Another Halloween has come and gone, and now it’s November. Based on the treats my girls got in their Halloween buckets last night, it seems the favorite candies handed out in Montrose were Snickers and Kit Kats. That’s good news for my husband and me. One child is allergic to peanuts, and the other one doesn’t like them, so we get all the Snickers and Reese’s too. 

Now the question is: what to do with all the leftover candy? I’ve read that some Colorado dentists participate in a buyback program. You sell them your Halloween candy leftovers, and they donate them to organizations that send candy, and other items, to our troops overseas. While I’m not sure if any dentists in western Colorado do a buyback program, you could call your dentist and find out. 

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With major holidays coming up, there are some other good ideas for all the leftover treats. 

Chocolates, caramels, and candy corn all freeze. Whether you choose to freeze them and use them later, don’t forget you can always use those for baking. Stir in bits of those chocolate candy bars into cookies or other holiday treats. You can also share it with others. Maybe your kids know other kids who didn’t go trick or treating for some reason. You could put together goodie bags for them. 

There is also another great way to use those hard candies and jellybeans. It’s almost time for gingerbread house decorating. Just save all those candies to create a new masterpiece. What better way to spend a chilly fall afternoon in Colorado with the kids, than decorating a gingerbread house? Our girls have enjoyed this tradition for many years. 

Last year the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs had a gigantic gingerbread house on display during the holiday season. According to an article from Travel + Leisure, it was made from over 950 pounds of powdered sugar, 475 pounds of flour, and 20 pounds of candy canes, and took almost 300 hours to complete. The house was almost ten feet tall. I don’t think my girls have enough leftover candy to make a gingerbread house that big. Besides that, I don’t think one that big would fit into our house. We could probably make one that big out in our yard, and while it would be super fun and challenging, perhaps we shouldn’t. Our goofy dog would try to eat it.

Leftover Halloween candy in Colorado

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