Be “Sweet”: Ways to Share Your Excess Halloween Candy

Halloween was fun, and now Polk County families are left with kids who are high on sugar and bagfuls of candy left strewn about their homes.  We know many parents will ration the sweets out over the course of the next few weeks, with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, treats will abound, and the Halloween candy might be forgotten.  Instead of wasting it though, what if you were able to use it for something besides making your own children hyper and dealing with the resulting sugar-crash?

So, what are you to do with the excess candy when you think your kids have had enough?

It’s a simple phrase to remember: Make, Take, or Bake your leftover candy!

Make.  There are all kinds of crafts floating around on the internet that use candies.  These projects can be easy enough for a toddler to do with minimal assistance, or complex enough to turn into a group project for adults, but regardless of their level of difficulty they are a great way to repurpose leftover or excess candy without wasting it.

Take.  Consider taking your leftover candy as a donation!  There are many local places in and around the Winter Haven area that accept leftover candy to give to those who are less fortunate to to brighten the day of kids who didn’t get any.  Some of these locations even accept candy to package up and send to our own troops serving overseas.  Another WONDERFUL idea is reverse trick-or-treating.  Dress your kids up in their costumes this week after Halloween and head to your local senior-care center.  Your kids can enjoy being the ones to give the candy instead of receive it. Not only are you getting rid of excess candy, but you are teaching your children a valuable lesson in paying it forward.

Bake.  Think of ways to work leftover candy into run holiday recipes.  Chocolates, gummy candies, etc. can all be made into various types of sweet baked goods.  Hit the internet or your favorite cook book for inspiration!

We hope this sparks your imagination on getting rid of that horde of candy during these days following the Halloween holiday.  All those sweets left your kids (or you!) with stomach troubles, tooth pain, or worse?  It’s not a good time to realize that your plan doesn’t cover what you expected!  Instead of using your Christmas cash to cover medical bills leftover from Halloween, give us a call.  We can help you navigate what your plan does (or doesn’t) cover, and if you need more coverage, we can handle that too!