Everyone loves Halloween, but we all know there can be too much of a good thing. If you limit how much your children can eat they will almost certainly end up with a large amount of leftover Halloween candy.
Even taking advantage of one of those Halloween leftover candy recipe ideas, you may find you still have more sugary Halloween treats on your hands than are good for you and your kids. Here are a few cavity-saving suggestions for other ways to use that leftover Halloween candy.
Donate it
It’s a nice thing to do and a good lesson to teach your kids. Look into organizations that help out kids in need and see if they’d be interested in passing some of those Halloween treats along to the kids they represent. Or, send the candy to some of our deployed troops. Many of them are in countries where they can’t access their favorite candy, so your leftover Halloween candy could make their day. Encourage your kids to write a note to include in the box you send to make the experience more personal.
Turn your leftover candy into a financial literacy lesson
You could have your kids calculate what the candy is worth and trade it in for an equal amount in cash. You could make it into a lesson in how interest works: if they can hold on to it for one month (or longer, depending on how old they are), not only can they trade their candy stash in for cash, but they’ll earn 5% interest in additional cash on whatever’s left of it. Think creatively on how the excess of candy might be used to teach your kids about important financial literacy concepts.
Trade it in
Did you know that some dentists exchange cash and prizes for leftover Halloween candy? Check who participates in the Halloween Candy Buy Back in your area and switch out your leftover Halloween candy for healthier Halloween treats.
Do science experiments with it
CandyExperiments.com has lots of suggestions for ways you can turn your leftover Halloween candy into science lessons. The more variety you’ve got in your candy collection, the more you can learn from it!
Make a candy wreath
Make that leftover Halloween candy into a decoration for next year. This is a fun DIY craft that’s both useful and fun. Depending on the types of candy you have, seek out the DIY Halloween ideas that make the most sense. And be sure to preserve them (and keep the bugs away) by coating it with a clear craft sealer like Krylon’s Preserve It or using Mod Podge.
Here are a few that might help you out:
Make a homemade piñata to put it in
Another fun DIY craft for your kids, a homemade piñata gives them a chance to get creative. Of course if you break it up right away after making it, you end up back where you started with excess leftover Halloween candy, so instead make it something the kids can save for when they have friends over for a party later in the year.
Here are a few good tutorials to check out:
Hang on to it for future gifts
If you manage to hang on to it for a while, that candy can be used as little gifts in a number of future scenarios: party favors, as a complimentary treat offered in a bowl when you have people over, or as an add-on to any Christmas, birthday, or other gifts you give out during the year.
If it’s given away at a later date when everyone else hasn’t just gotten a deluge of Halloween treats, it can become a little surprise treat for a friend to enjoy.
Of course, you could always just store it somewhere to enjoy later yourselves.
Premo Roofing Company wishes you a safe Halloween. Be sure to share your safety tips, traditions and the best areas to trick or treat with us.
