What Can we do with All This Halloween Candy?
The fun evening of galavanting around the neighborhood is over and your kids have more candy than you’d even imagined. Plus, with all the school parties, and trunk or treating at church, there’s a good chance your kids have had not one, but two or three opportunities to collect candy this season.
What can we do with all of this Halloween candy?? I certainly don’t want my kids eating it all!!
We know that most Halloween Candy is loaded with stuff that is not good for any kid – and if your kiddo has ADHD, like mine, some of the ingredients may exacerbate their ADHD symptoms.
There is actually a lot you can do with all that Halloween Candy, instead of having your kids consume it all.
1. Let them keep a little bit
Barring any allergies, it’s probably a good idea to let your kids keep a few items. It’s never a good idea to create any forbidden foods, whatever your kid’s age is. Instead, create healthy boundaries around junk food and emphasize the idea that these types of foods should be eaten, in small amounts and very infrequently.
They are going to be in situations away from you, more and more, the older they get, and you’d hate to have them wolf down junk whenever you are not in sight.
Of course, they don’t have to eat it all in one sitting. Encourage them to save some to eat over the coming week.
2. exchange for “Healthier” candy
There are better options when it comes to sweets. Candy companies are becoming wise to the savvy consumer and creating candy without all the dyes, corn syrup and other icky stuff found in in most store-bought sweets.
You could exchange your kids candy for different candy! Stores like Whole Foods offer some really great and yummy options. Head to the store with your child to read labels and find some better options. Check out our list of healthier candy options, HERE.
3. Exchange Their Candy for Something Else
This is my favorite solution, because it’s a win-win, for you and your kiddos. Your kids won’t eat all the candy and they will feel like they are getting a fair – or heck, even better! deal.
After you let your kids keep a few items, you take the rest and give them something else – cash, books, a new hoodie. You can even exchange their Halloween Candy for time spent with you.
We had “The Candy Fairy” come visit for years when my kids were little. They would lay out most of their candy for the fairy and the next day, in it’s place were a few new books. We kept this up, as long as my kids went trick or treating and even after they realized there was no “fairy”
You can then do what you’d like with the candy – bring for co-workers, donate it to one of the options below or simply toss it, as it’s really not great for anyone!
4. Re-gift or Donate the candy
Donating anything is a a great way to teach kids to give back and to be grateful for what they have. Yes, the candy is not healthy for anyone, but if you are donating it, chances are it will be divided amongst a rather large group. It can really brighten someone’s day, especially if they are thousands of miles from their loved ones.
Thee are many organizations that would love to have your unopened, wrapped candy. Check with local food pantries, shelters, or nursing homes to see if they accept candy donations. Some kids don’t even get to go trick or treating and a few pieces of candy would feel really special to them.
You can also check out the following organizations which take small care packs and get them to soldiers:
5. Do some fun experiments and Creating
Use the leftover candy to do some fun scientific experiments or mini building projects. There are lots of interesting chemical reactions that can happen with candy – because they contain so many chemicals!
You can also use individual pieces as building blocks to make cool structures. Grab some toothpicks or wooden skewers – you can get them at your local dollar type store and have at it! You can use just about any candy soft enough to get a toothpick in. Combine candy with beads or other small materials to create something amazing.
There are lots of websites and videos with ideas, I’ve shared a few below.
- Sweet Science: 5 Fun Experiments Kids Can Do With Candy
- 18 Different Candy Experiments
- Video: Science Max |BUILD IT YOURSELF |CANDY Geodesic Dome |Structure |EXPERIMENT
- 15 Candy Experiments for Kids
- Video: Halloween Candy Science Experiment!
6. Freeze for Later Use
Having a party in the next few months? Need snacks for a bake sale or to bring to a neighbor?
Freezing the candy makes it harder to eat and extends its life for a long, long time. It also allows you to use it for something else.
This may also create an out of sight, out of mind experience, where your kids will forget about it and you can convenietnly throw it away at a later date. I don’t mind being sneaky if it saves my kids from chemicals.
7. Create something new
The internet is filled with recipes that use your leftover candy. And hey, you can create something with your kids and then gift it to the neighbors, share it with co-workers or school staff.
Cooking together is a great opportunity to create connection and start a new tradition. Cooking can build practical life skills and offer a fun activity for you to do with your kids.
This sight has 50 ideas for cooking with your candy – you’ll be sure to find something.
There are so many things you can do with your leftover Halloween Candy.
It’s wise of you to think about other ways to use all the candy your kids get for Halloween. With often multiple opportunities to Trick-orTreat, kids can amass a huge amount of candy – so much more than is healthy to eat.
By choosing one or more of these ideas, you are teaching your kids a valuable lesson in nutrition – and having fun and building connection along the way.
Have another idea? or want to share how you deal with all that extra candy? Hop on over to Instagram and see what others have to say.