It’s the day after Halloween. Chances are your kids stayed up late patrolling the streets and sneaking in candy at every opportunity until the candy-induced sugar high wore off.
The question “Can I have some candy?? Pleeeease?” will be on repeat throughout the day. It’s a battle every year to navigate rationing out the proper amount of candy, choosing when it can be eaten, and wondering how long it will take to get rid of it all. Ever ask yourself what you could do with all of your child’s loot?
4 Things To Do With Your Halloween Candy
1. Give It Away
This year, my four year old separated her candy into the types she likes and the ones she doesn’t like. She decided she wanted to give the bowl of “dislikes” to her dad to take to a meeting he had. After filling a bag and making a card for the group, we decided the group needed more candy, so we sorted through the candy bowl one more time. This process cut out about 50% of her candy stash.
So who could you give it to?
- a group of adults for a meeting or small group
- send some to a cousin, uncle/aunt, babysitter that’s in school as a “study survival pack”
- make goodie bags for a nursing home or retirement center
- give some to the postal worker, fireman, or police in your area
2. Repurpose It
I knew of a family with a few November birthdays to celebrate and they always used a piñata at those parties. Guess what it was filled with?! Leftover Halloween candy!
What else could you use the candy for? A birthday gift of a coworker? A surprise for a teacher? I took several bags full of candy and put it on reserve for a gingerbread house we plan on making for the upcoming holidays.
What ideas do you have for repurposing the candy?
3. Education
As a child, I came home from trick or treating and separated my candy into its various types. Then I usually separated it into colors. Guess what my daughter did on her own this year? Exactly that!
Take the time to let your child (especially the younger ones) separate the candy into types, sizes, colors, etc. Let them count out the pieces. Make patterns. Put it into sequences. You can encourage learning and using a tactile skills with all the treats. Crawlers and toddlers can enjoy the sensory activity of shaking M&Ms, crinkling wrappers, and putting the candy in and out of a bowl.
4. Art
If your children are crafters, let them enjoy creating a masterpiece with the candy. You could make a “Candy Letter” using the candy names as part of a message or simply use the candy like a mosaic. My daughter decided she wanted the candy out of the wrapper for her creation this year…so I went with it and she created this for her dad.
I loved doing some of these ideas with our daughter this year. Not only did it decrease the amount of candy consumed (for us all!), it provided teachable opportunities about being generous to others, not being greedy, using your creativity, etc.
What have you done with all your Halloween candy? What ideas do you have for us to try out next year?
