10 Realistic Ideas for Leftover Halloween Candy

If your kids bring in a big haul this year, what will you do with all the leftover Halloween candy? Halloween is all about the costumes and the candy for kids of all ages. Many parents get into it, as well. It’s a fun night of dress up, meeting your neighbors, and bringing in big bags of candy.

The thing is, your children might bring in way more candy than they can reasonably eat in the time before it would go bad. So, what can you do? Savvy parents have found many great ways of using or reusing that extra candy so it doesn’t go to waste. We love to make Twix Ice cream and Snickers Fudge.

Prior to the festivities, we are decorating the house with Mummy Luminaries, Fall Garland, Scarecrow Paper Plate, we have hung our wreath and made monster floam. We always have Mummy Dogs for lunch or dinner the day of, its become tradition.

What to do with leftover Halloween candy

Related: Caramel Apple Bites Recipe

• Freeze it – You can freeze the candy to preserve it and throughout the year you can add it to dessert recipes, milkshakes, and other treats.
• DIY snack mix – Another great idea for reusing that Halloween candy is to make your own snack mix. You can use pretzels, little bags of candies like M&Ms and other items from leftover Halloween Candy.
• Find recipes – There are tons of great recipes out there for leftover Halloween candy that thrifty savvy moms have come up with and shared with the world. You can find everything from brownies and blondies, to oat bars and cereal treats, and surprise sucker pops, all making use of that leftover candy. There are great ideas on my Pinterest Halloween Pro Board! Come, Follow me.
• Carry it in your purse – You might be surprised (or maybe you won’t) at how quickly it can go when you carry some around with you.
• Use it for a gingerbread house – Looking to decorate for the holidays or build a gingerbread house? Now you have plenty of candies for decorating.
• Dentist candy buys or trade – Many dentists will offer programs where they buy candy (usually by the pound) or trade the candy for items like stickers, pencils, etc. It’s an attempt to save the children’s teeth from those sugary treats, and this could be an option for your abundance. Call around to your local offices and see if they have a program they offer for this.

Related: Cute Halloween Cupcakes For Kids

Donate Leftover Halloween Candy

• Operation Gratitude and Halloween Candy Buy Back – Here are two charities that will allow you to donate your leftover Halloween candy to a good cause.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities – Some local Ronald McDonald Houses will collect Halloween candy as well. Always call first to find out their policies before just dropping off candy.
• Operation Shoebox and Any Soldier – Here are two more organizations that send care packages to troops overseas. Get in touch with them about dropping off sealed leftover candy for their package

If all else fails…

Give it away – Sounds simple enough, right? There are many opportunities to just give that candy away. Maybe kids in another neighborhood that you know didn’t get as much. If you work in an office, you can place a bowl of wrapped candies out for people to take.

Related: Halloween Mummy Mason Jar DIY

Now that you know what to do with all the candy, don’t feel like you need to limit your Trick-or-Treaters this year. Let them go wild and bring in as much as they want! If you have too much leftover, you’ll know just what to do with it.