5 Minute Librarian: What to Do With Leftover Halloween Candy

When Halloween has come and gone, many of us are left with buckets of candy. Whether we've had trick-or-treaters at the library or some other festive celebration, the holiday always seems to end with a trail of empty wrappers in its wake. What to do? Well!

Donate It

Operation Gratitude collects Halloween candy and donates it to military members, usually a handful at a time in care packages. Many businesses, families, and dentists' offices (ha!) collect candy and send it in. Your library can sign up and be a collection site, too! Similarly, Soldiers Angels has a "Treats for Troops" program that is annually sponsored.

Some locations of Ronald McDonald House Charities will take candy for children who are too sick to go out on Halloween.

Experiment With It

I absolutely love science experiments with candy. For one, it's fun. For two, it's inexpensive. And there are so many things you can do with it! Melt it, drop it in water and see if it dissolves, perform tests to see if it reacts to different substances (sour candy fizzes in baking soda water). And the best part - it's not rotting your teeth and giving you stomach aches!

We really love the book Candy Experiments by Loralee Leavitt, which has some amazing ideas!