My kids, like many others in the country, got what looks like several pounds of candy the night of Halloween — even though I think we didn't even go trick-or-treating to that many houses. Although I've allowed them to choose two pieces of candy each for the past two nights, the truth is that, at that rate, we'll be doing that until next year's Halloween before the candy's all gone. Not to mention that after a few days, the novelty of having so much candy around kind of wears off in my house (my kids are still very little) and the reality is that my husband and I are the ones who end up devouring the candy — something neither one of us can afford to do considering we're already so out of shape.
That's why, I've been trying to figure out what options we have instead of opening up the trash can and throwing all that unnecessary sugar out.
And, I must say, I've been happily surprised to find out that there's no need to do that. So, let me share with you 5 fun things you can do with your kids' leftover Halloween candy:
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Freeze it: This is a perfect idea to keep any and all chocolate fresh. The best part is that frozen chocolate takes a lot longer to eat since it's so hard, so maybe it'll deter your kids from having a whole bar
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Share it: Take the leftover candy to your office. Your co-workers without kids will appreciate it — those with kids might not. You can also take the candy to a homeless shelter or to your favorite charity's office for the staff to enjoy.
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Bake it: I'm no baker, but even I can use candy, like Skittles or Nerds, to decorate cookies or cupcakes. Another option, is to use the candy as ice cream toppings.
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Donate it: I'm actually liking this one option a lot. There are a few organizations out there that will take your donated candy and send it over to our troops overseas. One of them is called Operation Shoebox. But many dentists participate in a similar program called Operation Gratitude through which your kids can actually exchange their candy for prizes or coupons. In turn, the dentists send the candy to our troops.
Image via Bunches & Bits {Karina}/flickr
