The kids had a great time collecting all of those tasty treats, but the question is, what are you going to do with it all? Here are 15+ ways to enjoy leftover Halloween candy that we’ve collected for how to handle an overload of Halloween loot.
Leftover Halloween candy is a wonderful addition in various recipes such as cookies, cookies bars, cake, brownies, candy bark, candy cheesecake, and fruit salads.
As a kid, the moment we returned home from trick or treating, it was divide and swap time. My brother and I would spread our loot out onto a smoothed blanket, divide the candies into treasure piles by type, and once we’d carefully hidden our favorite non-tradeable treats; You know the ones, the items too tasty to give up! We often spent hours trading back and forth.
Of course, before we could begin trading. we’d have to let our parents get “paid” for driving us around the neighborhood.
15+ Ways of Enjoy Leftover Halloween Candy
While those were some great times, sometimes the kids bring home TOO many treats. Here are some fun, clever ways to use up the leftover Halloween candies .
Freeze it
Chocolate freezes quite well and can be used throughout the year as treats for the kids or incorporated in your favorite cookie or brownie recipes, added to milkshakes, sundae & ice cream toppings, or yogurt. If the kids tend to snack on it, cleverly mask the candy’s location of by hiding it in a frozen vegetable bag.
Military Care Packages
Support the Troops! While chocolate doesn’t travel overseas well, many other candies (particularly lollipops and hard candies!) travel very well and provide a lovely pick-me-up for soldiers.
Emergency Stash
Mix up a bag of various candies to stash in the glove box or trunk of your vehicle, along with your emergency kit. Candy is a well-known comfort food that can help alleviate stress during emergencies, such as being stranded in a broken-down car. The sugar provides short-term fuel and is often a morale booster for kids and adults alike.
Good Ol’ Fashioned Bribery
Let your kids (& their little buddies) “earn” their treats by doing chores around the house. “Pay” them with a couple of pieces of candy for vacuuming the floor, or raking the flower beds, or add a couple of pieces to their daily lunchboxes.
Get Crafty with Leftover Halloween Candy
We’ve found that sometimes candies are rather stale (I guess some folks purchase them the year before during the after Halloween candy sales and save them). I’ve found that these tasteless morsels are best in various craft projects such as Halloween candy wreaths, candy garlands, etc.
Sell it
Did you know? Some dentists reportedly pay up to $2.50 per pound for candy & even offer free toothbrushes and toothpaste during the “sale” You can find a participating dentist in your area by visiting Halloween Candy Buy Back. Incidentally, candy that is “purchased”, is mailed to our troops overseas.
Christmas is Coming
Use leftover Halloween candy to help decorate your holiday gingerbread houses or gingerbread men. Colorful candies such as skittles and M&M’s work best, but don’t worry about the colors; it’s all about the hands-on fun!
Leftover Halloween Candy Donation
Donating the candies to local charities such as battered women’s shelters, churches, community centers, local food pantries, and nursing homes is a fantastic way to share the loot.
Autumn Decor
Another option is to create pretty (& dirt cheap) decorative centerpieces for your table. Candy corn makes a lovely centerpiece for Thanksgiving.
Office Treats
If you have an abundance of leftover candy, consider bringing a nice basket of treats into the office for your co-workers to share.
Learn some Science
Use that leftover candy to learn a little science- like color separation, sink or float, and density rainbow, which was created with Skittles! See if you can make a spark with lifesavers; check out a number of fun, yet educational candy experiments here.
Leftover Halloween Candy Recipes
Another great option for dealing with massive amounts of candy is use within various recipes, such as cookies, cookie bars, cake, brownies, candy bark, and more.
Enticing Snack Size
Create a semi-healthy snack by filling celery stalks with cream cheese or peanut butter and topping with m&m’s or chopped candy bar pieces. A few pieces of candy scattered with popcorn and pretzels makes a great snack mix as well
Make Flavored Vodka
Hard candies have a tendency to dissolve perfectly in vodka, infusing the alcohol with a lovely sweetened liqueur for holiday gift giving. These cordials take a week or so for the flavor to infuse, so they’ll easily be ready before the holidays.
Apple Candy Bar Salad, aka Snickers Salad
You’ll Need
6 apples, chopped
18-20 Fun Size chocolate-coated nougat candy bars, chopped (Such as snickers, 3 musketeers,etc)
12 ounces cool whip, thawed
Nuts, optional
Combine apples and candy bars in a large bowl, carefully fold in the cool whip. Add chopped nuts to the top, if desired. Serve immediately! The kids absolutely adore this recipe.
Make Jar Gifts for the Upcoming Holidays
Grab some mason jars and fill them with one of these delicious homemade jar gift mixes. The fun size bars and packages of candy can be attached directly to the jar (and in some cases, added right into the mix!).
- Butterfinger Cookie Mix in a Jar
- Candy Cookie Mix in a jar
- Gumdrop Cookie Mix
- M&M’s Cookie Mix
- M&M’s Cookie Mix #2
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