What Should You Do With Extra Halloween Candy?

November 2, 2022

**Note: This is not necessarily about skincare. But since EVERYONE IN THE WORLD says that chocolate = pimples (fact check: not true!!), and because I literally about roughly 50lbs of excess candy in my house right now (thank you having 4 young, energetic and very ambitious children), this is the topic that is most on my mind at the moment.

If your house is anything like my house, then right about now, you are wondering what to do with the HUGE, EXCESSIVE amount of candy that has invaded your house.

I have found that Halloween has become almost like Christmas. It is a holiday that kids start talking about in July. What should they be for Halloween? Who should they trick or treat with? Should they be a funny costume or a scary costume? These are all some of life’s biggest conundrums when you are 7, 8 and 9 years old.

So one would ASSUME that once Halloween actually comes and the biggest prize has been won, namely a HUGE bag of candy, those kids would still be obsessed with the holiday.

But, what no one ever told me when I became a parent, is that roughly 2-3 days after Halloween is over, kids literally just stop. They stop talking about it. They stop obsessing about it. And shockingly, they kind of, strangely, forget about the candy. The candy that they dreamed of for months. The candy they fought over for 48 straight hours. The candy they traded, bartered for and straight up went mortal combat over. I know it sounds unbelievable but this is fact: they forget about it.

Then you are faced with a whole new issue – what do you do with it? I mean, you certainly can’t let them each just eat 12 lbs of candy (and no, I am not exaggerating). And you, if you are anything like me, can’t just throw away 12lbs of perfectly good, sumptuous chocolate goodness.

So here are some good ways to make use of your candy without literally throwing $$ in the trash.

• Dice it and Freeze it. This one takes more self control and energy than I personally have but for those of you who don’t want to part with said yumminess, open up each tiny package of deliciousness, chop it up, refrain from shoving it all in your mouth and place it in a zip lock and freeze for future indulgences, sundaes and sleepovers.
• Save it for your next birthday party. Need a quick and easy party trick? Buy a pinata and shove all that leftover candy in it. Not only will the activity be a hit, but you will save ducats and BONUS, rid yourself of all the unnecessary sugar lying around your house.
• Contact your local dentist. This sounds strange but a LOT of dentists will take your leftover candies and donate them to local charities.
• Donate it. Groups like Operation Shoebox will take your unused, unwanted candy and ship it overseas to our deserving troops.
• Make your office happy. Don’t want that pesky candy lurking in your cupboards? Then bring them to work and let your friends worry about the age-old adage “A Moment On The Lips…”

And of course there is this last option… eat it. Ha! Or eat some of it. Not all of it because while chocolate itself won’t cause pimples, most anything in excess will, especially sugar and fat. So indulge and THEN bring it to the office!