What to Do With All That Leftover Halloween Candy
For most who take part in Halloween, it’s the candy aspect of the holiday that makes it worth celebrating. However, there’s one little-discussed aspect to the season that isn’t so magical: the leftover candy. To the joy of children (and the bane of their parents), it can sometimes seem that the mountain of treats never grows smaller. If this year’s trick-or-treating has resulted in too much of a good thing or you weren’t able to get through all the candy you meant to pass out, consider these ways to use up all that extra sweetness.
Use It in a Recipe
Sure, most candy is good enough of its own. However, many treats–especially the chocolate ones–make fine ingredients in other dishes. Cookies, cakes, and chocolate shakes – there’s a lot you can do when you have a lot of chocolate at your disposal. Don’t limit your creativity to desserts, however. If you’re looking to use your leftover candy in something a little more healthy, you could always throw a few pieces into some homemade trail mix. Or, you could even melt some of that extra chocolate into some hot, wintery drinks like coffee and hot chocolate.
If you have so much candy leftover that you’re afraid it might go bad later on, remember that you can always freeze it to increase its longevity. In this case, you’re also in a position to do some experimenting, trying out recipes you haven’t done before. Deep-fried Snickers, anyone?
Get Decorative
Candy is meant to be eaten, but you can also use it as a fun way to add some color to the home. In this case, a little glue and a good variety of colorful sweets can go a long way. From impressive DIY candy-corn wreaths to simple mason jars filled with Skittles or M&Ms, there’s a lot you can do. You’re only limited by your imagination. Plus, a crafts session makes for a fun group activity!
Of course, there’s one tradition coming up where you’re going to need all the candy you get your hands on. So, consider holding off on making any decorations so that you can use your leftovers to make the best-ever gingerbread houses come winter.
Share With Others
Share the wealth! There are bound to be other people in your life who wouldn’t mind a piece of candy, and by sharing your offerings with others, you’ll know it’s going to good use. You can go about this a few different ways. You could be pretty lax about giving candy away and just take a healthy bag to work or school, where the treats will surely get eaten up quickly. Or, you could spend some time creating personal gift bags for the meaningful people in your life.
Or, you could send your leftover candy to those in need. There are charities both local and international that might be willing to accept your confectionery donations. However, you should always check with the organization first, just to make sure. You don’t want that candy going to waste!
Too much candy is a good problem to have, and it’s one that’s easily solved. Whether you decide to use it up yourself or share it with others, there’s not really a bad way to go about putting leftover candy to use. As long as you aren’t mowing down on a big pile of candy all to yourself, just about any idea is a winner!