Halloween Candy

Halloween is coming up next week but I don't know how prepared to be. I live in a suburban neighborhood and it seems lately there have been more children coming through. I did ask one family where they were from, but the kids had come to trick-or-treat in their grandparents neighborhood. They didn't live in that great an area. Makes sense both from bonding with grandparents and safety perspectives.

We tend to give more candy to kids we know, but I think that's universal. I have a friend in CA whose kids get much better stuff than the imported kids; she lives in a neighborhood that's quite nice but not gated so people drive truckloads of kids in because they get better candy. I was there last year for Halloween and there were cars parked all over both sides of the road. Tons of them.

In practice, her kids were either given a mammoth chocolate bar or a toy. The imported kids were given a couple of so-called fun-size candy bars and were quite happy with that. Her girls had magic wands and various toys that weren't cheap. Then again, her neighborhood is full of excesses anyway.

I buy several bags of candy at the grocery store, one of the big-box stores or at the drugstore. Drugstores aren't hit the way the other places are, so if you're a desperate procrastinator, you're likely to find a better selection at your local pharmacy.

I haven't tried Big Lots or the Dollar Store for halloween candy, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had good options.