Don’t we all have vivid memories of trick or treating as children?
I totally remember the sheer joy associated with travelling my neighbourhood with my sisters, filling my pillowcase with all different types of treats, and dumping my bag of goodies out onto the kitchen floor at the end of the night.
Times have changed, but one thing hasn’t... when it comes to Halloween, some treats are winners and others are losers.
Recently, on my blog’s Facebook page, I did a survey asking my readers what their favourite (and least) favourite Halloween treats were, then asked my sons and their friends the same questions.
Although my survey wasn’t scientific by any means, with over 50 responses, the winners and losers were clear.
The #1 favourite candy to receive in a treat bag is definitely a chocolate bar, and if you want to be a superstar in your neighbourhood, you’re going to want to hand out full-size bars.
Peanut butter cups are the clear favourite, but as long as it isn’t a Coffee Crisp, you can’t go wrong.
The other goodies that made it onto the top five favourite treat list were: chips, cheezies, chewy candy (gummy bears, sour candy, Starbursts, caramels, etc), and cans of pop.
Although there were a few people that defended the Halloween candy losers, the majority of those surveyed were in agreement: the most hated Halloween treat (by a huge margin) are molasses Halloween kisses - followed closely by candy corn. The other treats that rounded out the top five most disliked candy list were black liquorice, fruit, and rockets.
Aside from learning the types of candy that people liked and didn’t like, I also learned that people have really strong feelings when it comes to Halloween candy. I’m definitely using the results of this survey as a guide when I go out to purchase my goodies this year.
What to do with the treats
Now you know what to buy, but do you know how to deal with the large volume of treats your kids are going to collect this Halloween?
When my kids were really young, I would give them a large Ziploc bag at the end of the night to fill with their favourites. Then, we would leave the rest of the candy by our front door for the “book fairy” to pick up. In the morning, the extra treats would be gone, and in their place, they would find new books.
As my kids got older, we no longer had visits from the book fairy. Instead, my kids would gather some friends and do a “candy draft”. On Halloween, after the trick or treating was completed, my boys and a few friends would empty their treat bags and start trading. There was always a lot of negotiation, but in the end, everyone ended up with more of their favourites and fewer of the things they didn’t like. Pretty clever, right?
Over the years, many things have changed about Halloween, but one thing is still the same: if you want to be the most popular house on the street, you’re going to want to stock up on full-size chocolate bars.
Follow Gina Bell's blog at www.EastCoastMommy.com or contact her at [email protected].
