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Feeling overwhelmed by the mountain of Halloween candy lingering in your pantry? Don’t let it go to waste! Instead check out these fun and creative things to do with leftover Halloween candy!

Unlike when I was a kid, now days the month of October is packed full of trunk-or-treats, fall festivals and Halloween parties, thus ensuring not only a good time for all, but a mountain of Halloween candy!

Whether your kids came home with trick-or-treat bags overflowing, or you bought three extra bags “just in case”, you might be wondering: what to do with leftover Halloween candy?

The good news? Halloween candy has a decent shelf life and you don’t have to let all that candy go to waste!

There are tons of fun, creative, and practical ways to repurpose all those extra sweet treats!

From delicious baked goods, to adorable crafts, you’ll never look at leftover Halloween candy the same way again.

What are your favorite ways to use up leftover Halloween candy?

Fun and Creative Ways to Use Leftover Halloween Candy

1. S’mores bar –This is so much fun! You can check out a few different s’mores parties we’ve shared over the years, but basically you will set out a bunch of different flavored graham crackers, marshmallows and a variety of chocolate candies.

We highly recommend peanut butter cups, peppermint patties and a classic Hershey Bar. Then start a bonfire in a fire pit or invest in these portable tabletop fire pits and start roasting them mallows!

2. Save leftover Halloween candy to decorate Gingerbread houses – Whether you make graham cracker gingerbread houses or buy a kit from the store, having extra candy on hand to use for decorating is always a good idea. Things like Jolly Ranchers, Starbursts, Skittles, M&M’s, Dots, etc. all are good candy to save and to use to decorate gingerbread houses.

3. DIY Christmas advent – Inspired by our DIY Valentine Advent Calendar, I made a DIY Christmas advent calendar a few years ago using an over the door shoe organizer and Christmas gift tags/scrapbook paper. I love this homemade food advent calendar because it is so easy to add our own little treats (like leftover Halloween candy) or a “coupon” to do a special Christmas activity.

4. Elf on the Shelf shenanigans – Speaking of Christmas, we have used leftover Halloween candy in some of our sneaky Elf on the Shelf activities. A few of our favorite candy themed Elf on the Shelf ideas:

Elf cooking breakfast, with candy in the skillet.
“Elf’s Museum of Poo” – Fill a muffin tin with different types of candy and label each muffin tin a name of a character to match the poo. For example: red M&M’s for Santa’s poo. Hershey kisses for reindeer poo, etc.
Elves taking a “bath” in a bowl full of candy.
Elves using Kit Kat bars to play Jenga.

5. Movie snacks

6. Science experiments – A quick Pinterest search will yield a ton of science experiments using candy. Below are a few of our favorites that we have done over the years.

7. Minute to Win It Games/Food Olympics- “Minute to Win It” type games are so fun to do during the holidays! Over the years, we have shared many ideas, including several that include using candy or other food as part of the games.

Here are a few ideas specifically using candy:

Whipped cream challenge – Place cookies, gummy worms or other candy on a plate. Cover with whipped cream and eat without using your hands.
Suck it up – Place two paper plates in front of each player. Place 10 or more M&Ms or mini marshmallows on one plate. Using a straw suck up each M&M one at a time and transfer it to another plate, or in the case of the photo above, from one end of the football printed paper to the other.
Candy Drop – Place a vase or jar with a small opening (1-2 inches across) on the floor between your feet. Then try to drop round candies, like M&M’s or Skittles, from waste high into the opening of the jar.

9. Fill a piñata – Upcoming birthday? Use that Halloween candy to fill a pinata or pass out as party favors!

10. Care package for students and military servicemen and women serving abroad – Anyone living away from home loves a care package! If you attend or host a trunk-or-treat before Halloween, you could send leftover candy in a Boo’d theme Halloween care package. Otherwise, save the candy for care packages all year long.

11. Add candy to blessing bags for the homeless.

12. Candy Crafts – Use candy to create adorable crafts, like a candy sled or a candy train, or transform the candy into something new like Skittles paint.

13. Decorations – Those old-fashioned lollipop or gumdrop trees are so cute and festive. Here are a few additional ways to decorate with candy:

14. Bingo markers – M&M’s, Skittles, Dots, Smarties and candy corn would all make great bingo markers for a holiday bingo.

15. Use candy for math games and activities – Make math fun with a little sweet treat and one of these activities:

This M&M Counting book is so fun!
Use Skittles, Starbursts or M&M’s to do this rainbow color sorting activity.
Candy graphing

16. Caramel Apple Gift Basket – These mini caramel apple gift baskets are so cute and easy to make! They include a few pieces of chocolate candies that can be cut up and used for sprinkling on the apple after dipping in the caramel. These would be great holiday gifts for teachers, scout leaders, coaches, coworkers, or neighbors.

17. Stocking stuffers – As long as the Halloween candy has no Halloween imagery, it is fair game to repurpose as a stocking stuffer!

18. Fill a candy jar at work.

19. Use leftover Halloween candy for delivery driver and postal worker thank you snack basket.

20. Ice cream sundae bar – Setting up an ice cream sundae bar is a fun way to host friends and family! Simply set up a self-serve ice cream bar with different flavors of ice cream, as well as a variety of toppings like sprinkles, nuts, whipped cream, fruit, chocolate and caramel sauce. Chopped up chocolate bars are also a great addition to ice cream and can be included in the ice cream bar.

21. Candy message poster – This is such and fun and thoughtful gift that doesn’t cost a lot! We love doing candy message posters for a Valentine’s Day gift, but they also make great gifts for a friend’s birthday or as a thank you note.

22. Donate to local community organizations – Many nonprofits and community organizations will take donations of individually wrapped candy to use either in their own organization or to pass on to others (like the military).

See below for a list of possible organizations that accept candy donations, but be sure and call ahead to make sure they are currently accepting donations.

firefighters
food pantry
homeless shelter
nursing home
schools/teachers
children’s hospital (like the Ronald McDonald House)
Operation Gratitude
Treats for Troops through Soldiers’ Angels,

23. Pass out excess candy to other trick or treaters – If your children have excess candy from attending trunk or treats or fall carnivals early in the season, consider using that candy to pass out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.

24. Use it to decorate cakes, cupcakes or cookies – I usually don’t have the patience for elaborately decorated cookies, cakes and cupcakes. However, I do love an adorable treat and have used candy over the years to help me easily decorate cakes and cookies and transform them into a showstopping treat!

Turkey Oreos
Easy Ornament Cookies – M&M’s
Polar Bear Cupcakes
Football Cake – use Skittles or M&M’s to customize this football cake in your team’s colors
Bookworm Cupcakes – gummy worms and Andes mints

25. Bake Leftover Halloween Candy Into Cookies, Brownies, or Bars – Mini chocolate bars and peanut butter cups are begging to be chopped up and folded into cookie dough, brownie batter or even used to decorate cake and cupcakes. If you are looking for specific recipes or dessert ideas, see below for some of our favorite treats and cookies using leftover Halloween candy.

26. Participate in a Halloween buyback program – Many dentist offices offer a Halloween candy buyback program the week after Halloween where they will pay cash to kids for their Halloween candy. The dentist office then usually donates the candy to organizations that send care packages to the military.

27. Host a cheese, wine or beer and candy pairing party – A local cheese shop does an annual cheese and candy pairing class and I have seen local breweries and wineries offer them as well during the month of October. However, a candy and wine (or cheese and beer) pairing party, would be a fun thing to do as a date night at home with your spouse or with a group of friends.

28. Hot chocolate bar – Just like a smore’s bar, with the cold weather quickly approaching, using leftover chocolate candy in a hot chocolate bar is a fabulous idea!

To set up your hot chocolate bar, make a batch of Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate and then have different mix-ins and toppings such as whipped cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, marshmallows, and assorted candy like malted milk balls, peanut butter cups, chocolate caramels, peppermint patties, etc.

29. Use leftover candy as Easter egg filler – Again, since candy has a great shelf life (especially when frozen) and as long as the Halloween candy has no Halloween imagery, it is great to stash away and use as Easter egg filler.

30. Add extra Halloween candy to a 72-hour emergency kit – 72-hour emergency kits are basically grab and go bags for emergencies. You would take them with you if you were evacuating because of a flood, fire, hurricane, etc. Candy that won’t melt is a great addition to these bags. for more information on how to start your own 72 hour kit, click here.

31. Make a candy bouquet

32. Add extra Halloween candy to a gift basket

33. Make a candy cake

FAQs About Leftover Halloween Candy

Can you freeze Halloween candy?
Yes, chocolate candies freeze incredibly well! However, it is not recommended to freeze gummies or hard candies.

How to store leftover Halloween candy:

When storing candy for long term, separate candy by type (ie: chocolate, mint, fruit flavored), so flavors do not potentially mix.

If storing in the pantry, store in an air-tight container or zip-top bag.

To freeze chocolate, place chocolate in its original packaging in a freezer safe zip-top bag or freezer safe container. To prevent chocolate from absorbing other flavors from the freezer, double bag the chocolate or use a vacuum sealer to vacuum seal the chocolate.

How long does leftover candy last?
If stored properly, chocolate candy can stay fresh in the pantry for 6-12 months and in the freezer for 18-24 months.

Hard candies, like Skittles, mints and Jolly Ranchers, can stay fresh in the pantry for 1-2 years.

Can I bake with leftover candy?
Absolutely. Chocolate candy bars make great mix-ins for cookies, brownies, blondies, and even cakes.

What’s the best way to donate leftover candy?
Check with local food pantries, or programs like Operation Gratitude or Treats for Troops through Soldiers’ Angels, that collect candy for troops serving overseas.

More fun Halloween treats and craft ideas:

What to do with leftover Halloween candy

Feeling overwhelmed by the mountain of Halloween candy lingering in your pantry? Don’t let it go to waste! Instead check out these fun and creative things to do with leftover Halloween candy!

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Feeling overwhelmed by the mountain of Halloween candy lingering in your pantry? Don’t let it go to waste! Instead check out these fun and creative things to do with leftover Halloween candy!

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