Halloween Candy Overload
What do you and your kids do with all that Halloween candy that you collect on October 31st? Do you have a big bowl in the kitchen where all the candy is collected and then up for grabs? Do you stash the candy in a secret place and then allow each of your kids to have one piece each day? Well, if you want to do something different with all that Halloween candy this year, consider participating in the Halloween Candy Buy Back.
Here’s how it works…
* Participating dentists buy back kids’ unopened Halloween candy for $1 per pound at a scheduled event (click here to find an event near you)
* Dentists send the candy to Operation Gratitude or other Military support groups
* Operation Gratitude sends the candy to U.S. Military deployed in harm’s way
What a great idea! Have you ever participated in this event in your neighborhood? Do you have any creative uses for Halloween candy?
(Thanks, Bargain Blessings!)
Last year, I let my 6-year old pick out his favorites and then he counted the rest & sold them to his Dad for 5 cents a piece. It was a great counting exercise & my husband was able to fill his candy jar at work!
We did this last year. My kids picked out a couple of their favorite treats then sold the rest of the loot. I loved thinking that our wonderful service men/women would get a little treat and my kids were more excited about the free toothbrush/toothpaste that the dentist gave them.
I let my son pick out a few favorites and then we “recycle” the rest, we send it back to school for treat bags and/or prizes for the classroom.
I love this idea! We usually let them eat some candy for awhile and then get rid of it during the night. I will feature this on my blog.
We’ve had the “Candy Fairy” come and leave a small toy for my girls. They get to keep some of the candy but not all!
I love that pic!
That is what my house looks like year round!
http://www.gaynycdad.com
i love our troops…but i get the candy! haha:) we actually only go trick or treating to my grandmas and a few of her neighbors, that i trust..so no huge haul, but enough to satisfy mom. … awesome program though!
I am a teacher and I say even if you have older kids…drop it off to the teachers…they spend tons of money on candy every year and they could make your candy stretch all the way to Christmas or longer in prizes…and treats. I would so love parents to drop it off at my school! I teach 8th and 9th graders and their main motivation in games or reviews is FOOD!
treats for troops… basically the same thing, a collection of donated leftover Halloween candy that we turn around and send to our deployed service members. I love this!
This Is Awesome! Im Glad That You Posted This. My Mommy Group And I Have Made Contact With A Preacher Over There Who Goes To The Hospitals And Visits The Injured. We Are Sending It To Him To Take With Him To Visit Them.
Last Year We Had 73 Pounds We Sent Of Candy. That Was From 29 Moms. Around 40 Kiddos Collected That! Its A Great Thing. Hope More People Send Their Candy!
while it is a nice gesture, the chocolate candy will melt, my husband received candy from various place while he was downrange and the melted candy, while a nice thought can be annoying.
This is a great idea! My son is only 16 months so he won’t notice that he isn’t going to get any candy!! My plan is to sort out what I can use for baking and save some for stocking stuffers, but I wasn’t sure what to do with the extra. I work for the guy who runs our local town Halloween carnival so he ALWAYS makes sure my son (and last year my cousin’s kids who were visiting) has TONS of candy. I may suggest to him to donate the extra candy after the carnival to this program instead of me and the rest of his workers snacking on it for months on end (last year he had at least one tote tub leftover.)
My kids eat a few allergy-free candies, we pick out a few more, then we put all of the rest outside of their bedroom doors when they goto bed. While they are sleeping the Halloween Fairy takes away all of the candy (which makes its way to daddy’s office) and leaves a toy for each child.
This is a great idea!! The dentist in my area is giving $2 a lb!! Awesome-will try and do this for our troops and so my kid doesn’t get cavities like I did-LOL
Hey, for us couponers that’s a moneymaker thanks to all the free candy we’ve scored at RiteAid, LOL!
I have never done this, but ever since my son was young, the Halloween Witch has visited our house. If you leave some of your candy by the front door, she will exchange it for prizes (dollar store items, coloring books, etc.) The more you leave, the more prizes you get. 🙂 It was a great way to limit the candy intake and my son usually picked out a small bowl of candy that he wanted to keep and gave the rest to the Halloween Witch. Somehow it ended up at work with my husband where co-workers would eat it. 🙂
What a great idea! We usually do not have that much around. We go on a Halloweekend camping trip. My DD and friends trick or treat around the campground then come back and dump their haul into our give away bucket. My DD is not allowed to have candy. We do allow her a piece or two on the holidays. We only go to family and friends who know she is not allowed candy so they will get her books, movie coupons etc. I do not take it to the school because I don’t like the idea of the teachers always handing out candy. Not much of an incentive to a child who does not get candy!!! I will pass this onto other mothers!
Our children have some candy go into their ‘treat basket’ and the rest will be split between my husband and I. We will each take half of what’s left to work.
The treat basket is something they can choose an item out of once in a while. That said, we will be tossing the remaining Easter candy to make room for the new Halloween candy.
One local orthodontist does this and he says that for every dollar the kids earn by turning in their candy he will make a matching donation to one of our local homeless shelters. Very generous I thought. In other years we have picked out the candy like smarties, tootsie rolls, dots, etc and put them away until Christmas when we take them out and use them on gingerbread houses!
We have done this for a few years. The kids pick out their favs and then donate the rest and they get to keep the money. Then I have the kids put 6 pieces of candy in a zip lock baggie. That is all the candy they can have for the day, the next day they can add to the bag again, they cannot have more than 6 pieces in the bag at a time. This gives them control and helps them to ration themselves thruout the day. I have found that the first few days they eat it all and by the time a week goes by, they might only eat 1 piece a day. This is much better than having the bowl out as they would eat way more than 6 pieces a day and it would go on until the candy is gone. There are 2 of them and they would want to eat all their favorites before their sibling could get to them.
I let my son pick out a small bag to fill w/ candy he wants to keep and the extra candy is put outside his bedroom door for the Toothfairy. She picks it up at night and leaves money. Works out great since he’d rather have money than toys…and I wont have that tempting candy around the house. I take it to work and it’s gobbled up in days.
Put the candies in the pinata for my daughter’s birthday..
I let them eat all they want of it on Halloween night. Then, we bag up the non- melting candy and add it to our Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes.