On Halloween, Murray and I had Murray's brother and wife come over for dinner and an outdoor movie. We couldn't have asked for better weather for our movie (Psycho, a great Halloween movie), except for when it started to rain a little bit. Oh well. Other than the rain it really was ideal.
I wanted to spend the evening at home so that I could give candy (that I can't eat, because I'm just. that. selfless.) to children. A neighbor said that they didn't get many kids last year, so I didn't plan for very many kids, and I certainly didn't want to have leftover candy. When I was candy shopping, I considered my candy choices carefully. I know what I'd want to receive as a kid. There's no use wasting money on the candy that is just going to be thrown away. I briefly considered buying small packs of Doritos, because then I wouldn't even care to give them away because Doritos to me are just a sack of disgustingness. But then my conscience wouldn't let me give something to kids that I would have been so wholly disappointed to receive as a child. So instead, I got a couple bags of mini candy bars, a bag of full Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a couple bags of Pop Rocks (to mix things up a little), and a bag of gummy Life Savers. And I hope those little kids appreciate what it meant for me to give them all of those candies without sampling so much as one myself.
We got more kids than I was expecting, so I went to the pantry to get out the two 10-packs of kettle corn that I accidentally bought, thinking it was the good kind of popcorn. I thought that the popcorn was the crappy treat, but kids responded really well to it, actually.
But this is the ultimate comment I'd like to make about my candy giving experience. Besides the older kids (older than 12ish) who I didn't feel should be trick-or-treating, there were two real standouts of the evening.
FIRST: When I realized I was running low on candy and needed to get the popcorn, I opened a pack thinking that would get me through ten good kids. With an average of 2 kids per door bell ring, I figured the pack would last me a half hour or so. As soon as I opened it, the doorbell rang and a family with five kids was standing outside my door. Good grief! So I started giving them popcorn, which they were REALLY excited about. Most excited was the mother, who started jumping up and down and saying, "Ooo! Yo quiero! Yo quiero!" And then she held out her hand for me to give her her very own package of popcorn. Just that easily, 60 percent of my popcorn package was gone!
SECOND: There was a mom and dad with their first-time trick-or-treater son, who was about 2 or 3. He, of course, had his own bag for the candy. But guess who else had his own bag? The dad. And so he held his bag out, too, to collect candy. There are no words.
So next year, I will be more prepared. Next year, I am going to have special "too old to be trick-or-treating" treats. I'm thinking of the following options: can of peas, fresh apples, not-fresh tomatoes, an entire watermelon. Any other ideas are welcome!!
12 comments:
One word: TACKY.
To "Yo quiero" you should have responded "No tengo" or however you say, "You ain't gettin' any" in Spanish. ;)
My word verification is "squads"! Ha!
The other thing I liked about the evening is that it was the first time my brother was forced to watch a black and white movie from start to finish. There is something very satisfying about that.
What's up with parents going trick-or-treating? Are they just too cheap to buy candy for themselves? And let's be honest: that dad is going to eat most of his two-year-old's candy anyway, so why does he need more of his own?
Maybe you should just put out a sign saying you don't give treats away to anyone over twelve. Then when some lame-o dad holds out his bag, you can just point to the sign and shrug as if to say, "Sorry! Rules are rules."
As a parent of a 2 1/2 year-old first-time trick-or-treater (wow, that was a lot of hyphens), I thought it would be mighty transparent for us to take him trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We took him to our ward trunk-or-treat, as well as my husband's cubicle-or-treat at work....and there was PLENTY for Ian to be happy about without having to run around begging for candy that only grown-ups will eat.
Pet peeve? parents who bring their INFANTS trick or treating with a candy bag.
Also? trick-or-treaters older than 12 who ARE NOT EVEN DRESSED UP. My husband refused to give them candy.
I didn't have the guts.
I admit I might have gone trick or treating once when I was 13, but this was because, believe it or not, I had never actually been before. Let's not get into the cultural depravity...
Anyway, one lady who decided I was too old offered us carrot sticks.
I have a friend that buys good candy and smarties. Anyone that's not from her neighborhood or has undergone puberty gets one pack of smarties.
Serves 'em right.
my word verification: allyrot
Oh my heavens, I stand against everything that man is. What a psycho.
I'd give the moochers a penny. Just one.
pennies or those sick brown taffy candies (the ones in black and orange wax paper) were my least favourite - maybe those would be good for the older kids. or else an uncooked egg. but your other ideas were good too :)
so with you on the over 12 set. And parents with their own bags? totally tacky. OUr 2 year old went to 6 houses, did his own knocking, his own "trick or treat" and held his own bag. The candy has now been tucked away for bribery/reward purposes. The thing with refusing candy to older kids is, they remember where you live and I always worry they will come back with eggs or toilet paper. I say go with the canned goods.
Or you could go the completely boring route and give those stupid Hallowe'en pencils / erasers that kids hate to get. haha!
I used to have a little old lady that gave me 5 lucky pennies every year. :)
Those ideas were genius. A friend and I thought about handing out pennies to people our age who came trick-or-treating (I'm 17, and I haven't been since I was 11. And I think it makes sense). But I have to say I like your ideas better. :)
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