PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — We’re a couple of weeks out from Halloween, but if you had any trick-or-treaters in your house, you’re probably familiar with this annual dilemma: What, on Earth, to do with all this candy?
Sure, you could eat it, as nature intended. You could try to limit how much candy your family eats and space it out so much that you’re still snacking on miniature Reese’s pumpkins a year from now. You could let that candy live rent-free in your head for as long as you want, until eventually, you throw it in the trash.
Americans spend $2.6 billion on candy every Halloween and throw away an estimated 600 million pounds of uneaten candy after the holiday. So, there’s another thing to live rent-free in your brain, which may or may not actually help you decide what to do with the candy that’s — yes — still sitting on your kitchen table or hidden in the back of your closet from prying eyes.
There are a few things you can do with leftover Halloween candy to help you feel a little better about the sheer volume of it, or about denying yourself or family members the pleasure of eating it. Or, these tips may make you feel better about actually eating the candy! We hope to help everyone get a little more creative with the candy, but unfortunately we do have to be honest here because we at The BayNet have an obligation to the truth: Candy can only have one of two destinies. It will be eaten or thrown in the trash.
The question is how! Let’s get to it.
Freeze It
You can freeze the candy to make it last longer. Most candies you get during the Halloween season will last in the freezer six months to a year. Milk and white chocolates and gummy candies usually are on the lower end of the spectrum, with a freezer life of about six months. Dark chocolate can actually last in the freezer for up to two years. This is a good option if you know you’ll need candy in these time frames. Once you thaw it back out, you can use it for baking or toss it in goodie bags at a birthday or holiday party. For some candies, you can even bring them back out the following year for a second chance at Halloween.
Bake It
Candy is a really fun way to spruce up baking, in general or around the holidays. You can mix the candy in or use it as a topping. Mixing it in is a popular way to get rid of some of the less desirable candies that do better as a filler than they do solo. We’re going to use Butterfingers as an example, which make a wonderful add-in to chocolate chip cookies when broken up and mixed in the dough. No shade if you like Butterfingers on their own!
Also, it can be really helpful to save as topping for specialty baked items around the holidays. Gummies and hard candies make great decorations for gingerbread houses and cookies.
Check Out Candy Buyback Programs
Some organizations have candy buyback programs where they will take your candy from you, and someone else will either eat it or throw it in the trash. Lots of different places have these programs, and they’re popular with dental offices. Dental offices obviously have a vested interest in keeping the candy off the teeth, and some offer kids the chance to “sell” them their candy. It’s a cool chance for kids to see that there are more desirable things out there than a huge bucket of candy.
Donate It
If you’re savvy, you can find multiple groups willing to take your candy as a donation and offload a lot of it this way. Food pantries, kids organizations, nursing homes or military support nonprofits sometimes take unopened candy. Soldiers’ Angels and Troopathon accept candy to send to troops abroad and their families. Call local organizations to see if they need or want some candy.
Take It To Work And Hope For The Best
Make a nice-looking bowl of candy in a communal area at work. Tell everyone you pass about it super enthusiastically, like ‘hey, there’s candy at reception!’ Hopefully, no one else thought of this before you, so you have a chance of people eating your candy. And then after a week, you can throw the sad three remaining Tootsie Rolls in the trash.
Well, we hope these ideas helped! Please, please let us know what you do with your leftover Halloween candy, or even better, post pictures of the baked items and holiday goodies you’ve created with it. No trash pictures.
Got a tip or photo? Text us at 888-871-NEWS (6397) or email news@thebaynet.com.
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the trash is the best place for that crap
Throw it in the trash?