What to Do with All the Candy?

Save it for gingerbread!!!

- Or -

Donate unopened boxes to battered women's shelters, food bank programs, churches. TRUST me, having been quite poor, being able to treat your kids with candy is something many poor families will skip a meal to do, but one can't do it often. And very few people think to donate either babyfood or candy.

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I send mine to the office too, or lock it away and give it to the kids over a long period of time. A lot of it gets thrown away.

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I started to notice that my kids did ok with sugar but did badly with high fructose corn syrup. I just made it a rule that anything with HFCS would not come home, end of story. When people tried to give it to me I would tell them that the kids react badly to HFCS and while I can handle the fits and craziness when other adults are there to help, I can't do it when I am flying solo with the kids (Hubb works 100 + hours weekly) so I won't be taking it.

If they insist I send it to hubby's work. He is now known as the man that puts free candy in the break room.

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Oh well, I donate it to the local shelter. Families are homeless and they sometimes have kids with them. Sad but true and sometime a small piece of candy can be a big deal for those kids who have and get so very little. So my kids get to pick out double their age worth of candy and the rest goes bye bye. For instance DD is 5 so she gets to pick out 10 pieces of candy.

works great for us and grandparents have no idea, but I asked and asked for them not to buy it so if they can't respect mommy's wishes, Mommy doesn't feel bad about giving it all away to those less fortunate.

hope this helps.

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I wish we were neighbors! Go to a nursing home and give out the candy-old people love sugar-they eat a lot of it-makes you live long!

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Just pitch it. No guilt.
Or take it to the office--or send it to the office with your husband!

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My children were the only grandkids on my side of the family, only nieces and nephew, and only little ones on my hubby's side of the family so we use to get TONS of candy. I use to take candy into work with me and leave it for my coworkers. I also use to throw a lot of it out. Yes I asked that everyone not buy so much for the kids however it gave them joy to buy and give so they continued.

So my suggestion is take it into work or throw it out. Either way it'll be out of your house.

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We had a similar problem at grandma's house with my daughter getting snacks and treats that we don't normally give her. What I'd recommend is that for a while you always be with your daughter when grandma is around, and each time grandma goes to give her candy just say "thank you, but we're not eating candy right now so we can't accept it". If she persists, just keep saying "thank you but no thank you". Whatever you do, don't try to explain yourself - explaining yourself in any situation leads the other party to believe that it is up to debate and discussion. This is not. Just say no.

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Loved all the responses. One more...my husband and I both work in academia. We often send our leftovers to the student affairs office (or other office that serves students)...undergrads will eat anything! If you have a college near by, see if they might take it for the students.

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We have the same problem. Besides all the holiday candy, my parents (who live across the country) send bags of candy in care packages. Gigantic lollipops the size of her head, king size bags of Tootsies, M&Ms, you name it. And that's not to mention that EVERY place you go hands out suckers! It's not just the bank anymore...the grocery store, the junkyard, even the DOCTOR'S office!

Sometimes we throw it away. Sometimes we all share it. Sometimes, we donate a big bag to the food shelf...honestly, some of those kids may rarely get candy, and to them it would be exactly what it should be...a treat.

Just ask your parents to please stop. It didn't work with mine, but maybe it'll work with yours.

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Donate it to our troops overseas. One group we support includes candy in care packages they send to the troops. http://www.yellowribbonsg.org/help_to_help.html There may be a similar branch or organization a bit closer to you. We do a neighborhood drive after Halloween, and many people are happy to get rid of all the excess or their non-favorites. It's a great opportunity to teach your daughter about helping others as well. Maybe if she starts telling Grandma that she donates all the candy, Grandma will get the hint too :)

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Every holiday, I pick a few "desired" pieces out and pack the rest up for my husband to take to the office. It might be 3,4,5 lbs....but it gets consumed quickly!!!! Do you REALLY want to know what NASA engineers are consuming?..... my DD's Halloween and Christmas candy!!!!

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Take it to the local food pantry or homeless shelter or give it to your child's teacher. they are always doing all kinds of fundraisers at schools. it could be used in a basket to be raffled off etc or as a prize in her classroom

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Buy it from her, by the pound. Go to the store and look at the price of the bulk Brachs candy, and then offer her the same amount per pound. Or go the full bribe route and offer to trade it for something she really wants. A cd or book or less-expensive toy. It's worth every penny if it means avoiding meltdowns.

Or you could always strong-arm the folks and tell them that any more candy they buy their daughter has to be 'Grandma's House' candy and that it must stay there. If they want to get her something she'd enjoy, you can give them plenty of ideas. (Stickers, stationary, markers, barrettes, inexpensive items.)

Any candy in our house goes to work with my guy. The "Halloween Fairy" visits and trades my son a nice toy for his candy.

I think people associate sweets with making kids immediately happy, and it feels good for those who don't have to deal with the fallout. But we've also more or less nixed it here at home. When my son wants a 'sweet thing', he usually gets pears, or blueberries with yogurt, or graham crackers. Some people think we're nuts, but I figure that since diabetes runs in my family, we have to develop good habits now!

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We mail our extra candy from Halloween and birthday party pinatas to deployed soldiers along with a card thanking them for their service.

Also, I think it's pretty rude of the grandparents to openly defy you when you directly ask them to stop giving your child sugar.

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We don't allow candy, ever at all. We have used it to make gingerbread houses, but mostly if some comes home, we throw it away.

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I'll let my kids eat a few pieces for the first few days and then I'll throw the rest away. They really don't need that much candy. Nobody does.

I'm a little late but maybe you could take a separate trip to Grandma's and take a bag of stickers & small toys ($ store type), or maybe even a few of those $1 gift certificates from McDonald's? Explaining to Grandma how much you appreciate but are concerned for your daughter's health (& yours!). a grab bag would be just as much fun & Grandma could just replenish the supply as needed. I've had a weight problem my entire life & I wish the people in my life would have done more of these things, the habits we learn as children take a lifetime to break! Good Luck!

i put all mine in a big ziploc bag started at halloween, then i add the xmas and bday....etc....we throw away or give away what they dont like very much and there it sits, by summer ill throw it all away

It really varies here. I rarely see candy come home from school since it has a no candy policy. I was actually surprised to see some valentines come w/ the kids that had candy but each of the boys only got one or two pieces so I was fine with that. We don't do much candy either, especially since my oldest son has to be on a low-glycemic diet. It would be too much of a temptation if it's here.

At Halloween, the night of, we let them eat as much as they want. Any that's left over gets set out in their bags on the porch for The Great Pumpkin. He takes the candy away (it goes w/ hubby to the office) and a small toy or book is left in return. My kids love this. I have heard of other families who can't eat candy due to dietary reasons put all of it in a big jar and when it's full (not sure what they do with it) but the kid turns it in for a toy or book or something.

We don't do candy for Valentines or Easter (unless we happen to make homemade chocolates together as a family which is rare). For Christmas they only get a small bag of chocolate coins & a candy cane along with their nuts, an apple and an orange. We also don't do candy for their birthdays unless we happen to find something that goes w/ their theme (rare) but even then it's not eaten at the party. It's sent home for the parents discretion. But I also serve a small lunch at my parties so the kids don't go home hyped up on sugar.

Every once in a while I don't mind if the kids have a piece of candy but like you we could never eat much at a time. Once it's been there for a month, I just quietly throw it away. It wouldn't taste good anymore anyway. Although, it is a good idea to stash it for gingerbread houses. Those are so much fun to make and any candy goes. Or other projects. I can't with my kids though. My daughter K did a project like that in preK and I couldn't get her to understand that it wasn't ok to pull the glued m&m's off of her paper & eat them. Yuck.

What candy does come in our house is made as much as possible from natural ingredients without any extra fillers, dyes, preservatives, etc. and since those candies are more expensive, naturally we eat much less of it. I also enjoy making them at home but our candy isn't generally considered "candy"; it still satisfies a sweet tooth. :)

I would tell grandma she can't give the kids more than one piece of candy (or one box) and that it has to be from a list you approve. Or ask her to spend the money on a book for your daughter instead, or even a stuffy or something that she collects. That way she'd still feel her gift is being appreciated and you don't feel like you're being inundated with candy.

If any of it is large bags that are unopened, you may be able to donate it to a food pantry or shelter to use as treats for the children there. I don't think they would be able to take individual pieces of candy (like trick-or-treat) though for safety reasons. The schools here no longer allow candy so that has helped some for us. I have been in the same boat though with throwing it away because the next holiday comes & we still have leftovers from the last one. I also take it to work because there is always someone there who will eat it. I guess, depending on what it is, you could use it to bake something the next time you're asked to donate to a school bake sale. Candy bars freeze well too. If you gave hints to the grandparents about other things your daughter likes, maybe they'll catch on and buy that instead. Good Luck! I know it seems never ending & seems like everywhere you go, there are treats for the kids.

I usually have a 2 small treat limit per day the week after a holiday. After that 1 per day for a week. I then take all the holiday candies, treats and we get together and put together brown paper lunch sacks. The kids decorate them with pictures, notes, gems, sequins and we go to a local nursing home or assisted living facility and ask the director who doesn't have regular visits from others and can have a candy treat(please don't go giving the alzheimers patients with diabetes and renal failure a bag full of sugar). This gift will help them understand what it's like to give back and see a visible appreciation for what they are doing and at a young age it's hard to just say turn over your candy. Also the homeless shelters could be the recipient of these types of bags too, but unfortunately the kids won't get the full understanding of what they are doing unless the shelter allows them to gift people which at times can be easy and others not quite the experience you would have hoped for.

Send it to her school and it could be passed out at treats. Or put in the teacher lounge, Lord knows we need a sugar pick me up in the middle of the day.

Our church collects candy after Halloween to send to the soldiers oversees. They really appreciate the treats and always send back thank you letters.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem! I thought mine would have ended when we moved two states away, but one Grandma MAILS it to my daughter! Yes she puts together a box of candies and cookies and treats and mails it to my 2 year old, for EVERY holiday known to man. How awesome is that? *sarcasm*
I love the suggestions you got, and will probably use a few of them for our candy situation. I wish I could be of more help, but I just wanted to let you know you aren't the only one out there with this issue.

I agree with the excess holidays encourage! As the mom of a (now) teen who has been heavy every single day of her entire life, holidays have always been a challenge. We always opted for non-food gifts as the majority for her goody bags. baskets and stockings. She would get one or 2 small things (like a candy bracelet and a mini chocolate thing..bite size)..then other stuff like new crayons/markers...a gift card to the book store (her fave place since she was 4), other art supplies, when she was little she got little girl jewelry, ponytail binders, funky socks (she is still a sock aficionado and it is part of what defines her style=).

Just do it without the emphasis on treats! Consider it a challenge!