Smartest Ways to Make Good Use of Leftover Halloween Candy (Besides the Obvious)
It’s (almost) that time of year again. When the kids run giddy around the neighborhood (hopefully stay warm under these incredibly thin Star Wars suits) and come back home with a ton of mood-altering insulin candies you – despite your most secret attempts to bite off the laundry … – can’t get rid of fast enough. What should parents do with extra pounds of candy after the first few days of overeating? Here are a few ways you might not have thought of to expel loot from your premises (or at least use it in a new way).
Get the switch witch
After her daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, mom Lara Riley developed the Switch Witch , a little doll that comes to your home for a “long sleepover” a few weeks before Halloween. After your kid takes care of their Switch Witch in October, she rewards them after the holidays by turning some of their candy into a surprise gift.
Make a donation (or take part in the candy buyback program)
Operation Gratitude has been collecting candy for its “military, veterans and first responders” since 2007. Sign up to make a donation and they will either match you with the local military, first responders, or a group of veterans, or ask you to send them there. their candy processing plant in California. Likewise, Soldier’s Angels has a Troop Treats program. Dentists participating in the Halloween candy buyback program will pay $ 1 for every pound of candy the children bring to their offices (which are then donated).
Decorate your gingerbread house with it.
If you find the store is running out of gingerbread house decor (which never fails), nothing that some leftover Halloween candy can’t fix. Open your candy stash and add your own Skittles, Gummy Bears, Pez or Green and Red M&M to the decor.
Use for upcoming holidays (and birthdays)
Do you know what happens shortly after Halloween? Christmas. And you know what soon after? Easter. If you’re celebrating one of these holidays, your kids’ extra Halloween candy can be used for their stockings and baskets. (Although you might want to check the packaging for traces of flying witches, pumpkins, or bats, otherwise your re-assignment will become obvious.) And don’t worry if the candy has gone bad by then – it will last a good six to nine months. , or longer . Also read: Birthday Pinatas and Gift Bags.
Use it as a motivation tool
I do not allow myself to regularly get a lot of sweets into the house. This means that my kids are like rabid animals around the candy bowl, but it also means that they will do a lot of things to get more. So while this is by no means my primary or preferred method of stimulating them, he is confident that it is effective. After allowing the children to keep the amount that is comfortable for you, set aside the rest and hand out a bite at a time when chores, homework, or other essential life tasks (such as biting off a “disgusting” chicken) are completed.
Use chocolate in your recipe
Twix let someone in? Or is Butterfinger cheesecake more for you? Whether you like sweet, fruity-flavored candy, or love chocolate or chocolate, with a little digging around, you can find a recipe that includes your favorite recipe (or just those candies that are still on the bottom of the plastic pumpkin). Feel free to freeze it and make a blizzard with a cup of peanut butter or homemade milkshakes with vanilla ice cream and Milky Ways.