Halloween 2016

So, a couple of days ago it was Halloween. I decided to try giving out candy this year. Last year, I tried to do this, but wound up watching a horror movie with my roommates, then we had a few friends over, and we wound up eating all the candy I was going to give out.

This year, day of, I decide to give it another go. I figured my area wouldn't be a hot spot for trick-or-treaters. We have enough kids in the area, but I remember when I was a kid, it was pretty common knowledge which areas were more profitable. Generally, it was better to travel out to the higher income neighbourhoods, and so I thought the children living here would take a beeline out of the complex, and I'd only catch them on their cycle back home.

Besides, after they caught that murderer here, I'm pretty sure the kids are like "Let's go to the places where it's only fake scary".

I go to the local grocery to pick up some candy. Usually they have those boxes of fun sized candy bars, little bags of chips, and twizzler packets. Last year I picked up candy bars and twizzlers. I'm sure I've said it before, but as a kid, I'd hate getting those little bags of chips, because there's so much air in them and it's just wasted space. A pillow sack full of candybars was a real prize. The twizzlers were because I wanted a nut-free option, and Twizzler was the only type that could guarantee that.

My grocery had absolutely nothing and I didn't have time to go to another. I tried a nearby dollar store, and they were stacked. Last year, I obviously overdid it with the candy (since no children came), but this year was even worse. I dropped $40 on candy! I wish somebody was with me, to tell me when to stop. I'm a cheap but festive person, which leads me to spend hard and then moan about it afterwards. It was nostalgic, because there were all those cheap little candies, like the tinfoil-wrapped chocolate balls with the Jack-o-Lanterns on them, caramel squares, toffee pieces etc, that you tend to forget because they aren't bad, but they also aren't the prize of the night. Yet, you usually only see them on Halloween, and they add to the atmosphere. I finally learned where all those adults were getting their festive, mediocre candy. The dollar store.

The dollar store is far better than the grocery when it comes to nut-free candy. Last year, only the twizzlers were nut-free. Even candy without nuts would get that little warning (may contain peanuts and tree nuts) This years, two thirds of my candy was nut-free, and honestly, the nut-free stuff was generally better. My weakness was the fruit chews.

I left the door open with the light on to signal to prospective Trick-or-Treaters that I was available. One of my neighbours, an older woman, shouted into my door "Don't eat all the candy Gryphon!" I said "Do I hear a Trick-or-Treater?" and went to try and make her take some candy. She called out both the children in her unit, who had retired early, and they picked out some candy. Then I pushed some candy on all the adults living in that unit, too. I'd never managed to hand out Halloween candy before, so I was wondering if this counted. But then some kids with costumes came by and walked up to us.

I was so awkward. I was like, "Uhhhh, how do you want to do this? You want to pick the candy or should I just give you a handful?" My roommate came out with the second bowl of candy, so it looked like he was from another unit, and he managed to give out a second serving.

So I managed to give a kid going door-t-door on Halloween night some candy. Cross that off my bucket list. But the children didn't say "Trick or Treat" so I'm not sure it counts. Drat!