Tricks for Getting Rid of Those Treats

“Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!”

Our children bring home quite the haul of goodies once the big night of trick-or-treating comes to an end. And that’s in addition to the treats from any and all of the school parties and other celebrations they attend beforehand. Aye-yi-yi! What is a parent to do with all the candy? Believe it or not, there are solutions (besides helping them eat it), and even the kids will enjoy the fun.

1. Science Experiments Using Candy

Use leftover candy for educational purposes and conduct actual science experiments. Melt your Laffy Taffy or dissolve your Skittles into a rainbow of colored water! You and your children will have fun and learn at the same time. For more ideas on candy experiments, visit CandyExperiments.com.

2. Donate to the Troops

One of the easiest ways to get rid of extra sweets is to donate them to a worthy cause. Organizations like Operation Gratitude (OperationGratitude.com) and Operation Shoebox (OperationShoebox.com) collect unwanted Halloween candy to include in care packages for deployed U.S. troops. By donating candy to our troops, you’ll be unloading the extra sugar from your house and, more importantly, teaching your children an important lesson about sharing, kindness and gratitude.

3. Bring It to Your Workplace

Fill up a container or bag and bring it along to work or send it off with your spouse. Candy never lasts long in an office setting.

4. Get Creative with the Chocolate

Leftover chocolate candy can be reused in many ways. Crush it to make ice cream toppings, melt it to flavor hot chocolate, milk or coffee. Or freeze it. Frozen candy lasts for months in the freezer.

5. The Halloween Fairy

Rumor has it that when Halloween candy is left out at night, the Halloween Fairy flies in on her broomstick, gathers up the excess candy and leaves a toy in its place. Your children will wake up, see the toy and no longer care that their candy is gone.

6. Use It for Crafts

Halloween leads right up to the festive holiday season, so why not put your leftover candy to good use? Make some fun Thanksgiving and Christmas crafts to share with family and friends! Check out Pinterest for some cute ideas.

7. Halloween Candy Buy-Back

There is a national website (HalloweenCandyBuyBack.com) where you can check whether there is a buy-back location near you. The buy-backs are sponsored by local dentists and other businesses. As a bonus, the candy is sent to the military overseas through Operation Gratitude and other organizations.

8. Advertise or Give It Away

Put a free candy ad on Craigslist or give it away to friends, teachers, local charities, etc. Ask around! Someone may have a use for it.

9. Eat the Candy Yourself

Okay. It’s not the best method of ridding your home of excess sweets, but honestly, it’s used quite frequently by parents. While we may succeed in getting the kids to forget about the extra candy by hiding it atop the highest shelf in the pantry, we don’t forget about it. If you’d like to avoid those extra Snicker and Hershey bars collecting around your waistline, try these other ideas first.

Kansas City mom and author Gina Klein is excited to try some of these great tips this year with her two daughters…especially the science experiments!