3 Ways to Use Leftover Halloween Candy
Are you looking for ways to use up your leftover Halloween candy? If so, check out these fantastic ideas that will get your kids’ creative juices flowing!
Every single year my kids come home from Halloween Trick-or-Treating with pounds of candy.
And by pounds I mean pounds. A pound or two per child quickly multiplies when you have six kids. That’s a lot of candy for kids to eat!
Here are a few fun ideas for what to do with leftover Halloween candy beyond just eating it.
Leftover Halloween Candy
Save the Candy for a Gingerbread House
November begins the day after Halloween. And do you know what November means? Christmas is just around the corner! Have you ever thought about saving the candy for a gingerbread house?
Kids love making gingerbread houses! First, you make the dough and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. And then you roll it out and shape it into pieces before baking. Now you have a house to put together!
And if you’re anything like me, you’re not terribly skilled at making beautiful gingerbread houses. So I skip the dough and shaping parts, and I pick up a kit. But the kits never include enough candy for my children. They want to cover the house with mints, licorice, and jelly beans.
And guess what you get at Halloween? Enough candy to cover your children’s gingerbread houses, to create a fence, and decorate the yard as well.
So instead of letting your children down the Halloween candy, this year put some of it aside. Your kids will adore having plenty of candy to decorate gingerbread houses in December.
Make Artwork
A friend of mine discourages her children from eating candy, although the kids still love to go trick-or-treating with friends. So instead of eating the candy, she has the kids use the candy to create artwork.
In this case, I recommend grabbing some sugar cookie dough and rolling it out into large rectangles.
The kids can create artwork on these large rectangles rather like the color on paper. Skittle can become a rainbow across the sky. Licorice can make fences, houses, or roads.
Your children can use the candy to create cars, castles, and sunsets. The sky is the limit when it comes to the artwork your children can create.
Then bake the cookies in the oven, pull them out, and enjoy!
And be sure to make a couple extra cookies to give to family and friends.
Science Experiments
Halloween candy is also great for science experiments.
Just check out this delightful frog life cycle activity? Your kids will love making a 3D model of the frog’s life cycle using Halloween candy.
You can also use the Skittles your children receive for this “Swimming Fish” experiment. And here’s another fun science experiment with Skittles.
And ask your children if these experiments only work with Skittles. Is it possible to recreate the experiment using different types of candy such as M&Ms? What about Dots?
Your kids will be happily experimenting with their candy for hours!
Despite what your children may claim, Halloween candy does not need to be eaten immediately.
Save some for decorating gingerbread houses in December. Use some of the candy for creating artwork on cookies. And definitely save candy for fascinating science experiments!
What will you be doing with your Halloween candy this year?
BOOKS ABOUT HALLOWEEN
Fill your book basket with a great collection of kids books about Halloween. Most of these books can be found at your local library or used bookstore.
If you have a hard time finding them, you can order them through my Amazon affiliate links by clicking the images below.
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus – Count from One Spooky Bus up to Ten Goofy Ghosts as this Halloween ride races through town picking up a few unsuspecting passengers along the way.
Pete the Cat Trick or Treat – Pete loves Halloween and candy but not so much scary surprises. Follow Pete as he goes trick-or-treating from house to house and discover what is waiting behind each door.
The Night Before Halloween – Little monsters and goofy goblins take center stage in this silly, spooky spin on Clement C. Moore’s beloved poem. But what will happen on Halloween when the monsters come face to face with human trick-or-treaters?
Round Out Your Unit with These Activities
These Halloween Lacing Boards are designed to make learning fun. They’re great for teaching kids fine motor skills, precise hand movements, and how to focus their attention. Your children will have so much fun with this toy, they won’t realize they are learning.
Entertain your little ones with a round or two of this Halloween memory game printable.
This LEGO set features a Vampire with large fangs, movable claws, vest, bow tie and a billowing black cape, plus a small pet bat with movable wings!
Choose a few G rated Halloween movies to watch with your little ones throughout the month of October.
With so many fun and delicious ideas to choose from, it’s easy to get your kids excited about using up their leftover Halloween candy.
From crafts and recipes to games and activities, there’s something for everyone in this list. So go ahead and get started!
Your kids are going to love these fun ways to use up their candy.
One Comment