Halloween is one of my favorite celebrations. Probably because it doesn’t require a lot of work from me & I can relax. I love seeing the kids all dressed up & I refuse to have any scary decorations so as not to frighten the little ones! My house is decorated with Mickey pumpkins. This year I so want to pass out candy wearing either a wonder woman costume or the red guard of Wakanda (Marvel’s Black Panther comic). But both costumes are crazy expensive!
^ me too, @abasket ! I loved trick or treating while growing up in a small town,my friends and I looked forward to it for weeks. I just want the kids to have as much fun as we did.
I just bought my Halloween pass outs tonight after work at Costco but got home and noticed that starting on Thursday Costco has the box of 60 packets of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate on sale…now, I prefer hot chocolate with better cocoa and milk BUT this would also make a different treat for trick or treat baskets! If I go back I might get some. 
Fun thread - and I’m so glad that there are a number of fellow Mounds and Almond Joy lovers out there. My non-coconut eating family members always insisted I could not offer these.
Does anyone one remember the days of making homemade popcorn balls to distribute? Maybe that was regional, but I used to “help” make the balls and wrap them in cellophane. Loved 'em! I also remember the small boxes of raisins. But they were not factory sealed, so parents were encouraged to remove those boxes from the candy stash for safety reasons. Too bad. I like raisins and used to pretend I was giving out healthy treats.
These days, I let Hubby select the candy. We have very few few trick or treaters and I don’t want to be tempted by the leftovers. DH can eat anything without gaining.
I remember popcorn balls! Our neighbor across the street when I was trick or treating made them every year!
Favorite Halloween Candy by State:
https://www.candystore.com/blog/facts-trivia/halloween-candy-map-popular/
California for me, although my favorite candy is probably the orange colored Halloween KitKats… they are dangerously addicting. B-)
Our neighbor across the street would give our kids racquetball balls and sometimes a whole fruit. Another neighbor would invite anyone interested to pull up a chair, have a glass of wine/beer and hand out treats as desired. Their sis came and handed out toothbrushes.
One of my sisters hands out Capri sun juice or candy and says lots of folks choose the juice.
According to that map, WA is nuts aboutTootsie pops. Tootsie Pops!!! Really?! Bleh. All Halloween candy is bleh. I will eat Almond Joy if nothing else is available… but keep the good European chocolate away from me.
Now that it is getting darker sooner I get to see the homes decorated for Halloween. When D was small she was snow white a few years and once she was a butterfly. Miss that age. My sister lives in an area with lots of families. Now I go over to her house and pass out the candy while she takes her kids door to door. It’s amazing how much candy all the kids get these day. My favorite thing is seeing everything that they got and getting the Almond Joys that they want to get rid off. No one is competing for those except for me. I was waiting for someone to mention popcorn balls and I just saw that above. I am surprised no one gives out Mike and Ike’s. I used to like those too. Its interesting going to the stores where they seem to anxiously want to get rid of Halloween stuff so that they can make room for candy canes.
I would like to give out something different this year. I just haven’t figured it out yet. Something all the kids will say “oh this is so cool.”
Home made packages and unsealed packages can’t be given anymore. But as a child, the house around the corner had the BEST candy apples, on a tray held by the butler. Never ever missed that house.
Snickers and Baby Ruth bars were my favorites. Before that was Oh Henry bars! Our family used to throw away Almond Joys and Necco Wafers. My kids love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Too hard to choose a favorite!
Oh, Almond Joy and Mounds and anything else in that vein.
When I was a kid I just liked to hoard the candy, not eat it. I have since seen the light.
One year I gave out glow sticks, which were VERY popular and could be bent into bracelets. One year I gave out coupons for McDonald’s treats. I have also given out pretzels, chips, and other non-candy items. They sell prebagged animal crackers as well.
Snickers-frozen is my favorite candy to eat
I tried glow in the dark trinkets one year, not exciting to the kids:(
One year for an event I was at (not Halloween), I handed out bubbles,
https://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Love-Knot-Bubble-Wand/dp/B005EG4VO6
They were very popular, especially with folks who had young kids at home. They have remembered the bubbles for years afterwards. I put them on a silken cord to make them fancier, but then you have to worry about tangling, so it may be better not to bother with attaching anything.
@himom Online shops like Oriental trading probably has lots of Halloween themed items.
Yes, and Costco sells small containers of play dough that I think is very cool as well. I’m not really a fan of OT Co, myself.
I got to order stuff at work this morning for our Halloween party on our hospital pediatric floor…no food treats allowed so it’s a little tricky! Temporary tatoos, stickers, party blowers, Halloween note pads, pencils, bubbles, Halloween stampers (ink in it’s own lid) - and a book for every child.
That’s really nice @abasket. So thoughtful to think of the children in the hospital.