I'm not passing out candy this year. I'm a bit ill, and neither sitting outside in the rain nor handing kids germs with their candy is going to be optimal.

Were I handing out candy, I'd have bought stuff I love. No chance of leftovers in my neighbourhood, though.

I bought candy I'm not tempted by. I can't afford the calories and once I start I can't stop.

I'll be sitting out shoveling out candy as long as it's not raining. In that case, the light will be off and I "won't be home".

Leftovers are gladly gobbled up by co-workers so I buy what I won't be tempted to eat. There's plenty of time to blow the diet come late November into December...

We hand out a sandwich bag containing a celery stick, a baby carrot, a piece of broccoli and a little squeeze packet of ranch dressing.

Bob, if you hand tht stuff out, the trick-or-treaters will return the favor by leaving lots of eggs on your house -- and I do mean on your house.

hmptsd, nah, think "Gran Torino."

We don't get any trick-or-treaters in the country:( I miss Medfield on Halloween.

NotableM: I hear you. I remember that Hampden/Medfield celebrated Halloween on two nights--the night before (trick-or-treaters came a night early!)and then the night of, when they held the big costume parade on the "Ab'nue."

Here's a good Halloween story: I bought 3 bags of mini candy bars for the trick-or-treaters and, at 8:30, I still had 2 full bags. I placed the half-full bowl on the top step of my porch, left the porch light on, hoping some kids would come along and take the rest of the candy bars.

An hour later, I retrieved the bowl. There was 1 mini candy bar left. I wondered why didn't the last kid take all of them? Maybe s/he thought it would be too disappointing to the next kid, to find an empty candy bowl?

I don't know if that's why, but it just warmed my heart a little.

I always buy candy I like, in case of leftovers. But I do worry about us eating it in the course of the evening and running out. So this year I had M&Ms and pumpkin seeds for us to snack on. Worked out pretty well, so I think I found a new tradition.

We went to a concert at the Rams Head in Annapolis, thus avoiding dealing with the urchins.

It's all about the chocolate.

We make sure that we have enough of the good stuff to keep mischief from happening. The receipt from Giant for the unopened bags is on my kitchen table, so we will not eat what is not opened.

The last time I went out myself was in 1969 (still mourning the fact that I had to resell my Woodstock tickets!!!!!!!) and I was singularly unimpressed by the fact that I only got four or five full sized Hersey bars in my bag. The dawn of the "fun size" had already begun. Fortunately there were enough Sugar Daddy's and Sugar Baby's to make up for the loss.

I only give out what I would have liked getting and I always dress up. Halloween is the best holiday of the year. No mandatory family dinners. No guilt shopping. No church obligation. Just fantasy fun and treats. FYI ...Fourth of July is #2 on my list of favorites.

Canon, now they even have a size smaller than "fun size"--I picked up some bite-sized Snickers. These went on top of the big basket of candy to give out to the little munchkins who were just thrilled to toddle up to the door and say their line: "Twick or tweat!"

I get a mix - stuff my husband and I like, and stuff I can't stand. I start with the stuff I don't like but the kids do -- Mike&Ikes, Mounds, things like that. Then when that all goes, I add in the stuff I wouldn't mind having left over. Some years it all goes, some, like this one, very little does. But I try to have an assortment for all the kids - including me!

I went with the "just in case" candy.. there are even more kids in the neighborhood, and i don't want to be the "no holiday cheer" neighbor.. let them find them out when i'm too lazy for christmas lights. Just as long as i don't break the seal on the big bag, i won't eat any of it.

One of my FB friends said her children received small chocolate Easter egg candy from one house they visited on Halloween. Haahaa

What, no top and bottom ten Halloween candies. What an opportunity lost.

Rusty, apart from candy corn, there really isn't much candy that's Halloween-specific. On the other hand, that means that any week would be good for a list of top ten candies (or, conversely, for a top ten worst list -- who wants to be first to diss Mary Jane candy?).

I get party favors and the kids can pick -- finger puppets, bouncy balls, etc.

Years ago when I started 'wearing' just about everything I ate I revised the Halloween act. I simply purchased candies that I would not be drawn to, despite protests from family members. Worked, too, for awhile. Now, come a cold, snowy 'cabin' day those previously uncoveted left-over Halloween candies hit the spot. You can't win.....

We buy the leftover candy when it hits 90% off at the Target a week later.

I buy a combination of what I like and what I think the trick-or-treaters will like. Skittles are very popular with the teens for some reason; chocolate usually satisfies everyone else (including me). I had a lot of candy left over this year. Took it into the office and it disappeared in an hour.

Hilarious op/ed:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bal-halloweenletter1102,0,3696919.story

We had an evacuation drill today at work. As I walked the 5 blocks to my department's meeting place, I wondered if they chose today to help us to walk off leftover Halloween candy.

Lissa, hope you are feeling better!

Thank you, Dahlink. Rumours of my death are *slightly* exaggerated.