Welcome to the first few days of November, otherwise known as Halloween recovery days. November 1st: everyone is tired from yesterday’s sugar high. November 2nd: you start to find empty candy wrappers sprinkled around the house. November 3rd: You bridge on entering a chocolate induced trance. By November 4th you are done eating candy. You and your family worked hard on Halloween night for that candy, many footsteps and “trick-or-treats” committed to collect those treats. Don’t waste your candy! A few options for leftover candy:
Incorporate your candy into other recipes. Add the candy to homemade trail mix. Just mix a scoop of Chex Mix, granola, your favorite nuts, raisins or another dried fruit, and your favorite candy from your trick-or-treat bag!
Trade with friends. Make it a game! After eating your favorite kind of candy first, trade away your least favorite kinds. Not a big fan of Kit-Kats, but maybe they’re your friends’ favorite! Strike deals with friends to trade for the candy you want. Try: “I’ll give you my full-size skittles for two Kit-Kat’s.”
Freeze to use for gingerbread houses. If you know you are not going to eat all your candy while it’s fresh, you can freeze it for up to one year. When you get home Halloween night, set aside the pieces you want to use and save it in an air-tight in a Zip-lock bag. M&M’s make great wreaths, Hershey bars are great front doors, and Tootsie Rolls make a front path! You can also save candy to use in your December advent calendar.
Put in a piñata. You might have a birthday or party soon after Halloween. Any celebration calls for a piñata. Take a handful of your Halloween treats and save it for your next event.
Donate it! Businesses participate in the “Candy Buy Back” to send to and help support the troops overseas. Head to events that take place in November and trade in your candy for small parcels and gifts from small businesses. This is great to both support local businesses and the troops while getting rid of your access candy. Find an event in your area through this link: https://www.halloweencandybuyback.com
Bring the candy into work. Make your coworkers’ day and set out a bowl of it in a communal area. While bowls of candy are put out on Halloween night for kids to collect, the candy will vanish within a blink if you put it out at the office.