Mix in anything from M&M’s, Milky Ways, Snickers or Reese’s. You can also chop up your candy and bake it into cookies or brownies or use it to decorate frosting.
Decorate Gingerbread Houses
Ever since my daughter’s first Christmas, we have made gingerbread houses every December. It’s one of our family’s Christmas traditions. We always incorporate Halloween candy as part of our decorations. Smarties, Skittles, Starbursts, lollipops and jelly beans make for fun and colorful additions. We always buy candy canes and other Christmas related decorations but Halloween candy gives us even more of a variety to choose from.
Maybe you didn’t have as many trick or treaters as you anticipated and you’re left with an abundance of treats. Your children have trekked through the neighborhood to come home with their haul, but do they need that much? Consider these ideas in repurposing your candy so it doesn’t get forgotten.
There are a lot of ideas can be considered, but all you offered are just amazing! I would be following the recommendations suggested by you!