5 Clever Ideas to Use Up All That Halloween Candy

This year our house will have three trick-or-treaters. Three! That’s a lot of candy, more than what we know what to do with. Typically we let the kids have at the candy for a couple days then we take the leftovers and put them up on top of the fridge for “Special Treats.” These often end up being thrown out after a few months of sitting up there (along with Easter, Valentine’s Day and parade candy). I know, it sounds horrible, but we have THREE full bags of candy!

So this year I wanted to use our candy in a more useful way. Here are 5 clever ideas to use up all that Halloween candy:

1. Freeze It

Freeze the candy and save it for more appropriate times throughout the year. You could add it in a recipe, save it for gingerbread house decorating, or use it as a stocking stuffer.

2. Operation Gratitude

What better way to reuse your candy then to send it to our troops? Last year Operation Gratitude distributed a record-setting 533,891 pounds of candy! These businesses will “buy back” your candy, usually by the pound, and then donate it to Operation Gratitude. Participating locations are:

River City Dental Care

Cedar Rapids Smile Center, PLC

Kalona Family Dentistry

Or you can search for a location near you here.

3. Use It for Homework

Using a bag of M&M’s or Sweetarts for simple math problems is a fun and creative way to engage your child in homework.

4. Save It for Packed Lunch Treats

What a great surprise for your kids to have a little extra treat on random days throughout the year. (You could even sneak one into your own lunchbox once in awhile!)

5. Bake with It

Simply start with a chocolate chip cookie recipe, then cut the candy bars into small chunks and add into the dough!

So there you have it: five ways to use up all the extra candy this Halloween. Word on the street is that some kids trade their candy in for a special present from the “Switch Witch,” but the jury is still out on that one for us.

Trick or treat!