21 Things You Can Do With All That Leftover Halloween Candy

Kids often collect more candy than is good for them during the Halloween season. Rather than having your kids — or you — gorge on the candy, and rather than throwing it away because it’s just too much, consider these other good uses for Halloween sweets.

1. Donate it. You can donate unopened candy to troops, first responders, the Ronald McDonald House (for families of children in the hospital), or to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, food pantries, nursing homes, or retirement homes. Visit this link to learn more about ways to donate.
2. Participate in a candy Buy Back event where kids get sugar-free treats, toothbrushes, cash, coupons and more in exchange for their excess candy. Visit this link to find a location near you.
3. Crush or dice chocolate bars and add them to milkshakes or yogurt, or use as toppings on ice cream sundaes.
4. Crush or dice candy and mix it into cookie dough in place of traditional chocolate chips. Get some ideas here.
5. Mix crushed or chopped candy into your favorite brownie batter before baking, or sprinkle it on top of batter in the pan before baking for a colorful effect.
6. Use candy as cupcake or cake toppings.
7. Make trail mix by combining candy with nuts, dried fruit, pretzels, and crackers.
8. Add candy to popcorn for a treat on movie night.
9. Use candy pieces as instead of game pieces when you play board games with friends and family. You can enjoy games and snacks at the same time.
10. Put a piece of Hershey’s bar or a Hershey’s Kiss in your coffee for easy mocha.
11. Use it to decorate a gingerbread house during the upcoming Christmas season.
12. Make Candy Bar Apple Salad. This apple dessert uses Snickers bars.
13. Make Halloween Candy Bark. Use whatever candy you have. See how to make it here.
14. Put it in a pinata for a child’s birthday party.
15. Add Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat bars, Twix, or other candy bars to s’mores in place of the regular chocolate bar.
16. Make a trifle. Using a tall glass trifle bowl, layer candy, chocolate pudding, and Cool Whip for an easy-but-fancy-looking dessert.
17. Try making deep-fried candy bars.
18. Do science experiments with it. Get ideas here.
19. Take it to work. Your co-workers will appreciate you.
20. Take it to social outings or meetings. If you are a member of a book club, PTA, Bible study, knitting group, or any other group that has meetings (well, maybe an exercise group wouldn’t appreciate it), bring candy to share.
21. If all else fails, eat it yourself. We won’t tell the kids.

Other ideas? Let us know in the comments.