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Fairly Odd Mother

Frantically waving my magic wand to make wishes come true.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Got candy? Here's how to get rid of it

Photobucket

Do you wish there was more candy in your house right now?

Yeah, me neither. We have mounds of it here, in all its pre-packaged loveliness.
For now, I'm stealing my kids' Butterfingers, but in a few days I'm going to want it out of the house. Yet the thrifty part of me just can't toss it in the trash.

So, instead, I'll send it overseas, where the good men and women in our military can enjoy the fruits of our trick-or-treating.

If this sounds interesting to you, I've found two relatively easy ways to do this:

1) Operation Gratitude: While Halloween Candy isn't exactly at the top of their list for "most needed" items, it is something they happily accept. They even suggest you hold a "candy collection drive" among your friends and neighbors (you must mail your packages before December 5th). I haven't seen their flyer, which you can request by emailing OPGrat@gmail.com, but think that all types of candy are ok, as long as it is individually wrapped (no homemade popcorn balls, perishable fruits or baked goods). They also are looking for personal letters for the troops, so now is a good time to have the kids do some cute holiday coloring pages to include with your candy.

Operation Gratitude's website is a little confusing, but details about where to mail (scroll to the bottom of the page) are listed on the site . Note that you are only paying to ship to California (not Iraq or Afghanistan), but you can include an $11 check to cover the cost of postage overseas--just send the check separately from your candy.

2) Another great way to unload your Halloween candy is to check out the Any Soldier website. Here, packages are delivered to individuals volunteers who then pass them on to soldiers who don't get much mail. That soldier then shares his package with his troop.

I found this website even more confusing than Operation Gratitude, but there are a ton of FAQ's to help you along. Any Soldier is great if you really want to specify which branch of the armed services your package is to go (look at menu under "Home"). You are also more likely to hear back from the recipient of your package since it goes to a specific Any Soldier volunteer. These volunteers may also request other things their troops need, so you can round out your care package with more than candy if you so desire.

Now, aren't you glad you let the kids talk you into two straight hours of trick-or-treating?

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12 Comments:

Blogger Mom101 said...

I love this! As we speak we are asking the kids to pick 7 pieces to keep, and we're donating the rest. And know we know where.

If not what. Because that I think will take thebetter part of the day.

8:50 AM  
Anonymous Mindi @ B.A. Bookworm said...

Those are great suggestions!

I have also given our excess candies to my childrens teachers since they use candy to give the kids an extra something special sometimes.

8:56 AM  
Anonymous Crista from BellazizasFavorites.com said...

I LOVE this! I was really wondering what to do with all of it. Even last night I wondered as we were making our rounds to friends and family. Those are the stops where ya get the handfulls too *rolls eyes*.

I love the bounty and abundance both of candy and joy! I want our girls to enjoy that too and the people we visit on Halloween. This is SUCH a relief to know what to do with it though!

Thanks so much and I'm on my way to put it into action just as soon as I hit publish:).

9:03 AM  
Blogger Marinka said...

thanks for the great suggestions! awesome.

9:08 AM  
Anonymous Thrifty Wench said...

What a lovely idea. That would be good for the special candy sales going on from now until they run out as well.

I've used Any Soldier before but am glad to have another resource for my holiday gift packages.

I also love the twitter update about the Halloween candy homeschool activity.

Linking! Love the site!

Stephanie

9:44 AM  
Anonymous Boston Mamas said...

This is awesome C. Laurel's working on a card right now. I'm going to post the link up at FB. -Christine

9:46 AM  
Blogger Sherry Gann said...

Great idea!!

4:39 PM  
Blogger Wendy said...

What a great idea! And feel free to send it to military families you might happen to know in South Korea too. ;)

7:39 PM  
Blogger SabrinaT said...

The young guys and gals that work for Ian LOVE, LOVE to get candy packages... What a great idea!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

1:03 AM  
Blogger Heather @CritterChronicles said...

That's a great idea! Except... um... don't send chocolate. For obvious reasons. :-)

2:22 AM  
Blogger Fairly Odd Mother said...

I *think* you can send chocolate if you do it before December 5th---it isn't guaranteed not to melt, but this is a better time to do it than other times of the year. If you look at the Operation Gratitude video, they is definitely chocolate in those tubs of candy going over.

Plus, if I were in Iraq and someone sent me a Hershey bar, I'd figure out a way to get that sucker into me if I had to pour it into a cup and drink it! LOL! I just can't imagine NOT having chocolate nearby.

6:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had no idea you could donate candy...definitely need to remember this.

1:16 PM  

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