The best thing about Halloween
for most kids can be summed up in one word: candy.
Every family has its own methods of getting
through the post-Halloween mounds of joy. Some let
their kids gorge themselves for a day or two.
Others dole it out a little at a time. Some
parents even ban the candy bars altogether. For
some nutritionists (and dentists!), Halloween
candy is downright scary.
Whatever candy camp your family falls in ––
there’s more to do with candy than eat it. Check
out these ideas of what to do with leftovers:
1. Recycle it. Practice instant
recycling. Screen the candy your kids bring home.
After throwing away any unwrapped goodies, take
out any candy your children don’t like or you
don’t want them to have and then send that candy
back out the door with other trick-or-treaters.
2. Freeze it. Put the chocolate bars
right in the freezer to save them for later.
Frozen chocolate takes longer to eat, so children
can’t wolf it down so quickly.
3. Bake it. You don’t have to freeze the
candy to keep it fresh. Kept in an airtight
container, it will last long after Halloween.
Later, you can bake surprise cupcakes. Push a soft
candy into the middle of the batter in each cup
before baking. Decorate the icing with more
candies. You can also substitute bits of chocolate
bars in your favorite chocolate-chip cookie
recipe.
4. Melt it. Save chocolate to bring a
taste of summer into your home long after you’ve
put away the sunscreen. Melt chocolate for s’mores
any time of year. Place a chocolate bar and a
marshmallow between two graham crackers on top of
a paper towel. Microwave for about 20 seconds.
5. Stuff it. Gather the leftover goodies
and stuff them into a (homemade or store-bought)
piñata. Crack the piñata open at Thanksgiving or
wait until your child’s birthday.
6. Create it. Professional artists
create sculptures from candy, why not kids? Make
mosaics with hard candy. Cover sturdy cardboard
with wax paper, aluminum foil or paper. Then
instead of tiles, use candy to create a design and
“grout” it with stiff icing. To make sculptures,
stick soft candy, apples and marshmallows together
with toothpicks.
7. House it. After Halloween, kids can’t
wait for Christmas. Save Halloween candy for
gingerbread houses. (Christine's Added Note:
Put 1-2 pieces in little baggies and label them
with dates from now until Christmas and make your
own extended Advent Wreath/Calendar etc.)
8. Wear it. Make a candy necklace.
You’ll need an assortment of lollipops and
colorful candies with twist-wrap ends to make this
idea from the National Confectioners Association.
Cut a 14-inch strand of thin twine or fabric
ribbon. Tie one end of a wrapper of candy or
lollipop stick tightly to one end of ribbon or
twine (leave about two inches of ribbon free for
tying at the end). Attach candy by knotting the
ribbon around the wrapper ends or lollipop sticks
until the necklace is complete. Leave two inches
at the end. Tie the ends together and wear the
latest in edible jewelry!
9. Decorate it.Create Christmas
ornaments from candy. To make a train, take a long
pack of gum and glue on round candy for wheels, a
square piece for a smokestack, and something round
for the bell on top. Attach a loop of gold thread
or ribbon for hanging. Look at simple geometric
illustrations (such as are in coloring books) for
other ideas. Coat your ornament with an acrylic
sealer so it won’t deteriorate and you don’t draw
bugs.
10. Share it. Take your leftover candy
to the office. Even if your co-workers who are
parents are sick of the stuff, chances are your
younger colleagues will relish childhood memories
as they reach for another Mary Jane or
Butterfinger.
Or better yet, fill a coffee can with candy and
bring it to your local nursing home, homeless
shelter or a charity for the staff to enjoy. Add a
note that says, “Thanks for all the good work you
do.”
Writer and mother Kathryn McKay is the
author of Around Washington, DC, with
Kids, a Fodor’s Guide.
