Have leftover Halloween candy or need new ways to use leftovers? Here’s how you can sell your candy, make leftover Halloween candy recipes, cookies and bars, do some candy science and crafts, learn where to donate leftover Halloween candy, and more cool things to make with candy! Whether you have leftover fun size candy bars or wondering what to do with leftover lollipops and leftover M&M candies (does Halloween candy expire?), we’ve got you covered — and it doesn’t even involve binging on candy!
What can you do with leftover Halloween candy?
It’s that time of year! Halloween is over and you’re looking at that big bag of leftover Halloween candy sitting on the table and thinking, “What are we ever going to do with all that leftover candy corn?”
No matter how much you love your favorite candy for Halloween, you’re probably not going to eat it all.
Here are clever ways to get rid of excess Halloween candy…
What can I do with left over Halloween candy?
35 Good Ideas for Leftover Halloween Candy:
- Sell the leftover candy with Halloween candy buybacks.
- Donate Halloween candy to local organizations / charitable organizations.
- Freeze it.
- Bake with the candy and make leftover Halloween candy cookies!
- Keep it. (Candy has a long shelf life!)
- Cook with the candy.
- Bake easy cookies with leftover Halloween candy using refrigerated sugar cookie dough (like a candy corn cookie bar!).
- Give it to a local food pantry.
- Skip the sugar rush and trade it out with the Switch Witch.
- Make snickers bars salad!
- Use melted-down candy for fondue.
- Make leftover Halloween candy fudge.
- Use it in holiday trail mix or mix it with granola for snacks.
- Fill a mason jar with candy for Christmas gifts or Thanksgiving gifts.
- Make Halloween candy pie (or other recipes using leftover Halloween candy!).
- Bake recipes to use up chocolate bars.
- Make leftover Halloween candy bark.
- Save those candy corns for Thanksgiving decorating and baking.
- Use the Halloween candy for decorations.
- Make thank you bags for first responders in your community.
- Use chopped-up candy for ice cream toppings or milk shakes.
- Make candy and fruit nachos.
- Donate leftover Halloween candy to our troops. (Or, search places to donate halloween candy near me or where to give leftover halloween candy for troops.)
- Make theme party drinks with them.
- Use chocolate candies to make homemade party mix (and other party recipes).
- Bake a cake with leftover Halloween candy.
- Decorate monster cake pops.
- Use excess candy in holiday baskets for raffle tickets and donate proceeds from the tickets to charity.
- Do candy science.
- Add candy to boxed brownie mix for easy leftover Halloween candy brownies.
- Mix the candy with rice krispies treats.
- Make leftover Halloween candy cookie bars.
- Bake leftover Halloween candy cake recipes.
- Make candy crafts.
- Throw it out.
See the full list and details below on how do you get rid of Halloween candy, including how to donate leftover Halloween candy / where to take leftover Halloween candy if you don’t want it, where to send leftover Halloween candy, Halloween food ideas, how to store leftover Halloween candy, and more great ideas! KEEP SCROLLING for a perfect way to use these sweet treats!
MORE LEFTOVERS HALLOWEEN IDEAS (beyond favorite leftover Halloween candy):
What To Do With Your Leftover Halloween Pumpkins
Wondering how to donate Halloween candy to a good cause?
Can you donate leftover Halloween candy?
Yes! There are many places that will take wrapped, unopened Halloween candy that has not expired. Call ahead to the nonprofit organization or where you want to donate to check with them first, or search: who takes leftover Halloween candy near me.
You may also be wondering when does Halloween candy expire…
Can I save leftover Halloween candy for next year?
If you have too much candy, Halloween candy can be stored in an airtight container (like a resealable plastic freezer bag) and frozen for a up to a year. If you want to save your leftover Halloween candy to bake with or use in projects over the next year, store it in the freezer and be sure to date the bag for expiration. It’s good for personal use this way, but not recommended to give out for trick-or-treat candy again.
What To Do With Leftover Hard Candy
If you’re wondering what to do with leftover lollipops or hard candies, try:
- Bake stained glass cookies
- Make candy bark
- Add to teas or hot cocoa
- Decorate gingerbread houses with them
- Make candy apples with them
- Grind them up for a whipped cream topping for drinks and desserts
- Use it for stocking stuffers or in advent calendars
- Make treat bags and donate them for kids in a shelter
- Hand them out on kindness cards (I love this idea for what to do with leftover candy for any holiday!)
- Look up a hard candy recipe and cook with them
What To Do With Old Chocolate Bars
Wondering what to do with leftover chocolate or leftover Halloween candy bars?
- Make hot chocolate
- Shave or chop and add to whipped cream for desserts or drink toppings
- Make a chocolate syrup or sauce for ice cream
- Add to icing
- Make milkshakes
- Make ice cream toppings or place them in small bowls for a DIY sundae bar
- Add to brownies (candy bar brownies), cookies or cookie bars
- Decorate gingerbread houses
OK!
Ready for leftover Halloween candy ideas (aside from just getting this cute pumpkin jar, filling it with the candy, and then eating it until it’s gone?)?
We’ll go into more detail on the creative ways you can whittle away at that mound of sugar starting right after Halloween.
Let’s get to those unique ways to use leftover Halloween candy! (You’ll definitely find something in this huge list of things to do with leftover Halloween candy!)
Our 13 Favorite Tips for Using Candy Leftover from Halloween or Holidays
We’ve given you a ton of ideas for your candy stash, but these are our favorite ways to get rid of your leftover sweets — from Hershey’s Kisses and candy bars (I see you Heath bars, how are you still leftover?!) to hard candies and suckers!
So, what can I do with leftover Halloween candy…
#1: Sell your leftover Halloween candy.
Many local dental offices participate in “buy back” programs where you can get coupons to local businesses, fun items or even cash.
Check out the Halloween Candy Buy Back site to find dentists near you participating in the program (or search Halloween collection site near me).
Even if they aren’t giving real money, there are businesses that give buyback prizes (and you don’t even have to give them tons of candy!).
#2: Donate your leftover Halloween candy.
Yes, treat or treat candy donations are a thing! (My number one best way to get rid of Halloween candy!)
Call your local homeless shelters, women’s shelters, or even nursing homes to see if they would like the unopened candy, especially unopened bags of candy.
For many staying in those places, candy will be a nice treat that they don’t often spend money on as a splurge, so definitely check on this way for getting rid of lots of candy!
TIP: Check with the organization because if you’re shipping them they often want non chocolate candy.
Who takes leftover Halloween candy?
- Children’s hospitals
- Women’s shelters
- Homeless shelter
- Local Food banks
- Nursing homes
- Little Free Food Pantries (like those little free libraries, except food pantries)
- Deployed soldiers, service members, and troops overseas (Check out care packages for Operation Gratitude, Operation Stars & Stripes, or Soldiers’ Angels Treats)
- Ronald McDonald House Charities
-
Local soup kitchens
- Operation Shoebox (*check this because I think they’ve changed their rules on taking food or candy)
- Other great programs in your community / charitable organizations / any other good cause in your community is a great option to get rid of candy!
How to donate candy to a good cause: You can also search where to donate leftover Halloween candy near me or donate candy near me and see if anything comes up!
CANDY TIP: If you’re wondering can you donate candy to food banks or shelters, check with the organizations in your area before handing out candy to them. Each one has different rules!
This is one of my favorite uses for leftover Halloween candy!
If you’re wondering how to get rid of Halloween candy and help others, this is it! (Honestly, you could even buy extra Halloween candy just for this if you usually don’t have lots of Halloween candy left over!)
#3: Store the Halloween candy or freeze candy.
Did you know you can freeze chocolate and even hard candy (so you don’t have to throw out all those Halloween leftovers!).
How long can you keep Halloween candy?
Did you know candy usually has a pretty long shelf life, sometimes between six months to one year. Store your candy and it will keep for many months!
How do you store leftover Halloween candy?
If you plan on keeping your Halloween candy, it should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (like in the pantry and not at a warm room temperature) or even freeze Halloween candy leftovers!
If you’re wondering can you freeze leftover Halloween candy, the answer is YES!
Freezing Halloween candy:
Most candy will freeze just fine to keep for later dates and extend candy life well past the expiration date. Just be aware that when freezing chocolate that it often has light discoloration to it. That’s completely normal and is still fine to eat.
The freezing method will also help you to monitor candy consumption. It’s easier for kids (or you) to eat three Snickers out of a bag then to wait for the same three to thaw before you eat them. (BONUS!)
This Snickers dessert is great for leftover Halloween candy bars!
#4: Cook or bake with the Halloween candy.
There are so many great recipes out there for using Halloween candy — from candy bars to Red Hots and even those traditional candy corns.
Try the Snickers Salad, turkey cookies for Thanksgiving, or search the internet for recipes using the kind of candy you have left.
Ideas on what to make with leftover Halloween candy:
- Snickers Salad with Apples (good with Milky Way bars, too!) – one of our favorite recipes with leftover Halloween candy!
- Brownies with leftover halloween candy – almost any Halloween leftovers are good in brownies (M&Ms, Nerds, chopped up candy bars, etc.)
- Leftover Halloween candy bark (aka: trash bark)
- Leftover Halloween Candy blondies (or brownies)
- Milky Way recipe ideas
- Crazy Confetti Compost Cookies / leftover Halloween candy cookies (where you can use Halloween candy bars, chocolate chips, and pretzels or any other candy leftovers to bake cookies with leftover Halloween candy!)
- Candy Corn ButterFingers
- Fun popcorn balls like this (definitely make this recipe for leftover Halloween candy – it was so much fun!) – or make candy corn popcorn balls
- Make worms in dirt with those leftover gummy worms or sour gummies
…Or many other desserts using leftover Halloween candy! Search online for recipes for leftover Halloween candy for more ideas!
Halloween leftovers are great for a Christmas cookie party!
#5: Decorate with the candy.
With upcoming holidays, you will have plenty of opportunities to use the candy for homemade baking gifts and decorations.
Best ideas for Halloween candy after the holiday:
- Use candy corn for Thanksgiving decorations.
- Tie candy onto Christmas presents for decoration.
- Use the candy as hot chocolate drink bar garnishes at parties.
- Decorate gingerbread houses.
- Use the candy as decorating options at cookie decorating parties like this (like we did!)
Just sort out (or unwrap) the ones that are in traditional Halloween black and orange and go from there.
And, believe me, a box of Nerds can make an awesome cookie or gingerbread house decoration. No one will even guess they are from Halloween!
#6: Make party drinks with candy.
Look, why are the kids the only ones who get to have fun?
Using leftover candy to make or garnish yummy adult drinks (or even “virgin” drinks for kids) for your holiday parties is a fun way to get rid of candy from Halloween.
Have a ton of leftover suckers?
Make the Tootsie Pop drink, unwrap a sucker and then plop it right in the drink for garnish.
(Works the same with Jolly Ranchers or Sweet Tarts.)
Or, try the Liquid Snickers drink, cut up a Snickers bar and put on the rim of the glass as a garnish.
Add Halloween cotton candy as a puff on top of tinted milk for kids.
Make Candy Corn Punch for kids. (Fun for things to do with candy corn!)
Get some of those candy corn pumpkins? Garnish a Pumpkin Face Smoothie with them.
Get creative with your leftovers from Halloween!
#7: Do candy science or kitchen science.
Sneak in some STEM learning with your leftover candy.
(Really! These make for fun leftover Halloween candy activities!)
Start here with candy experiments.
You can also use Halloween candy leftovers for many other educational activities like sensory bins and candy games!
#8: Make leftover candy crafts.
When all else fails make some candy crafts or candy art!
Halloween candy crafts ideas:
- 3 Candy Corn DIY projects
- Candy wreath ideas
- Candy bar crafts
- Use Halloween candies for your Christmas gingerbread houses (we do this every year!)
- Build A Snowman Craft
- Use candies that are leftover in hot chocolate gift jars for the holidays
- Decorate with candy on your hot chocolate board or your apple board
#9: Play games with Halloween leftovers.
Use Halloween candies and extra candy to play games like:
- Roll A Sundae Game
- Candy Corn Tic-Tac-Toe
- Guess The Candy Amount games for parties
#10: Host a candy swap party!
Host a fun post-Halloween party with friends and let kids swap out candy!
Play Halloween candy swap games and come away with only the candy and treats that your family will actually eat and your favorite candies.
I think this is one of those cute Halloween candy ideas for a fall friends sleepover, too!
#11: Use Halloween candy for stocking stuffers.
Take all those Halloween candies that don’t look like Halloween candy (you don’t want Reese’s bats or Halloween pumpkin candy) and save them for Christmas stocking stuffers or as part of your homemade Christmas gifts.
Definitely use them for your Christmas stockings along with those candy canes!
#12: Use candy in your emergency bags.
If you keep emergency bags like this for each member of your family, save the hard candies for your emergency go bags!
In times of emergencies, things like candy and treats can be calming, especially for kids. So save those suckers and hard candies to go in bags for kids and adults!
#13: Throw the leftover Halloween candy out.
Our last tip for what do with leftover Halloween candy is to throw it away.
For real.
Stop feeling guilty about throwing out Halloween candy, especially if all those leftover Halloween candies are just taking up space until they’re a gooey, sticky mess in the bottom of a drawer.
Better to just get rid of it now than four months from now when you’re still looking at pounds of candy from Halloween while you’re taking down the Christmas tree or you’re sick of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
And, tell your kids to stop wondering how to get a lot of candy on Halloween next year!
PS: If you’re wondering what to do with leftover Easter candy or Christmas candy (or any other candy holiday), you can use these tips, too!
(You can donate easter candy and Christmas candy just as easy as Halloween candy!)
Do you have favorite ideas on how to use up your leftover Halloween candy or creative ways on what to do with Halloween candy? Let us know and we’ll add them to our Halloween candy list!
MORE HALLOWEEN FOOD IDEAS: Transform Store Bought Halloween Treats Into Fun Party Foods!
Enjoy your Halloween Season! We hoped this helped with what to do with leftover Halloween candy!
