Candy for trick or treat

[FlyingDumbo]

How much do you spend? Any good places to get deals on candy? We are in a new home so I have no idea how many kids to plan for.

 

[disneychrista]

Zero. I stopped handing out candy last year when non-costumed adults were trick or treating. And YES I mean adults not older teens.

 

[dsnymomof4]

I wait until they're at least down to $2/bag and then get a variety of chocalate candy - like Hershey's, snickers, etc. Just went to CVS earlier tonight and they had bags of candy 3/$6 and 2/$5. DD17 got 3 bags of the orange kit kats that only come out at Halloween - for herself to eat!

 

[aliceindisneyland]

Ask some of your neighbors what to expect! We lived in a subdivision for 2 years where people would bus huge vanloads of kids in from the rest of the town! Thankfully our neighbors warned us to buy at least 20 bags of candy - no joke. I took the kids around to trick or treat and DH called me after 1 hour to say he was out of candy! And that was with only giving the kids 2 or 3 pieces - not half a bucket for each kid like we were used to doing at our old house that had about 10 kids total every Halloween.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Ask some of your neighbors what to expect! We lived in a subdivision for 2 years where people would bus huge vanloads of kids in from the rest of the town! Thankfully our neighbors warned us to buy at least 20 bags of candy - no joke. I took the kids around to trick or treat and DH called me after 1 hour to say he was out of candy! And that was with only giving the kids 2 or 3 pieces - not half a bucket for each kid like we were used to doing at our old house that had about 10 kids total every Halloween.

I second this and definitely ask a few neighbors! When we first moved here I asked a neighbor who had lived in the neighborhood for 15 years or so. She said she bought 3 bags of candy. I grabbed 5 thinking there would be some left over. I was completely out within 1/2 hour! My nutty neighbor must have been out within 15 minutes. The next year I bought 12 bags and lasted about 1 1/2 hours. And that was ONE snack-size (2-3 bites per candy) piece per kid!

I also live in a subdivision and we get the truckloads (very literally) of kids brought in from neighboring towns. It's been a few years since I've handed any out since I'm tired of spending a small fortune on Halloween candy.

 

[Nztara]

I set a candy budget each year. The number of kids we have varies greatly every year. This year my max is $30. I usually mix chocolate with smarties, lollipops and twizzlers to stretch it a bit.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have not had any trick or treaters in my neighborhood for several years!

You can buy big bags of candy at Costco.

 

[Bamagirl43]

I agree you should ask your neighbors. We get from 300 - 500 every year. I gave up running back and forth to the door years ago and sit in a lawn chair in my driveway. Usually spend around $75 for candy. Once it's gone, the lights are turned off and we won't answer the door. I will give out candy to adults or teens as long as they say "Trick-or-Treat" or "Roll Tide" for extras!

 

[BRAVEMERIDA]

Trick or Treating numbers are so up and down in my area. If it rains forget it.

I wait for the week before sales and buy according to how nice it might be outside. I only buy what I'll eat later or what I can dump off on co-workers.

 

[LJSquishy]

We would buy 2 of the giant bags at Costco...I think they were about $13 each? So, $30 give or take. Wait, then I'd also buy glow bracelets from Target's Dollar Spot but I can't remember how many were in each tube...so maybe $40 max for everything.

We would run out every year around 8pm and turn our porch light off.

We just sold our house last month so no more trick-or-treaters for us right now...the house we are at currently doesn't get any, and we won't be buying another house for a year or so.

 

[pryncess527]

I have not had any trick or treaters in my neighborhood for several years!

You can buy big bags of candy at Costco.

Same. I bought a ton of candy one year and had exactly 3 people knock on my door. I probably gained 5 pounds because I have no will power with that amount of candy in my house.

 

[TravelMommy]

Same. I bought a ton of candy one year and had exactly 3 people knock on my door. I probably gained 5 pounds because I have no will power with that amount of candy in my house.

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Had that happen a few years so now I only buy candy I don't really like, to give out, that way no matter how many leftovers, I am not eating it, lol! Ok, so maybe I buy 1 bag I like and the rest my not-so favorites (kit-cats), bahahahahahahaha

 

[Iowajes]

I buy non-chocolate candy, as it tends to save money.

I know a lot of kids aren't too excited to get jolly ranchers, but the two gluten free kids and the one with the peanut allergy in the neighborhood are sure excited when they get to a house that has something they can have

 

[kymom99]

We used to get truckloads of kids because the city always did trick or treat the sunday before Halloween. So kids would come to us and go to their own neighborhood on the 31st. The last 2 years they changed it to the 31st and it really cut down on trick or treaters. I sit on the porch and if the kids are too lazy to walk up to the house it is their loss. I usually buy good stuff.

 

[nicolita3]

I was thinking of going to Costco and buying a couple of those huge bags, I'm thinking this year I will need to have more since Halloween is on a Friday this year.

 

[HM]

Ask your neighbors how many kids they think came the last couple years. That should help you plan. Though it will vary. Last year we had a lot less than the year before and it wasn't weather based.

I spend about $30.

 

[amcnj]

Agree with the idea of checking with neighbors. We get several hundred visitors, though as my immediate area ages a bit the numbers have come down under 300 the past two years. We have a haunted garage that kids have to crawl around in boxes to view, and so attract from outside our neighborhood. I have already purchased some things that were on sale or with coupons and stockpile it till Halloween. In my area grocery stores seem to offer the best deals for those bags of smaller bars, if that is what you are looking into. The past few years they have been as low as $1.88 a bag. If you belong to a Sams/BJ's/Costco, you can find larger bars, chip assortments, or other individually packaged/bagged cookies/treats for reasonable prices. With coupons at BJ's I have purchased full sized candy bars for about 35 cents each, and chips are about 24 cents a bag. I have an out though in that we sell snacks at work at small markups to help pay for kitchen supplies there, and so if I misjudge, it goes there! But I suppose I could also return unopened packages to BJ's if need be.

 

[tvguy]

We buy what we like from Walmart. The mini candy bars. Demographics of our neighborhood have changed drastically. When we moved in 31 years ago we had 10 kids. Then it worked up to about 120 a year after about 10 years.......then started back down. We're back down to about 20 kids now, NONE of whom live in the neighborhood. I think the youngest kid on the street now is 23!

 

[okeydokey]

Bought two big bags at Sams, one chocolate and one sugar candy. Spent about $30.

 

[Eureka]

We are getting fewer and fewer kids every year, and we live in a large neighborhood right near an elementary school. My boys are 13 and 11; when they were early elementary age, we ran out of candy. I use the same bowl - so I can't really tell you how much I buy, I just know how full it is - and in the last three to four years, we have had some leftover. I usually give two pieces each person. I am afraid to buy less because I don't want to run out, and my older DS has stopped trick or treating, so I just let him have what he wants from the leftovers.