Oregon, your opinion matters: Candy or Sugar-free Gum for a Halloween Treat?

[PNW-type-gal]

The last couple years I have bought the "allergy free" bags of treats - no nuts, no dairy. I know the 7yrold down the street has a serious nut allergy and I have seen her out trick-or-treating. Sure, it is still gobs of sugar and artificial ingredients, but it is also a mix of things kids tend to like (gummy candies, etc).

Lol, I don't eat the sugar-free stuff so I don't see why I should foist it on kids. That is their parent's job. .

As for me, I buy the big bags, only open one at a time and take anything unopened back to the store the next day for a refund. And I cheerfully throw away the leftovers.

[Ttark]

Candy, obviously, unless you enjoy going out and cleaning dried egg or toilet paper off your house and car on the 1st.

But if that's your thing, then who am I to judge. It takes all kinds.

And I cheerfully throw away the leftovers.

Waste of product (i.e. money). If it's getting late I start handing out even larger handfuls than I normally do to use it up, then shut off the lights after it's all gone. No waste that way. I feel sorry for the poor old sods who maintain a limit of one or two pieces of candy per child. They must not have had a fulfilling chindhood themselves and desire to impose it on everybody else. I can only imagine there's a whole potential huge study in psychology to be had there.

If you still have some left over, you can always take it to work the next day.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Ttark

Waste of product (i.e. money). If it's getting late I start handing out even larger handfuls than I normally do to use it up, then shut off the lights after it's all gone. No waste that way. I feel sorry for the poor old sods who maintain a limit of one or two pieces of candy per child.

Work out of the house, so the "office" does not want it.

I only give out a couple pieces early in the evening, trying to keep it going toward the end. Some years I get a lot of "late" (8:00+, lol) traffic but the last 2 years I haven't gotten any (the city has started sponsoring parties) and that is where the excess comes in. I've actually looked into donating the leftovers, but none of the foods banks - pretty unsurprisingly - want candy donations.

I'd rather throw it out than eat it myself - if I am going to eat empty calories, dammit, they are going to be something GOOD.

[Ttark]

Then find a neighbor who wants it and maybe they can take it to work or have it for themselves. Throwing it away is just wasting money.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Ttark

.......... Throwing it away is just wasting money.

Whether you eat it or throw it in the trash, it is gone. If you throw it in the trash, it doesn't end up on your hips.


I eat my leftover Halloween candy, but I buy what I like to eat and the leftovers go into the freezer and get used at a reasonable rate. I don't sit down and eat the whole bag at one time. In fact, I hit the stores the day after Halloween to buy the half priced bags of chocolates.


Some people don't like candy and some people have health issues where they can't eat candy. Perhaps for those people, the little cheap plastic toys or fake tattoos would be a good choice. Leftovers can be tucked away and given out the next Halloween, if economy is important.


No food bank type of place is going to accept opened food. If the bag of candy has been opened, they can not take it. They won't accept any food that could possibly be tampered with. (see all the recent news about licking ice cream and spitting into bottled tea)

[5gables]

Originally Posted by karlsch

You read it on an Internet forum, so it must be true.

I chew a lot of sugarless gum myself, so I hope it's not true, but if there is a bad perception then that is enough for me. I don't eat candy, but guess I can just add the extra candy to my emergency food supply (with candy from last year).

[karlsch]

It's Halloween, it's once a year, give the kids a break and give them candy made with sugar....and definitely don't be a grinch and hide in your house with the lights off to save a few bucks.

[BendLocal]

Real Candy. Bring the leftovers to the next party I attend.