What to Do with Halloween Candy

The costumes have been added to the dress-up box, the pumpkins have been tossed into the compost bin and the decorations have been packed away until next year.

All signs of Halloween have left the house.

Except for that giant bag of candy hidden where the kids can’t reach.

Are you ready to figure out what to do with all that leftover Halloween candy?

Whether you’re trying to figure out where you can donate Halloween candy to, trying to find ways to recycle it, or need to figure out how to get your kids to let you get rid of it, here are my “what to do with Halloween candy” ideas.

Before I started focusing on eating healthier, I never had to worry about what to do with leftover Halloween candy. 

Because we just ate it all. 

Between me, The Husband and the kids we usually had it all eaten within a month.

Big Sis had always traded in her trick or treating candy for homemade treats, due to allergies, so I always kept her collected candy as payment for all the baking I had done.

But, with me doing keto last year, Big Sis doing the GAPS diet and the rest of the family just eating healthy, I had to figure out how I was going to get all that Halloween candy out of my house so no one was tempted by it.

Eating healthy can be hard enough without the temptation of a bag full of chocolate and candy int he house.

Luckily, figuring out what to do with leftover Halloween candy isn’t that hard.

Whether your getting rid of your kids candy stash because you’re trying to get them to eat healthy too, or you just think they don’t need as much as they collected, here are some ways to get your kids to give up their stash willingly and ideas for what to do with it when they do. 

Getting Your Kids to Give Up Their Halloween Candy

Before you even think about getting rid of that Halloween candy, you have to figure out how to get your kids to agree to let it go. 

Maybe you’re like me and eating healthy so your kids knew ahead of time that they wouldn’t be keeping it all.  Maybe they came home with way more than you expected and now you realize you need to put some limits on their candy consumption. 

Or maybe you’re just sick of hearing “can I have a candy?” already.

Whatever your reason is for getting rid of the candy stash, you need to give your kids incentive to agree to it, so here are a few options.

Option #1: The Switch Witch

The Switch Witch is kind of like the Halloween version of the tooth fairy. 

When you’re ready to give her your candy you just leave the bag out for her.  While you are sleeping, she sneaks into your house and takes the candy bag, leaving a present or some cash in its place.

Option #2: Buy It from Them

If keeping up with the magic of the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa and that Elf on the Shelf is enough for you, forget about the Switch Witch and just buy the candy from your kids yourself.

Older kids will be happy with some cash. 

Younger kids may prefer to trade for a present. 

Was there a toy they were bugging for on your last shopping trip? 

Check Amazon Prime for it and you’ll only have to hear “can I have candy” for two more days before they will willingly do the trade. 

Option #3: Trade It for Healthy Halloween Treats

If you want to stick with treats for Halloween, instead of money or toys, buy or bake some healthier Halloween treats for the kids to trade in their collected candy for.

Read my post on Healthy Halloween tips for a list of healthy store-bought treats, or check out my Healthy Halloween Pinterest board for some recipe ideas.

We did option #3.

Since Big Sis has been gluten/dairy/soy/corn-free for years she has almost always traded in her trick or treat candy for things I made or safe store-bought treats, so she is already used to it. 

Lil Sis got to choose some of her candy to keep this year, so she was fine with trading in the rest for our healthier versions. 

What Can I Do with Unwanted Halloween Candy?

Now that you’ve gotten the kids to agree to give up their stash, it’s time to figure out what you can do with the leftover trick or treat candy.

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option #1: Save and Recycle

Save all that leftover Halloween candy and use it up at Christmas time. 

While Halloween is the hardest holiday to deal with when you’re trying to eat healthy, Christmas can be difficult too.  If you’re going to give in and let your kids have some treats in their stocking anyway, why not use the leftover Halloween candy and save some money.

Don’t forget about the gingerbread house either.  Save all the M & M’s, Skittles and any other small candy for it.

Another option is to save it for birthday parties

Think of how much money you can save by filling the pinata up with all the leftover Halloween treats.  If you don’t want to the kids at your child’s birthday party loaded with sugar, you can always just send it home with them in their goody bags.

If you’re wondering how long Halloween candy will last or if you can freeze Halloween candy, according to the National Confectioner’s Association most Halloween candy can last anywhere from 6 months up to 2 years.

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option #2: Arts and Crafts

Just because you aren’t going to let your kids eat all that candy doesn’t mean they can’t find another way to use it.  Give them some paper and glue and see what ideas they can come up with. 

If you want a little guidance, here are a few ideas to get you started.

• Skittles paint
• Skittle Science Experiment
• Candy Cane Sleigh
• Candy Christmas Wreath
• Candy Corn decorations (for next Halloween)

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option # 3: Bake with It

There are lots of recipes out there that use candy, so adding it to your baking is an easy way to get rid of some of those leftovers. 

Even if you don’t want to eat any of the Halloween candy treats you make, you could always send it in for the school’s bake sale or give it away as Christmas gifts.

One recipe that you can use many types of candy for is this Leftover Halloween Candy Bark.  

Wondering what to do with leftover skittles?  

Try these Vegan Skittles Sugar Cookies. 

What can you do with leftover hard candy? 

Reuse hard candy with these stained-glass sugar cookies.

If that doesn’t get rid of it all for you, here are 27 other leftover Halloween candy recipes you can try.

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option #4: Candy Buy Back Programs

Maybe having the candy around at all is just too tempting for the kids (or for you) so keeping it for other holidays, making it into art or baking with it won’t work. 

You just need to get it out of your house.

So, where can you take Halloween candy?

Surprisingly, the dentist.

Many dentists have started helping parents get rid of leftover Halloween candy with Candy Buy Back programs.  You bring them your candy; they give you cash. 

If your dentist isn’t participating in the program this year, check social media sites to see if any other local dentists are.

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option #5: Donate It

If you don’t luck out finding a dentist who will pay your kids for their leftover Halloween candy, you can always donate it instead.

Where can you donate Halloween candy?

One popular candy donation idea is sending it to the troops.

If you want to know how to donate Halloween candy to the troops, you can find information here about Operation Gratitude’s Halloween Candy Give-Back Program.

Where else can you take Halloween candy?

• Homeless shelters
• Women’s shelters
• Food banks
• Children’s hospitals
• Ronald McDonald houses
• Nursing homes

If you really want to get your kids into the spirit of giving, you can even make your own Halloween candy donation boxes with some of these ideas.

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option #6: Give It Away

If you don’t have time to mail your candy to be donated to the troops or call around looking for somewhere local to donate it to, an easier option is to just give it away.

You could send a note to your child’s teacher and see if they could use any extra candy for the classroom reward system or offload it onto your babysitter on your next date night.

Maybe there is a teenager in your family who decided they were too old for trick or treating this year but would still love a bag full of candy. 

If you can’t find someone to give it to, just take it to work and leave it in the staff room for your coworkers.

What to Do with Halloween Candy Option #7: Give It Back Out

While it’s too late for this option this year, keep it in mind for next year. 

If your children are younger and go out earlier, you will probably still have time to hand out candy once they are done.  When you get home just dump the trick or treating bag right into your bowl of candy to give out and hand it out to the older kids that are still going door to door.

When our kids were younger, we would do option #7.  We don’t live in a busy area for trick or treaters, so it was never worth it to buy Halloween candy for the 10 or so kids that would come to the door.

Instead, we just took our own kids out, then when we got home we handed out all the stuff we didn’t want to the few neighborhood kids who came to the door. 

Now that we are eating healthy and only keep a few of the treats, we just give the rest away.  This year we gave it to my niece who came trick or treating with us but didn’t dress up herself to try to get some treats.

See, I told you figuring out what to do with leftover Halloween candy isn’t that hard.

Now that you have some ideas on where to donate Halloween candy, how to recycle it and what else to do with leftover Halloween candy, it’s time to work on getting your kids to give up their stash.

How do you get rid of Halloween Candy?  Do you have any other ideas for Halloween candy crafts or leftover Halloween candy recipes?

Let me know on my Facebook post and follow me on Facebook to see what else I learn on my journey to live a healthier and happier life.