Halloween Candy: "fun" size or full-sized?

[alien_host]

So what do you hand out? How many kids do you get and what kind do you give out?

Can you see that I have candy on the brain?

[bubbaray]

We get over 300 kids. We buy for 300 and then turn out our lights.

[alien_host]

sorry, I should have allowed multiple choice!

[BabyMine]

We do the fun size becasue if we have the full size in the house I am more inclined to eat them. I give out all chocolate candy so that if there are any left they are all mine.

We get around 20-30 ToTs

[alien_host]

I'm in a new neighborhood this year so I have no idea how many we get!

Our old house only got 10-20 so I would buy the full sized hershey bars (acceptable for DD's nut allergies) and make the kids really happy.

Or I bundle a bunch of small candies (nerds, starbursts, dum dums) in a little sack.

[alien_host]

We get over 300 kids. We buy for 300 and then turn out our lights.

Holy cow, 300! I can't even imagine, do you get like 20 kids at the door at once?

[alien_host]

We do the fun size becasue if we have the full size in the house I am more inclined to eat them. I give out all chocolate candy so that if there are any left they are all mine.

We get around 20-30 ToTs


True, but I'd just eat like 5 fun sized b/c they are small and I can justify it ;)

[bubbaray]

Holy cow, 300! I can't even imagine, do you get like 20 kids at the door at once?


No, not usually 20. But they do come in groups. People from other cities bus their children here in large school buses.

[catpagmo]

Fun size! I agree with the pp that said there is a tendency to eat what's left over. With the little size, I feel a bit better that I'm eating little candy, and not eating all the big size candy. That being said, I probably do eat more because it's little. Sigh.

I would estimate that we get maybe 50-60 kids each year.

[rlu]

My folks get around 200 and then turn out the lights. The lady down the street from them does daycare (and my mom did too but not with the turnover the lady down the street has) plus she decorates like crazy. This is a "safe" neighborhood so they get lots of kids driven in anyway. The daycare down the street moved, but we're thinking a lot of people don't know that yet and won't find out until Sat night.

We get about 20 kids, but we just had kids move in on both sides of us, so maybe more this year. We have a guy at the end of the street that decorates to the hilt and dresses as a pirate that attacks kids as they go by (not the little ones though) so that is bringing in more kids each year.

When we lived in TX we had 3 kids come (one family) as we were in the sticks and they stopped as they were driving "into town" to ToT.

I choose "fun" size on the poll since most of our candy is individual sized, but for the Reeses we get the single regular sized ones (DH doesn't like the fun size on those). We also have 10 fry coupons for Burger King that will go to the first kids.

We don't leave candy out when we are ToT (both of us take DS) but we're rethinking that now that DS is showing more interest in ToT. Previously we would only be out about 20 minutes after dark, but we might be out longer this year.

[TwinFoxes]

I voted "other" but that's because I give out fun-sized, but I give them out by the handful! It's not like I give one or two little fun sized pieces, I'm very generous. Mostly because every place I've lived I've bought tons of candy, and only gotten a few ToTers. I love seeing the kids in their costumes, even when I was a starving college student I'd buy tons of candy. It's just so cute! Last year batman was sleeping in his stroller when he came by. ;)

[marie]

I voted "other". This is our first year here and they do something that I think is pretty neat (and so small town!) - they shut down Main Street in the village and the elementary school accepts donations of candy, etc. to distribute to the houses along Main Street. I brought in two big tubs of Utz "Bats & Pumpkins" pretzel bags (peanut-free!).

marie
mama to
DD1 9/03
DD2 12/07

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

We give out fullsize, but we don't get many TOTers. At our old house, we averaged just over 100 and gave out full size, then, too.

Now we live in a residential neighborhood on a small street and everyone skips our street. We get maybe 10. Just around the corner and down the block, our friends get 300+. It's so weird, we are so close, yet get so many less!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Kids are allowed to take 2 pieces of fun sized candy.

I also hand out pretzels, goldfish, playdoh and stickers. I keep those in a separate bowl and give those out to the littlest ToT'ers because I want them to be able to have something appropriate for them. Of course, the teenagers that come all want those things so I have to be stingy!

Beth

[wellyes]

In the past we've given a mix of raisins, fun sized & Reece's peanut butter cups. We put them in a big bowl and let the kids pick several. Or, towards the end of the night, handfuls.

We get, I dunno, 50 kids?

[Seitvonzu]

anyone else get the sense that trick or treaters are getting lazy? we live in a townhouse and get TONS of trick or treaters. we ran out the first year we lived here and two years in a row we've gone into our "back up" candy. this year i bought a mix of sugary candy, lik-a-maid packets (more sugary candy but full sized), chocolate candy and GLOW BRACELETS. i wanted to go with just the glow bracelets, but my DH told me that boys will feel cheated. WTH? anyhow... he so rarely insists on something, so i gave in and got some candy.


back to my point-- when we moved to maryland the first halloween was GORGEOUS weather so all our neighbors were outside to hand out candy. we did this too... our townhouses had steps but everyone sat at the bottom of their walkways. the kids barely had to wake 5 feet to get their next treat. that's when i started thinking-- "maybe this is why there is an obesity epdemic in this country? kids can't even come up all the way to the door anymore?" we still sit outside if it's nice, but GEESH!

we took lucy to another neighborhood last year to show her costume off to some friends. this is a nicer neighborhood with big houses and very nice sized yards (houses are NOT right on top of each other). they told us they get very few trick or treaters. i guess the kids can't be bothered to walk :) *sigh*

[jent]

I've done both. If it's fun size, I give out at least 2. I usually start out small, expecting hordes, then give out more towards the end of the night, when I realize we're not going to run out.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I've done both. If it's fun size, I give out at least 2. I usually start out small, expecting hordes, then give out more towards the end of the night, when I realize we're not going to run out.

:yeahthat: I never know how many to expect. It sometimes depends on the weather but even that isn't a guarantee. I think we get about 60 but that is a total guess.

Beth

[maestramommy]

I would get fun sized and hand out more, over full sized.

[lizzywednesday]

We'd just moved in before Halloween last year, so I wasn't sure how many trick-or-treaters to expect.

I was concerned about nut allergies, as so many of the children on our street are very young (most appear to be under 4), so I tried to select things that would be little-kid friendly ... Smarties, Nerds, DumDums, Jolly Rancher lollipops ... and was lambasted by the DH for not buying any chocolate!

I also thought that we'd get a lot of trick-or-treaters (Halloween being on a Friday and all), as our neighborhood has sidewalks & is on a cul-de-sac, but we didn't get many more than 20 or so ... and I was still eating Nerds & lollipops at Easter!

This year, I've got a better handle on how many will show up, but we'll be out at night at a party ... so we're probably going to end up leaving a bowl of fun-size candies on the stoop (I think, for the few teenagers we get, full-size candies would be too much of a temptation). For those of you who do this, how do you figure out how much candy to purchase if you won't be around to refill?

[hellokitty]

Fun size. We get anywhere from 100-150 kids. In the past, they have bussed kids into our neighborhood before. If the weather is nice like it is today, we will get a LOT of kids. If it rains (like the past 2 yrs), it's mostly just neighborhood kids that show up. I told DH to buy enough for 100 kids and then we're turning our lights off. Kids get more candy than they can possibly eat, so I don't feel bad about just giving one pkg of candy. Growing up we lived in the middle of nowhere, you'd practically have to walk through ditches to get to house to house (one acre lots). We'd usually only get like 5 kids and one yr we only got one kid and we basically gave him ALL of the candy, b/c we didn't want any leftovers. He was like, "WOW, thanks!" After that we stopped giving out candy, b/c sometimes we got nobody.

[KathyN115]

We have gotten about 75 kids the past two halloweens. Last year we gave out the fun-size candy and the glow bracelets. The bracelets were such a hit we are doing them again this year, as well as glow-in-the-dark spider rings and small play-dough type stuff. I got it all on clearance last year after Halloween, so it was pretty cheap and hopefully the kids will like it. It is supposed to rain, though, so I don't know how many to expect.

[KrisM]

We are giving out full-size, because they were super cheap in September. I got a total of 180 Snicker, Milky Way, Twix, and Hershey bars for $14. We get around 170 kids and will turn out the light when we run out of candy bars.

[AnnieW625]

We've done full size in the past, but this year we'll most likely do fun size. The year we did full size (Costco had a special) we went through 72 candy bars I think in about an hour! It's a Saturday night so I could totally see us going through 200 pieces of candy before 9 pm because there is a park down the street with a carnival so we'll get a lot of kids from that. Last year we did fun size on a Friday night and went through candy that I had put in my 8 qt. stock pot. We started at 8 pm and it was gone by 9:30 (we'd been at another party prior).

[wellyes]

back to my point-- when we moved to maryland the first halloween was GORGEOUS weather so all our neighbors were outside to hand out candy. we did this too... our townhouses had steps but everyone sat at the bottom of their walkways. the kids barely had to wake 5 feet to get their next treat. that's when i started thinking-- "maybe this is why there is an obesity epdemic in this country? kids can't even come up all the way to the door anymore?" we still sit outside if it's nice, but GEESH!


They didn't even have to knock on doors? That's silly.


This year, I've got a better handle on how many will show up, but we'll be out at night at a party ... so we're probably going to end up leaving a bowl of fun-size candies on the stoop (I think, for the few teenagers we get, full-size candies would be too much of a temptation). For those of you who do this, how do you figure out how much candy to purchase if you won't be around to refill?

I did this once and when we got home, the bowl was smashed. Obviously it wasn't our best china or anything, it was melamine or some other plasticy substance, no big deal - but honestly if you're not home, I'd not bother. Participation in TOT is not obligatory. Kids know (or should) that a light on means someone is home & wants to give out treats. Lights out means skip that house.

[Dyonia]

We give out glow bracelets -- this will be our third year doing that. They have turned out to be popular. Before that we used to make up goody bags of the fun size candy. Last year we had fewer ToTers than expected -- less than 100. The year before we had 125+. We turn off our lights when we run out.

[DrSally]

Good question. DH and I were having this discussion. I get fun size and only stuff that DS could eat as well (peanut free) b/c I don't want anything w/peanuts in the house. I will give out a handfull to each child though. DH thinks we need to give out full sized b/c that's what the neighbors do (well he works for a candy company, DH). We actually don't get that many kids as it's mostly those in our development. I bought less this year as I had a lot left over last year.

[DrSally]

I voted "other". This is our first year here and they do something that I think is pretty neat (and so small town!) - they shut down Main Street in the village and the elementary school accepts donations of candy, etc. to distribute to the houses along Main Street. I brought in two big tubs of Utz "Bats & Pumpkins" pretzel bags (peanut-free!).

marie
mama to
DD1 9/03
DD2 12/07

Where did you find those Utz pretzles? DS got a little bag in his backpack from school today as a surprise, and I didn't get the chance to ask the teacher about them. Those would be great to give out.

[DrSally]

we took lucy to another neighborhood last year to show her costume off to some friends. this is a nicer neighborhood with big houses and very nice sized yards (houses are NOT right on top of each other). they told us they get very few trick or treaters. i guess the kids can't be bothered to walk :) *sigh*

I think this is part of why we don't get more than 50 kids. We live in a development with larger houses and yards and the kids have to walk a ways to each house. It can get tiring for a toddler, but then we're not really into it for the candy, so if he only gets a moderate amount, that's fine with me!

[neeleymartin]

we do playdough. most of the kids in our neighborhood are under 5.

[sdjeppa]

We do the fun size, and usually hand out 2 pieces. I just stocked up on 4 costco bags of mixed candy, as we expect in the 300+ TOTer range...our neighborhood is insane on Halloween, but its so much fun! Last year was our first year living here, and I couldn't believe how many people there were. Many drive in and park, its not just residents...we expect more this year because its a Saturday, as there was a home football game for the high school nearby on Friday night last year so we didn't have very many teens.

[alien_host]

Where did you find those Utz pretzles? DS got a little bag in his backpack from school today as a surprise, and I didn't get the chance to ask the teacher about them. Those would be great to give out.

Costco and BJs has them in a big tub $6.49 for about 60 bags. Christmas Tree Shops also carries them.

I stock up as they are great for lunchboxes/in the car/on the go.

[alien_host]

Where are you guys buying the glow bracelets in bulk? Thinking ahead to next year...

[DrSally]

Costco and BJs has them in a big tub $6.49 for about 60 bags. Christmas Tree Shops also carries them.

I stock up as they are great for lunchboxes/in the car/on the go.

Wow, thanks! I didn't even see them and I was just there. I wonder if they would have them after the holiday? I'd love to put them in DS's lunch.

[belovedgandp]

I try to find one unusual thing. I found myself giving two or three fun-size candies and money wise it's cheaper to do something different. I'm doing full-sized bars again. I have 80 of mixed Snickers, Starbursts, M&Ms, and then the back-up case of Hershey bars (those we'll use for Smores all winter long).

We've lived here 10 years and have 80-120 ToTs each year. We've done - ring pops, licorice ropes, full-sized candy bars.

Based on my kids doing the neighborhood, fun size basic candy bars are the norm. We've had some fruit snacks, raisins, or play-dough through the years. Very few full-sized bars.

[Laurel]

No, not usually 20. But they do come in groups. People from other cities bus their children here in large school buses.

It's like that where I live too. We are a destination ToT city. We don't live in the neighborhood that is the main Halloween drag, so I only get 20-50 kids.

ETA: Realtors actually disclose to homebuyers in a certain neighborhood here that they can expect over a 1000 ToTers.

[awoodm]

Normally we get a huge variety of candy/chocolate and hand out whatever. We get about 20-30 TOT's I would guess so I tend to be pretty generous with the handfuls. This year DS was to be on a liquid diet b/c of surgery, so I bought Playdough and glowsticks to hand out- that way DS didn't feel left out. But, surgery was canceled b/c of an ear infection, so I will still hand out the goodies, I just might get some candy too!

[jenfromnj]

We have a few Costco boxes of full-sized bars, then a few bags of fun-sized for when they run out. We'll be running around with DS for part of the day though, so not sure how many kids we'll actually get to greet at the door.

I always thought it was ironic that the small bars were called "fun-sized"--I mean, wouldn't they be more fun if they were larger than the normal bars?

[alien_host]

Wow, thanks! I didn't even see them and I was just there. I wonder if they would have them after the holiday? I'd love to put them in DS's lunch.


they often sell out before Halloween BUT my store still had a pallet....the expiration date is 11/30/09 so they are supposedly fresh for another month...we ate ours last year into Dec/Jan no problem.

[DrSally]

they often sell out before Halloween BUT my store still had a pallet....the expiration date is 11/30/09 so they are supposedly fresh for another month...we ate ours last year into Dec/Jan no problem.

Well, I took the chance and stopped in at Sam's club since it's closer to my house (I had a one day pass). I had just been to Costco, and it's 45 min from me. They had a bunch of them right by the front door! I didn't even think to check the exp. date. Mine say Nov 30th, but that seems weird that they'd only be good for a month. We'll use them as back up for Halloween and then for DS's lunches/snacks. Thanks again!

[sunshine873]

We do fun size too, but DH passes stuff out by the handful. Our neighborhood has been expanding, so every year is more kids. Last year was probably close to 100.