Friendly,Homeowner,Passing,Out,Candy,To,Trick,Or,Treaters,On

Today is Halloween; what treats you give out say about you (don’t be THAT house)

ByDawn Allcot

Have you purchased your Halloween candy yet? If you haven’t, it’s not too late to stock up for trick-or-treaters. Although budgets may be tight this year, you can find plenty of affordable options that kids will love. But think carefully before grabbing that bargain-bin bucket of candy corn or worse, handing out raisins, spare change, homemade baked goods, or anything too unusual (with a few exceptions, which we’ll get to later). Because what you hand out at your house to kids says a lot about you – and, trust us, word gets around. From king-sized candy bars to potatoes, we explore all your possibilities for Halloween.

Read: Motorcycles & Broken Ribs: You’re too old for that

Discover: Do you have enough retirement savings? Take our poll

Chocolate

Data from Instacart and reported by Food & Wine revealed that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were last year’s most-purchased candy for Halloween, followed by Peanut and regular M&Ms, KitKats, and Snickers. In short: Chocolate in many forms dominates the list of favorites.

Unfortunately, this is one of the priciest options for retirees on a fixed income this year. A cocoa shortage in West Africa caused by flooding and then El-Nino-induced droughts doubled chocolate prices between June 2024 and 2025, according to a recent report from Reuters. This year, tariffs may drive prices even higher, the report said.  If you’re in a position to be handing out full-size chocolate bars, you love going “all-in” for the holiday and you’re probably also a savvy shopper to snag the best sales. The kids will appreciate you.

Reese,S,Peanut,Butter,Cups,Are,Showcased,In,Their,Iconic
Peanut Butter Cups; photo by 4kclips

Popular Candies

Sour Patch Kids snuck into Instacart’s list of top Halloween candies in the number five slot, and number 7 on a similar list of popular Halloween treats compiled from DoorDash data. Other popular, non-chocolate sweets include Ring Pops, Airheads, and Baby Bottle Pops. The DoorDash report revealed orders for the fruity, “lick-and-dip” candy are up 641% since last Halloween.

Nostalgic Candies

Airheads, introduced in 1985, might bring some of us back to our own trick-or-treating days. Other “nostalgic” candies are also growing in popularity, according to DoorDash. Sales of Strawberry Bon Bons, the quintessential “grandma candy” are up 600% this year. Trick-or-treaters still love “tasting the rainbow,” too. Skittles, first manufactured in the US in 1982, made #5 on this year’s DoorDash list.

“Fun Size” Chocolate

With so many great candy options, it can be hard to choose. That’s where giant bags of “fun-size” chocolate bars, occasionally with Skittles or gummy bears tossed into the mix, can help. Plus, if you aren’t sure how many trick-or-treaters you’ll get, you can always give more or fewer pieces as the crowds ebb and flow so you don’t run out. If this is your choice, according to Kim Holderness of the GenX YouTube sensation, The Holderness Family, you may have trouble committing. Plus, she said in a video, “You’re a people-pleaser. You worry about what other people think of you, so instead of buying your favorite candy, you buy other people’s favorite candy in teeny-tiny little bite sized pieces.”

That sounds a little too accurate.

Flavored Tootsie Rolls

Holderness continued her assessment of what the candy you hand out on Halloween says about you. Regular Tootsie Rolls are okay; it just means you don’t want to be tempted by keeping the good stuff in your house in the weeks prior to Halloween. But, she said, “If you are handing out the flavored Tootsie Rolls, it’s because you were late to the store, and there was nothing else left.”

Chips or Pretzels

If you’re looking for a somewhat healthier (and potentially less expensive) treat, or if the stores really are out of candy, don’t stress. You don’t have to resort to the flavored Tootsie Rolls. Kids might like getting pretzels or chips, as a change of pace. Pretzel sales rose 93% this year, according to DoorDash. If you really want to impress the neighborhood tweens and teens out trick-or-treating, choose a trending savory and spicy snack like Taki. This shows you’re willing to think outside the box, and still in touch with what the kids like. If you aren’t sure if your choice will be popular, ask your grandkids.

Eating Ramen noodles
Ramen Soup for Halloween; photo by antoniodiaz

Potatoes or Ramen Soup? Huh?

Want to show just how on-trend you are? Offer a sweet treat but also give the choice of pre-packaged ramen soup or a potato. Yes, a potato.  The social experiment started a few years ago on TikTok, with people offering kids a choice of a traditional “treat” or a potato (or ramen). “Some immediately took the potatoes… all were at least a little bit amused,” Mashed  reported.

More from Nifty50+


Dawn Allcot has more than three decades of experience as a magazine editor, trade journalist, and content marketing writer specializing in finance, tech, travel, marketing and insurance. She’s thrilled to contribute to Nifty50+, where she covers the topics that keep GenX up at night, from budgeting and retirement planning to multigenerational travel and finding peace in the chaos of midlife. Dawn’s work is widely published on top personal finance and other sites including GOBankingRates, CardCritics, CNET, The Street, and The Daily Navigator. It’s often syndicated at MSN, Yahoo! Finance, Nasdaq and other top sites. Find Dawn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnallcot/.

Related Stories