Trick, Treat or Don’t Bother: What Not To Give Out This Halloween

The pumpkins are out in full force, which means that it’s just a matter of time before little ghosts and goblins end up on your doorstep asking for candy. What are the best treats to give out though, from a savings perspective? Are there certain treats no one wants and just end up in the trash? Have you, essentially, just thrown your money in the bin?

Every year, kids throw out tons of Halloween candy, and the discarded junk is always the same stuff year after year. If you’re planning on buying any of these things, don’t bother. It’s just going to end up at the trash anyway.

The worst offenders are:

1. Rockets - They’re sweet and sugary with fruity flavours but for some reason, kids in Canada just ain’t having it.

2. Candy Corn - Come on, Mom. Why would they eat candy made to look like corn when they have piles of little crunchy Skor bars and pairs of Twix lying around. Save yourself the trouble; forget the candy corn.

3. Kraft Caramels - Whether the kids are opting for the yummier stuff or the Moms are taking these caramels away to save on expensive dental work, no one eats every last caramel they get on Halloween. One or two inevitably end up in the rubbish, so spare the kids the grief. Just give ‘em an Oh, Henry instead.

4. Tootsie Rolls - They may have been all the rage in the good ol’ days, Grams, but kids in the new millennium just aren’t diggin’ ‘em. They don’t care how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop because they have Kinder eggs and warheads now.

5. Maltesers - Are these actually supposed to be edible? Because I’m pretty sure they’re not supposed to be edible.

6. Dots - What are these little torture devices at the bottom of every Halloween bucket? Dots are the sort of candy you eat when you want to rediscover a little bit a week from now when your popcorn draws a chunk out of your left bicuspid.

7. Granola Bars - Mom, you’ve failed at Halloween.

8. Apples - Not unless you need a 2 am wakeup call by way of an apple sailing through your living room window. Apples are for pies and chocolate is for Halloween.

Don’t give away perfectly good food that’s going to end up in the garbage. If you absolutely must give away granola bars and apples, take them on down to the local food bank. There are people in real need there who will appreciate that stuff far more than the stormtrooper who just walked away from your door disappointed. As for the other stuff, just save your money. Throw it on a credit card bill or hit the movies instead.

What was your favourite candy to get at Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

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