If there were such a thing as a Halloween Scrooge…that would be me!  I just don't get it.  I think it's a silly "holiday" and while I wish I could just avoid it all together, for some reason my kids think it's FUN to dress up and get free candy from strangers.  So, in the spirit of not being the world's worst mom, I begrudgingly oblige…I mean who DOESN'T love going out in a FREEZING blizzard (happens every year) with 4 little people dressed in weird and NOT-weather-appropriate clothing to collect an odd assortment of candy that will spend the next 3 weeks calling out to you from your children's "hiding" places wanting you to make yourself sick by polishing off every single snack-size bag of Skittles, fun-size Butterfingers and flavored Tootsie Rolls?!?  Oh, I'm sorry…is my cheerful attitude ruining your holiday?  I apologize.  Dissing Halloween is actually NOT the point of this post.  What I really wanted to do was give you ideas for what to do with all that leftover candy that you will be waking up to tomorrow morning.  Here are some ideas...
 
1.  Let your kids pick out their favorites and then tell them that if they put the candy in a bag by their bed, the Halloween fairy will come and take it and leave something else in it's place (like a toy or money or a thank you note -hahaha, that might be a little mean!!).
 
2.  Send the candy to work with your spouse OR leave it in the break room at YOUR work if you think you can avoid the temptation.
 
3.  Donate the candy to a shelter or soup kitchen.
 
4.  Use the candy to make a Halloween-inspired Gingerbread House.  
 
5.  Freeze it - but stick it in the back of the freezer so you don't have to look at it every time you open up the freezer and think, "hmmm…what's for dinner?  Oh look, there's candy!  Forget dinner…let's just eat this!"
 
6.  Let your kids destroy it.  Kids LOVE to make messes…so let them smash it, stomp on it, melt it, microwave it, use it as sling shot ammo…and then throw it away!
 
7.  Use it as a Science teaching tool.  Check out these fun candy experiments!!
 
8.  Sell it to your dentist.  They often pay for it by the pound.
 
9.  Save it and use it for your Christmas stockings (shhh...don't tell my kids, but I do this...I've even used Valentine's Day candy - hey, they're kids...they're just excited to have candy!)
 
10.  Send it to the troops overseas.  Organizations like Operation Gratitude or Operation Shoebox can help.
 
11. Put anything you can into the food processor and chop it up to use in cakes, (oh gosh...that Skittles and Nerds cake looks delicious!) cookies, smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal, granola or on top of ice cream.
 
12.  Make gift bags for your kid's teachers.
 
13.  (I had to include this one cause it made me laugh) Keep it for next year and hand it out to the teenagers who are too lazy to put any effort into their costumes!
 
What do you do with your Halloween candy?  Comment below and tell us how you manage the candy overload!!