Halloween + Kids | 5 Things to do with All That Candy, Other Than Eat It
Giant orange bags of candy have been lining the shelves of every store I’ve visited for at least 6 weeks now – Halloween is near! Jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and of course, candy rule the day. While the candy corn, tiny Snickers, and little boxes of gum drops are fun for a day or two, it is a LOT of sugar and unhealthy calories to work your way through. Blogger Mommy Poppins estimated that her daughter received over 7000 calories of Halloween candy – yikes!
Before you just chuck (or eat!) the whole lot, here are 5 better uses for your little monster’s Halloween haul:
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Sell it! Dentists and other business across the country participate in Halloween Candy Buy Backs. In exchange for the candy, your child will receive cash or another creative exchange – bottom line, they won’t be eating all that candy! Call your dentist or enter your zip code here http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/ to find a location nearby.
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Make Blessing Bags for the Homeless. Get quart or gallon sized zipper bags and add some candy and other handy items like a granola bar, or other non-perishable food items, hand warmers, small toiletry items, or socks. Keep a few bags in your car or stroller to hand out to the homeless. Or, find a local shelter to donate to – children in shelters may not have been able to go trick-or-treating or celebrate Halloween. This is great chance to chat with your children about kindness and giving, too.
- Bake it up! With the holidays approaching, chances are you’ll be called on to make a baked good at least once. Buzzfeed has a sugar crash worthy list of 27 recipes – personally, I’m eyeing the Chocolate Kiss Powder Puff Cookies.
- Donate it to our troops. Organizations like Operations Shoebox and Operation Gratitude accept candy donations and send it to US Troops serving overseas.
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Embrace the Candy Fairy. This younger sister of the Tooth Fairy and second cousin to the Elf on the Shelf* will take the candy your little leaves out for her. In exchange, she’ll leave them a toy or gift. This new tradition extends the magic of Halloween a bit AND gets the candy out of your kid’s hands. What you do with it from there is up to you!
*Actually, we aren’t privy to the Candy Fairy’s family tree. Poetic license.
Of course, while you CAN do all these other things with leftover Halloween candy, you can always treat yourself a little, too. I’m not saying you should drop a bite-sized Milky Way into your morning coffee, but I’m not saying you shouldn’t, either.