Too Much of a Good Thing?

Tips on what to do with all that Halloween candy...

It's inevitable!  Kids are going to come home on Halloween night with more candy than they can ever dream of!  Is it more of a nightmare for you?  Fear not!  We've got some ideas for you...

• Freeze the sweets. Chocolate freezes very well, and you'll have several months' worth of desserts for your brown bag lunches stashed. Put hard candies or sweets like Jolly Ranchers, Starbursts and Nerds into tightly sealed bags; they should stay fresh for quite a while.
• Bake with it. Use chopped-up candy bar pieces instead of chips in cookies and brownies. Mix Butterfingers, Snickers or other candy bar pieces into your cake batter.  Top cookies with M&M's, Reeses Pieces or Skittles.
• Donate candy to children in need.  Hospitals, shelters, food pantries and even churches often accept leftover candy.  Just be sure to call them before you show up with bags of candy to make sure they have a way to use it.
• Get creative with the upcoming holidays.  For place cards around the dinner table at Thanksgiving, fill sugar cones with various candy and lay them on their sides to look like cornucopias.  Make a gingerbread house at Christmas and use the candy to decorate the outside.  Hide candy in your advent calendar, for a yummy surprise every day.
• Take it to work. Leaving candy by the office coffee pot is a time-honored tradition. Alternate idea: If your workplace has a candy dish at the front desk, seal your surplus in a plastic bag and give it to the receptionist.  Your customers will appreciate the treat and some days, you may end up needing an afternoon pick-me-up.
• Sell it to your dentist. A program called the Halloween Candy Buy Back Program encourages dentists to buy sweets from kids; the goodies are then shipped to deployed soldiers. Some dentists pay cash (usually $1 to $2 a pound), and some give small gifts. The website (www.halloweencandybuyback.com) has a search tool to let you find a participating dentist near you.

Whatever you decide to do, have your kids pick their favorites from the piles, you pick yours, and say goodbye to the rest with a clear conscience!  Be safe, have fun and Happy Halloween!!!