You ROCKED at keeping up with all of the Halloween trunk-or-treats, fall festivals and trick-or-treating this year, and now you your children have an abundance of candy! Here are some ideas of what you can do with it instead of eating it (if that's how you roll):
1. Freeze it
If you like to get creative with baked goods, you could cut up and freeze the candy for this purpose. Cut or crush the candy into 1/2" pieces before freezing so it thaws quickly and is ready as soon as you'd like to use it. This is a great time to get creative and use up some things that you have! Add some crushed chocolates to your rice crispy treats, brownies and cakes! Why not!?
2. Use it for the upcoming holidays
Candy is easy to throw into a stocking, add to your neighborhood "You've been Gobbled" or "You've been Elfed" basket, or wrapped into your funny gag gifts for gift exchanges. Do you participate in a big cookie exchange? Get a little bit creative this year and use up those unwanted bits you don't particularly love to put into some white chocolate bars or pair with some peppermint for your peppermint bark. Use it on your Hanukkah nights, in advent calendars, decorate gingerbread houses with it, pack it in a bag and enjoy while you're viewing holiday lights... the options are endless!
3. Brighten a loved one's day
We all have those days where things just don't go our way or we just feel off. If you or a family member like certain ones, you could store a few pieces away and pull one out and attach a little note to help brighten up their day or throw into their lunch box for a sweet surprise!
4. Donate it
If you still have an abundance of candy and don't feel you would use it all, don't let it go to waste! Many food pantries, homeless shelters and even crisis relief centers will accept it. You could also send it in a package to our fellas overseas!
5. Teach with it
If you thought your kids couldn't possibly love candy more, wait until they get the added thrill of making science with it! From volcano poprock science, skittle rainbows, and even chocolate races, candy can be quite fun for learning! If making messy projects isn't your thing, you could also reach out to your children's teachers and see if they'd like anything to experiment with! You can get a TON of ideas from our Pinterest board here.
6. Do a candy exchange
Gather up your neighbors and friends and have them bring the goodies they'd like to part with. Swap candy, stickers or band-aids that your child may have allergies to (some children are allergic to the adhesive) or just straight up exchange the candies you don't enjoy for ones you do. Allow the children to make exchanges and deals themselves for extra learning on negotiations, accepting no, and standing up for themselves.
7. Play with it
Use little pieces of candy in place of pennies for card games, bingo markers for bingo, or poker chips for poker! Have them measure how long your table/couch/rug, etc is using bigger candy bars, use them for a scavenger hunt using clues or i-spy around the house.
So there you have it! A few extra things you can do with all that candy, in case you need some ideas. Of course, you could always just save it all and eat it!
