Halloween Hints: What to do if You Run Out of Candy

The Jack-O-Lanterns are carved.  The Halloween decorations are up.  The treats have been bought.  We’re all set!  Or are we?

Every year, I stress about whether or not I’ve purchased enough candy.  I don’t want to buy too much (inevitably I end up eating the leftovers) but I would also be disappointed if we ran out before the night’s end.

So what do you do if you run out of treats on October 31?

• Lights Out: If you participate in Trick-or-Treating, for safety purposes you should turn on outdoor lights and clear your sidewalk of debris.  If you run out of candy, simply turn off the lights and take down any obvious decorations to signal that you’re done for the night.  If you like, you could post a sign outside saying, “Sorry, we’re out of candy,” but that does potentially open you up to receiving “tricks” from disgruntled kids.

• Search the Cupboards: If you run out of candy, there are a few things around the house that you can consider giving out as treats.  Search your cupboards and see what you’ve got on hand.  Smaller, edible treats that can substitute for candy include granola bars, fruit chews, boxes of raisins, fruit rolls, or small bags of chips and pretzels.

• Spare Change: Appropriate non-edible treats might also be a hit.  If you keep a container of spare change, you can grab that and hand out coins to the younger kids.  If you have preschoolers or school-aged children, you might have other small items around the house that would work for treats, such as stickers, temporary tattoos, cool pens or pencils, small bubbles, bouncy balls, glow sticks, even small containers of Play Doh.  Outgrown books or artwork supplies might work in a pinch, too.

• Recycle: If you have children who are back home after Trick-or-Treating, there’s a chance that you can recycle their least-favorite treats.  You’ll probably have to bribe them, but your kids may be willing to part with candy that they don’t like much anyway.

• Extra Supplies: If you’re new to your neighborhood and don’t know how many goblins and princesses to expect at your door, you could also purposefully overbuy candy with the aim of giving away the leftovers.  You can bring extra candy to work or drop it off at a shelter or a volunteer organization to prevent you from eating it yourself.

Hope these ideas help you out this weekend.  Have a safe and fun night handing out treats to the little cuties at your door!

Tags: Halloween Candy, Halloween Planning, Trick or Treaters

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