On the search for “candy buyback near me”? Did your kids bring home too much Halloween candy? On the search for “candy buyback near me”? Don’t worry! We have a couple of dental offices in Greenville to take that candy and exchange it for something that won’t result in a sugar overload or rot on their teeth. And we have a few more creative ideas for using or giving away that candy.

What to Do With All That Candy!

Trade It for Money “Candy Buyback Near Me” at Greenville, SC Dentists

This is a good way to teach kids about ways that money works. There are a few local dentists where kids can bring in their candy by the pound and get a few dollars. This can work at home also where kids exchange their candy for money. 

Palmetto Family Orthodontics

Palmetto Family Orthodontics will buy leftover candy for $1 a pound and then donate it to local charities and to help by supporting our troops overseas.
Times: Verdae Office: November 6, 8 & 9, 2023 during business hours⁠
East Faris Office location: November 7th, 2023
Location: 501 Verdae Boulevard, Greenville

Julian Thomas DMD Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Bring in your wrapped Halloween candy to be shipped to troops overseas through the Operation Gratitude program! In previous years, the practice has exchanged candy for cash or prizes.
Times: Candy can be dropped off in early November 2023, but contact the dentistry directly for exact dates and times.
Location: 1141 East Butler Road Greenville | 864.676.0046

Greer Pediatric Dental

They will buy your Halloween candy for $1 per pound, up to five pounds.
Times: Thursday, November 2nd until noon, Monday – Tuesday, November 6th and 7th, 2023 during business hours (closed for lunch from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm).
Location: 3115 Brushy Creek Road, Greer

Feed the Switch Witch

I had zero idea what this was until several readers suggested it. The Switch Witch is basically giving your kid(s) a small gift in exchange for the majority of the candy they get. This can be especially helpful if your child has an allergy – they can still collect candy but get a cool gift instead of a boatload of stuff that makes them sick (side note: look for homes with teal pumpkins when trick or treating with a child who has allergies – these homes will have non-candy items. This is what my family does and it’s always a hit)

These are a few ideas of how to make the Switch Witch work for your family:

“I tell my kiddo that the switch a witch eats up the candy and in exchange will use her magic to make him a gift. In our house, he gets to pick five pieces of candy and the rest he can give to the switch a witch with the idea that the more candy she gets the bigger gifts she can make him. I typically do a costume, art supplies, or legos. About the same size or a bit smaller than a birthday present you buy for a kid’s birthday.”

Let Them Eat It

This is an option I know a lot of parents do which I had never even considered: let the kids eat as much candy as they want. Just go ahead and jump in the deep end. Our readers say this option essentially gives kids too much of a good thing and they are so sick of candy after Halloween. 

These are a few suggestions from our readers on how to handle this option:

“I let my daughter eat whatever she wants. It’s her candy and she won’t eat to the point of making herself sick, so I let her learn what her body wants and stop when she’s done (which is usually pretty quickly because she’s really good about that).”

“My son eats what he wants, but the novelty wears off within a day. Then we have old candy come Valentine’s Day.”

“If you’re not letting your kids go into a diabetic coma just one night of the year, are you really letting them enjoy childhood? Lol!! Mine usually get sick of it before long and I hide it in a bag and pass some out here and there and take a bunch myself lol.”

Halloween Candy Donations

Some families will let their kids choose a handful of their favorite candy and then donate the rest to send overseas to the military or use it in care packages. Candy donations can be easily shipped, and your kids can help decorate the box. You can contact your local Ronald McDonald House to see if they are taking Halloween candy donations for the families who are staying there. Or, try donating through Treats for Troops.

Use the Candy for Christmas or Gingerbread Houses

Other parents will sneakily steal some of the candy and reuse it for Christmas stockings. And not-so-sneaky parents will use leftover candy for candy houses or for use when they construct Gingerbread houses during Christmastime. 

“Let them have a little the night of and maybe the next day, and save the rest to divvy up into the Christmas stockings.”

“Let them eat it and then whatever is left in December is used on our gingerbread houses.”

What do you do with the tons of Halloween candy your kids bring home?

If you hear of any more candy buy-back programs in the Greenville area, please let us know in the comments!

Curious about the teal pumpkins you see popping up around town? Read on to learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project. We’ve got suggestions for families wanting to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project this Halloween. 

One in 13 children in the United States has some kind of food allergy so it’s likely you know a child that has one or maybe your own child is part of the food allergy community. Food allergies can be everything from minor allergic reactions to life-threatening emergencies, so parents, family, friends, and teachers are often vigilant of food labels.

It’s so sad to see the disappointment a child living with food allergies may feel when confronted with a food that irritates him and everyone else gets to enjoy it. No one wants that to happen to trick-or-treaters, but sadly allergen-safe food trinkets and treats are not common on the Halloween scene.

Halloween can be an especially challenging time for these kids and their families as schools have parties with candy that are off-limits, stores are filled with treats that are forbidden and all their friends are trick-or-treating and filling their baskets with chocolate and candies that contain threatening allergens.

But, we can help change the trick-or-treat experience for children living with food allergies by offering some safer trick-or-treat options. Include small items in addition to candy, and display a teal pumpkin letting families know that you have options for their child.

This article includes:
What is the Teal Pumpkin Project?
Non-food Ideas for Trick or Treaters

For all the ways to celebrate Halloween in Greenville and the Upstate, don’t miss our HUGE Guide to Halloween Celebrations and Trick-or-Treat in Greenville and Spartanburg.

Enter the Teal Pumpkin

In 2014, the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), came up with an idea to help make Halloween safer for these kids and less stressful for their parents.

They asked people across the country to swap out their candy and treats for non-food trinkets to hand out to trick-or-treaters. To tell the little pumpkins, astronauts, and goblins that their house was safe for kids with food allergies, FARE suggested painting a pumpkin teal and putting it outside for everyone to see.

First of all, this is a great idea and a wonderful way to include these children who may feel left out otherwise.

Secondly, teal is a pretty color and easily recognizable, even in the dim twilight of Halloween trick-or-treating.

Grateful Parents & Kids

Homes that choose to paint their pumpkins teal elicit a huge sigh of relief from parents who are out with their little ones who are allergic to some types of food, including nuts, seeds, or dairy, many of which are found in traditional Halloween candy.

“Trick or treating has been a difficult holiday to participate in with our son, who has several food allergies. Last year, he was able to only eat five candies out of his entire bucket,” explained Emile Dowd, a mom of two adorable boys and owner of WonderLight Photography in Greenville.

“The Teal Pumpkin Project has made it a lot easier for our little guy to enjoy and participate in trick-or-treating alongside his friends. It’s fun to see him so excited when we come to a house with a teal pumpkin and we’ve been really grateful for those that take the time to include all children! Hopefully, more and more people decide to participate each year so that kids with allergies can feel included in the festivities.”

FARE offers some ideas to get the word out in your own neighborhood about the Teal Pumpkin Project like putting up flyers (you can download premade ones at FARE’s website), making a homemade sign that sits with your teal pumpkin to help explain it, and posting about it on social media using the hashtag #tealpumpkinproject. Be sure to post about it as well in your neighborhood Facebook page or website.

Teal Pumpkin Project Ideas: Non-Food Things for Trick-or-Treaters

When food treats and candy is not an option, try this list of trick-or-treat alternatives for kids. Teal pumpkin families can give out:

Stickers
Glow-sticks
Bouncy balls
Rubber stamps
Pencils
Playdough
Mini-crayon sets
Puzzles
Straws
Toothbrushes
Finger puppets
Bracelets
Adjustable rings
Little dinosaur toys
Sticky hands
Bubbles

The Oriental Trading Company even has a page of Halloween novelty toys great for people who want to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project.

The list is endless. Be creative. Put a teal pumpkin on your doorstep and provide treats for children for whom candy is not an option. Maybe next year, the teal pumpkin homes will be known for giving out the coolest things for Halloween.

Do you have a child in your family or on your block who would be excited to see teal pumpkins this Halloween?