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Recycling Leftover Halloween Candy

Twice the Candy-coated Halloween Fun

By Gina Roberts-Grey, LCSW

"Look under the layer of dust in your room for a chewy treat" or "You'll find chewy bubbles buried deep under you bed" gives your children a mission to clean under the bed or organize their closet while getting encouraging treats that mark their progress.

• Another option is to invite a few friends over to form small scavenging pairs or teams. Send them out to look for candy hidden in the yard, garage, basement or throughout the house. On a crisp autumn day they can take turns hiding bags of candy for each other in piles of leaves or hay. Giving everyone a list of what pieces they each need to look for offers an element of fairness for younger children.
• Make a candy popper to liven up a weekend family meal or gathering. Fill toilet paper or paper towel tubes. Wrap the tubes with tissue paper, leaving some additional paper on both ends, and tie yarn, string or ribbons around both ends. If you're hosting a family dinner, put children to work on making poppers for all the guests. Using the decorations they create out of festively colored tissue paper and ribbons at each place setting gives the sense of contributing to the meal and an aspect of responsibility.

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