My kids are counting down the days to Halloween. They've had tons of fun at various seasonal events around town including the Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze (our first time visiting) and other events happening all month long. Even so, October 31 is about as exciting for them as Christmas morning and they are already giddy thinking about the rivers of Halloween candy headed their way as they parade around our neighborhood trick-or-treating.

The first time I went trick-or-treating when my oldest was old enough, we came home and he sat with a wild grin, scanning his candy loot, then looked to me with those anxious, pleading eyes. I let him indulge (but not too much) and once he came down from the sugar high, I got him cleaned up and off to bed. Then I scanned the mounds of leftover candy, too much for a classroom to consume in a day. I packed up most of it (minus a small bowl for snacking) and put it away in a cabinet he couldn't reach. The next day, he was happy with the small bowl and didn't even seem to remember the rest. I stumbled across that hidden stash the following October. I told myself this was a novice mistake.

Now with three kids and three times the candy, I have to come up with creative ways to make that candy disappear! What to do with the excess? We've got five fun ideas for using (and getting rid of) extra Halloween candy.