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Posted on Wed, Oct 31, 2012 : 11:30 a.m.

Make the most of your Halloween candy haul

By Jessica Webster

halloween candy.jpg

Getting the best Halloween candy assortment can require some strategy.

In my house, Halloween preparations begin in August. That's when my 10-year-old starts reviewing and narrowing down his costume options. It's also when he starts the candy negotiations.

"Can we get some Nerds? For Halloween? What about SweeTarts? Can we get them now, in case they run out? Can we get this giant bag at Costco?"

Yeah, when it comes down to it, Halloween is all about the candy.

I remember trick-or-treating as a child. We'd roam the neighborhood in packs, comparing notes with other groups on who had the best candy.

"The Clarks are giving away Clark bars... again. But that guy on the corner has full-sized M&Ms!"

And then, once our bags were full, we'd get to the business of trading. Trading Halloween candy is an art even more nuanced than trading baseball cards. Buzzfeed has a humorous take on the phenomenon:

Once you (or your children) have traded for your favorites, what do you do with the candy that's left over? Cooking blog TheKitchn.com has a great roundup of recipes that make use of leftover Halloween candy.

Sometimes, though, the best bet is just to get that candy out of your house. Luckily, you can do that without feeling guilty about wasting it. Arbor Dental is offering a candy buy-back program through Nov. 3. Bring your candy to their office at 2301 Platt Road, Suite 200, and Arbor Dental will pay you $1 per pound of candy, and will be shipping all collected candy to the troops via Operation Gratitude.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Grocery section for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at JessicaWebster@annarbor.com. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.

Comments

jns131

Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 2:06 p.m.

Hate to say it. But I'd ship all my candy to NJ children who got gipped out of a great Halloween. Frankenstorm kind of blew that one for them. Sad.

Atticus F.

Wed, Oct 31, 2012 : 7:14 p.m.

I would always try to trade away my peanutbutter kisses for something like a full sized Nestle crunch, but it rarely worked. Also, we would fill pillow cases with candy, because we very rarely got candy in those days. Now, I think kids fill a little plastic pumkin, and then call it a day.

jns131

Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.

The snickers are mine. But everything else is far game.

Ron Granger

Wed, Oct 31, 2012 : 6:20 p.m.

Anyone know where I can buy candy cigarettes?

jns131

Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 2:03 p.m.

I was thinking the same thing. Our daughter asked what they were and we told her. I remember those from long ago. A friend of mine tried to lite those things. Not a good idea.

ypsi

Wed, Oct 31, 2012 : 6:39 p.m.

I would try The Rocket on Michigan Ave in Ypsi.