Halloween Candy Haul: Smart Mixes for Classrooms

Key Takeaways

• Create affordable candy mixes that suit all ages and dietary needs.
• Combine colorful, nut-free, and retro candies for a crowd-pleasing classroom stash.
• Mix in non-candy treats like toys or glow sticks for inclusivity.
• Stretch your classroom budget with smart shopping for cheap Halloween candy.
• Turn candy into a learning tool! Use it for sorting, art projects, or science-themed fun!

Students and big kids alike look forward to the spookiest time of year and all of the tricks and treats that go with it. Teachers and caretakers know how important it is to keep kids engaged, and there’s few things that are more coveted by kids than candy. Halloween is the perfect time of year for teachers to treat their students to sweet treats and goodies just for fun and for a job well done.

How much candy do you need to stash for your class? Well, that’s all up to you. If you participate in Trunk or Treat, you may need hundreds of pieces of candy to keep little goblins and ghouls satisfied. Have a smaller class? Then a handful of candies per child will do (though it never hurts to have extra!).

While celebrating the seasons is fun, as every educator knows, stocking up the classroom with fun treats and extras can be expensive. Even though parents help out by donating supplies for parties, at Halloween, there never seems to be enough goodies to go around. If you need some inspiration for making your Halloween candy hauls shine on a budget, read on for some inspired and spooky tricks and tips.

Create a Colorful Candy Mix

For the littlest of learners, age-appropriate and colorful treats can be an excellent incentive for learning colors! Find affordable packages of multicolored candies and turn sorting treats into a game. When all of the candies are sorted and named by color, then it’s time to enjoy a sweet treat!

The Mega Mix

Pleasing everyone isn’t easy, but in today’s world, we have to be more mindful than ever of allergens in the classroom. While many schools are nut-free, there are plenty of other allergens like chocolate or soy that won’t work for every student.

Ensure you’ll have treats for even the pickiest and most restricted of students with a mega mix! Grab a pack of chocolates, sour candies, pretzels, gummies, and more to be sure you’ll have something for everyone on your treats list.

Be sure to also pick up some non-food, non-Halloween treats for kids who are very allergen sensitive or for those who might not be allowed to partake.

Go for Retro Candies

Kids of all ages love nostalgia, and Halloween is an excellent time for digging into some throwback treats. Snag a bag of cheap Halloween candy in your favorite flavors and share memories of Halloween when you were a kid with your students.

So-called grandma candy is back and bigger than ever, with vintage candies like Bit-O-Honey and Necco Wafers reusurfacing. Challenge your students to a taste test and see if there are any varieties or flavors they’ve never tried before!

Make Your Halloween Party a Fun Theme

Turn your trick-or-treat classroom party into a fun themed event. Show a classic like Charlie Brown Halloween and serve apple slices and popcorn along with classic candy mixes. Bonus points if you can find candy with the Great Pumpkin or Charlie Brown and the gang on the wrappers!

Other candy mix themes include:

Nightmare Before Christmas: Make your students laugh and mix up the holidays with a blend of Halloween and Yuletide treats like candy canes.

KPop Demon Hunter Halloween: Look for unique candies inspired by the hit show KPop Demon Hunters, like gummy ramen or other Asian inspired candies. Your students will think you’re so cool!

Candy Disguise: Look for gummy candies disguised as real food, like cheeseburgers, pickles, fruit, and more.

Sweet and Sour: Offer your students a mix of sour and sweet candies and challenge everyone to try them. Have your students rank their least favorite and most favorite flavors.

Orange is the New Black Halloween: Make a mix of only classic Halloween treats like candy corn, pumpkins, and candies wrapped in orange and black wrappers.

Craft a Chocoholic Mix

If chocolate is your favorite candy, then this mix is for you! Don’t forget to treat your fellow teachers and administrative friends to the good stuff at Halloween and beyond. Look for bags with fun-sized chocolate bars for a guilt-free treat to enjoy during staff meetings or after the last bell.

Scientific Sweets and Treats

Want to make Halloween a fun and tasty learning opportunity? Look for science-inspired sweets to get your students grossed out and giggling. Look for gummy eyeballs and have a science lesson on all the parts of the human eye. Gummy worms are also excellent for creating creepy crawly learning displays.

Candy Art Mix

Inexpensive candy is also a great option for art teachers and DIY crafts. Grab some cardboard, a bottle of glue, and candies with little colorful pieces (like Smarties, Runts, Nerds, etc) and make a Halloween art collage design. Sure, plenty of candy will be eaten during the process, but that’s all part of the fun!

Full Bars

Want to really make your students’ Halloween memorable? Skip the individually wrapped pieces and offer them full bars instead! There’s nothing more impressive for a kid than getting a full bar of chocolate on Halloween, and in the end, you may find this method is more cost-effective. Keep the fun going and pair full candy bars with little educational games, pencils, stickers, or other classroom-friendly goodies.

Pretzel Party Mix

Chocolate and pretzels just go together, especially at Halloween! Offer your students mini bags of stick pretzels and challenge them to spell out their names or sight words with the pretzel sticks. You can also include delicious frosting or cheese dips, or other pretzel mix-ins like M&Ms, mini marshmallows, or dried fruit. Yum!

Un-Candy Mix

Getting candy on Halloween is half the fun, but sometimes it’s just all too much! If you’re worried about your students getting too much sugar, opt for candy-free mixes instead. Offer your students spider rings, vampire teeth, neon glow bracelets, or other inexpensive bulk Halloween treats and see their little eyes light up!

Sweet Lessons and Sweeter Memories

At the end of the day, your Halloween party or classroom treat exchange will be what you make of it. Tap into your inner kid and let yourself enjoy the season with all of the treats you love without breaking your budget. Happy Halloween!