halloween

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What to Do With Leftover Halloween Candy

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Halloween Was Fun. Now What?

We’ve all been there. The steady stream of trick-or-treaters who wiped out your candy bowl last year was just a trickle this time, leaving you with more candy than you can possibly eat. Or your kids figured out the right route to hit the mother lode, and staggered home carrying their bodyweight in candy. Even your favorite candy can get tiresome after a few days of enjoying some after each meal. Not to mention, your kids are bouncing off the walls from sugar overload and your pants are starting to feel a little tight. We all love Halloween candy, but once the decorations have been put away, the endless supply needs to be dealt with. So what can you do with all your leftover Halloween candy?

Donate Your Halloween Candy for a Good Cause

Look around your community for places to donate your bountiful treats. Many homeless shelters, food shelves and senior homes are open to accepting your extra candy, so give them a call. It’s a great way to brighten someone’s day.

Operation Shoebox sends candy to the troops overseas. Halloween Candy Buyback does this too. Simply Google to see if there’s an operation in your area.

Kroger also has ways to donate at Zero Hunger | Zero Waste.

What’s the Best Way to Store Leftover Halloween Candy?

If you’ve got room in the freezer, just freeze your candy right in the bag. Most candy will last indefinitely, and popping some in a lunchbox or backpack makes for an easy treat during the school year. Come summer, frozen candy is a cool treat on its own, especially candy bars, peppermint patties and peanut butter cups. You can also chop your candy and freeze it to use as an ice cream topping or cookie add-in later.

Save Leftover Halloween Candy for Parties and Piñatas.

You can always put a bowl of snack-sized candy out when guests come over; just let your frozen candy thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving. If you want to get creative, consider making a candy and snack board, arranging sliced bars, cookies and snack foods on a wooden board. For a fun kids’ party, fill a piñata and share the bounty.

Leftover Halloween Chocolate Bars Are Great For Barks or Dipping

If you have a good haul of milk or dark chocolate bars, save them for melting. You can make your own barks studded with chopped candy, nuts, pretzels or cookies. Try our Thanksgiving Bark recipe, and use your chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Strawberries or orange sections become a classy dessert when dipped in melted chocolate. Or freeze banana halves or slices to drizzle with chocolate for a healthy frozen treat.

Turn Leftover Halloween Candy Into Ice Cream Treats

If you’ve got a home soft-serve maker, your favorite Halloween candy is a perfect add-in. Chop peanut butter cups, chocolate bars or other candies and store them in freezer bags for toppings galore. If you don’t have a special machine, use a blender to make your own mixed sundae with vanilla ice cream and chopped candy, blended until thick.

Feature Your Best Halloween Candy in Cookies and Snacks

Your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe is a good starting point; just sub 2 cups of chopped candy bars for a bag of chocolate chips. Or stir candy into Rice Krispy treats just before pressing in the pan. Monster Cookie Granola Bites are a healthy snack with some mini-peanut butter cups stirred in to make them irresistible. You could also try making Halloween Candy Muddy Buddies or Halloween Candy Cake.

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10 Signs Your Home Might Actually Be Haunted

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Maybe it’s a flickering light. A sudden drop in temperature. A random waft of...wait, is that aftershave? Whatever it is, something seems to be off, but how do you know whether that unsettled feeling you’re experiencing is the result of an honest-to-goodness ghost?

If you are feeling spooked, you’re not alone. According to a 2024 survey by Angi (formerly Angie’s List), the home improvement platform, 60 percent of homeowners suspect their house may be haunted. But even if those suspicions are correct, not all hauntings are created equal.

“Many hauntings seem to be residual energy, sort of like a recording playing on a loop,” says Amy Bruni, a professional paranormal investigator, television host (“Ghost Hunters,” “Kindred Spirits”), podcaster (Haunted Road), and author (Life with the Afterlife). Other hauntings seem to be more interactive. “Those usually stem from the classic idea of unfinished business,” but not necessarily anything sinister, she says. “I once investigated a home where the family had an old headstone in their backyard. It turned out it had been made years prior to correct a misspelling on a grave at a local cemetery. The spirit of that man would not rest until the correct headstone was finally put on his grave.”

Another reason a ghost might be lingering: fondness for their old home. “Spirits and ghosts tend to like to spend time in the same spaces they enjoyed while they were alive,” says Lesley Ann Hyde, medium, paranormal investigator, and founder and owner of The Southern Ghost Girls. “In my team’s research, we have found that theaters, libraries, and even restaurants have a lot of ghostly paranormal phenomenon that occurs. We think they just want to be where they were the happiest in life.”

Before you work yourself into a sage-burning tizzy, remember that those weird sounds may just be a squirrel. “I always suggest that people try to first figure out the natural causes for these experiences, like old pipes or animals in the attic,” says author Adam Berry, who is also co-star and Executive Producer of “Kindred Spirits”. “However, when you can’t naturally explain it away, then you never know if someone has decided to reach out to you from the afterlife.”

Here, according to experts in the paranormal field, are a few common indicators that you’re dealing with more than a rodent.

1) You feel like you’re being watched.

This is one of the most commonly cited disturbances of homeowners who suspect their homes are haunted. “People tell me and my team this all of the time,” says Lesley. (Is this song stuck in your head now? You’re welcome.)

2) You hear weird noises.

Strange knocks, creaky doors, unexplained footsteps, unsettling sounds in the walls—it could be as simple as that aforementioned squirrel, but then again...maybe not? “Some people report hearing conversations of people in their basement or attic and clearly no one is down there,” says Adam. “I know one person who actually caught disembodied voices on recording devices,” says Lesley. “The final straw, however, was an apparition of a boy in the house, which convinced the guy to move into a rental home.”

3) You notice odd electrical glitches.

Flickering lights may be a staple of haunted houses, but that hardly scratches the surface. of electronic interruption. “Televisions turning on by themselves, computers freezing up, and batteries draining quickly without explanation can also be signs of a paranormal presence,” says Lesley.

4) Strange things happen when you renovate.

“We find that home renovations really stir up paranormal activity,” says Lesley. “It’s like the ghosts make themselves more known and are acting up. I feel that more activity during renovations occurs because they are protesting the person or persons making the changes. The ghost or spirit liked the way things were when they were alive, and they think they still live there and are the ones in charge.”

Adam has observed the same: “We have seen upticks in activity when people renovate their home. This was fairly prominent during the pandemic, when people were at their house doing all those projects they never got time to do before. I am not 100% sure what a spirit sees on the other side, but I do know that when you change your home, you’re changing the energy of the space, and I think that can have an effect on those otherworldly spirits that might still be living in your house.”

Amy, for the record, says she kinda sides with the ghosts on this one. “I can’t blame them—the number of gorgeous Victorians I’ve seen turned into plain gray or white modern interiors inside would probably drive me back from the grave also!”

5) Items seem to mysteriously move around.

If things are getting moved and showing up in places you didn’t put them, that’s another sign a house may be haunted.

6) There are strange smells.

“Atypical odors such as perfume, cigar smoke, or tobacco may signify the presence of a spirit from the past is near by,” says Lesley.

7) It suddenly feels cold.

Spirits are said to draw energy from the environment, which is what many say accounts for these sudden cold spots.

8) Your pet senses something is off.

“There is no doubt that dogs and cats can sense ghosts on a different plane or dimension than we can,” says Lesley. “Dogs will bark at what seems to be nothing; cats will bristle up and hiss or chatter.”

“I also believe that spirits are more attracted to pets,” says Amy. “Us living people can’t walk by a cute dog or cat without squatting down and saying hello—I think it’s the same for ghosts. We had a case where something showed up on one of our night cameras, and in the room opposite, there was a cat, and that cat stopped what it was doing looked toward where the anomaly showed up on our camera walked into that room curled up and sat down, right where the anomaly appeared. So I believe that cat saw what we caught on camera and wasn’t threatened by it, but actually welcomed the attention.”

9) You live in a Victorian house.

While it’s true that a lot of Victorian-style homes mistakenly fall victim to the “it’s gotta be haunted” stereotype, Amy does note that the idea of a haunted Victorian makes a lot of sense. “Many people during the Victorian era were very into spiritualism, conducting séances and such. I think it’s why we see so many Victorian ghosts—they’re from the era that was most obsessed with the afterlife and spirits. They *expected* to become ghosts.”

10) Your house has a haunted backstory.

If you suspect paranormal activity, research your home’s history. “In addition to public records, seek out records from your real estate agency,” says Lesley. “In a lot of states, homeowners must disclose if they have had any hauntings or unusual activity.”

“I always tell people to start with old deeds and land records,” says Amy. “That gives you a set of names to research associated with the house. Also, don’t be afraid to knock on the neighbors’ doors. If your house has a history of a haunting, many times people in the neighborhood will know about it.” Adam also recommends the aptly named website diedinhouse.com. “I know it sounds silly, but it lists anyone who’s ever actually died in your property.”

Read more at Country Living

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If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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The 20-minute trick that will help a carved pumpkin last for weeks

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Carving a pumpkin is one of the joys of autumn, but they typically only last between three and five days before beginning to rot.

To stop your pumpkin from looking sunken, sad and smelly, experts have recommended a clever 20-minute vinegar trick that could help your carved creations last for weeks in the run-up to Halloween and beyond.

Better still, this simple solution is an eco-friendly alternative to the trend of spraying pumpkins with bleach.

It's also safe for wildlife too, so you don't have to worry if you leave your pumpkin outside.

"The vinegar kills fungus, making it hard for the pumpkin to rot. That's why vinegar-soaked pumpkins look so new; they're unblemished by the grossness that inevitably befalls their untreated peers," says the team at Taste of Home.

How to preserve a carved pumpkin with vinegar

Want to give this trick a go? According to Taste of Home, you can make your fresh pumpkin last longer by using vinegar and water. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Choose a healthy pumpkin from your local pumpkin patch. "Make sure there are no soft spots or discolored areas, and avoid any gourd that's too bruised," says the team.

2. Next, carve your pumpkin with your desired design. Browse our guide on pumpkin carving ideas for plenty of inspiration.

3. Fill a large bucket with 10 parts water and one part vinegar (the bucket needs to be big enough for your pumpkins). Some experts also suggest doing this in the bath or a large sink.

4. Submerge your pumpkin in the vinegar and water solution, leaving them for 20-30 minutes. Once the time is up, pull them out and let them air-dry. You can then place your carved pumpkins outside for a long-lasting display.

Read more at CountryLiving.com

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If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

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Where to go trick-or-treating across the Denver metro in 2024

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There are only a few days until Halloween, and schedules and plans for trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treating have been announced across Colorado, including throughout the Denver metro and Interstate 25 corridor.

At one point, scheduling trick-or-treating was not a consideration for parents across the U.S., but it’s no longer advised to send your little ones off into the dark to knock on stranger’s doors. Nor is it wise to seek treats from homeowners who might not be expecting people at their door — let alone ghouls and goblins.

Experts with Children’s Hospital Colorado advise that children under 12 should trick-or-treat with an adult, and advise that mature children should be told to stick to familiar, well-lit areas and to stay with a group.

In fact, with Halloween events largely scheduled these days, several events have already passed, such as trick-or-treating at Broomfield Plaza, which was held on Oct. 12. In light of that, here are a few events that offer a family-friendly environment for trick-or-treating.

Colorado trick-or-treat events 2024 schedule

Arvada: Prepare for a spooktacular night in Olde Town Arvada with Trick or Treat Street 2024. The event is planned for Friday, Oct. 25 from 5-7 p.m. Alongside trick-or-treating, the event will feature a “Thriller” dance mob performance at 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. in Olde Town Square.

Aurora: It will be a fang-tastic day of trick-or-treating with On Havana Street, which is sponsoring and supporting Rock Fizz Aurora’s Halloween Costume Contest and Trick-or-Treat on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held at The Gardens on Havana, 10441 E. Garden Dr., and the costume contest will have categories for children, adults, groups and pets.

Boulder: The Munchkin Masquerade in downtown Boulder will welcome hordes of costumed children to trick-or-treat along Pearl Street. Scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31, the event will last from 3-6 p.m. and is best suited for children 12 and under. You can check out the downtown Boulder website to see what businesses are participating.

Broomfield (Butterfly Pavilion)

Is your child a fiend for the natural world? Then perhaps Bug-A-Boo at the Butterfly Pavilion is the place to go. The annual event allows kids to roam the facility freely, going from station to station where toys and candy will be offered, while parents enjoy some peace of mind. The event is free with the price of admission.

The event is scheduled for several times throughout the month: Friday, Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Castle Rock

Join the Downtown Merchants Association for booth-to-booth trick-or-treating at Festival Park on Friday, Oct. 25 from noon to 3 p.m. The event will feature Halloween music, vendor booths and, of course, plenty of candy.

However, if you’re looking for something more low-key, perhaps Spooktacular at Philip S. Miller Park on Saturday, Oct. 26 is more your speed. The event is designed to provide family fun for the whole family, with sensory-friendly activities planned from 1-2 p.m., and Castle Rock kiddos will be able to access the rest of the event based on the first letter of their last name. Last names starting with A through L are scheduled to play games, win prizes and get candy from 2-3 p.m. Kids with last names starting with M through Z will be scheduled from 3-4 p.m.

Denver

As to be expected with a city as large as Denver, several events are going on throughout the county that offer candy to youngsters (and adults). Some require an entry or participation fee, so here are a few that are free to attend.

The Mile High Trunk or Treat, presented by the Far East Center, will be held at Empower Field at Mile High on Oct. 25 from 5-9 p.m. in Parking Lot C. The family-friendly event will have a variety of live entertainment, including a haunted house, fire eaters and over 150 organizations that plan to hand out treats.

Young and old alike are invited to the 10th Annual BOOnion Station Trick-or-Treat Parade on Thursday, Oct. 24 beginning at 5 p.m. The event will be held at Denver’s Union Station and will feature a costume contest, mini-train rides, balloon artists and more.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, businesses at 37th and Navajo Street in Denver are planning their Fifth Annual Trick or Treat on Navajo Street, organized by students at Embark Education. The event is planned from 5-7 p.m. at businesses on Navajo Street between 36th and 37th. Candy, treats and other surprises are promised to attendees.

Fort Collins: Prepare to be frightened — by how cute Tiny Tot Halloween 2024 in downtown Fort Collins will be. This event provides a morning of trick-or-treating with photo opportunities and lots of candy provided by nearly 90 businesses. The event is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For a full list of participating businesses, visit the event page here.

Golden: Young candy-seekers can trick-or-treat along Washington Avenue on Thursday, Oct. 31. Businesses will be providing candy from 11th Street to 14th Street from 3-5 p.m.

Greeley: Visit Trick-or-Treat Street in downtown Greeley on Friday, Oct. 25 from 4-6 p.m. The event welcomes thousands of families to collect treats from various downtown businesses. The city promises that there will be props set up for Halloween photo opportunities, and free Halloween-themed kids’ crafts.

Read more at KDVR.com

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If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

Search Homes in Colorado

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The 20-minute trick that will help a carved pumpkin last for weeks

, , , , , ,
 
 

Carving a pumpkin is one of the joys of autumn, but they typically only last between three and five days before beginning to rot.

To stop your pumpkin from looking sunken, sad and smelly, experts have recommended a clever 20-minute vinegar trick that could help your carved creations last for weeks in the run-up to Halloween and beyond.

Better still, this simple solution is an eco-friendly alternative to the trend of spraying pumpkins with bleach.

It's also safe for wildlife too, so you don't have to worry if you leave your pumpkin outside.

"The vinegar kills fungus, making it hard for the pumpkin to rot. That's why vinegar-soaked pumpkins look so new; they're unblemished by the grossness that inevitably befalls their untreated peers," says the team at Taste of Home.

How to preserve a carved pumpkin with vinegar

Want to give this trick a go? According to Taste of Home, you can make your fresh pumpkin last longer by using vinegar and water. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Choose a healthy pumpkin from your local pumpkin patch. "Make sure there are no soft spots or discolored areas, and avoid any gourd that's too bruised," says the team.

2. Next, carve your pumpkin with your desired design. Browse our guide on pumpkin carving ideas for plenty of inspiration.

3. Fill a large bucket with 10 parts water and one part vinegar (the bucket needs to be big enough for your pumpkins). Some experts also suggest doing this in the bath or a large sink.

4. Submerge your pumpkin in the vinegar and water solution, leaving them for 20-30 minutes. Once the time is up, pull them out and let them air-dry. You can then place your carved pumpkins outside for a long-lasting display.

Read more at CountryLiving.com

Related Links

If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.

Search Homes in Colorado

Search Homes in North Carolina

Search Homes in Oklahoma

Search Homes in Minnesota

 
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