We've done that in years past. It was always the older kids who took the whopping handful of candy.

Good one Glenda!

I've done that before and after about an hour, I just start putting a small handful in their bags because I don't want leftovers.

Lol! I handed out candy at school to high schoolers and then again tonight. Always interesting to see who takes what. I noticed the kids were all helping themselves more this year. Waiting for the round of teens to come around. I'm giving out what I can get rid of.

One year when I was in high school I decided to dress up (possibly as a zombie) and just sit on the porch holding a bowl of candy. Most of the kids thought I was merely a decoration and they were simply supposed to take candy from the bowl. Most took one or two as eld6161 described, some of them rummaged around in the bowl to find their favorite. Some decided to take quite a few -- for those I would move or groan or raise my hand. Some merely laughed and left with their handful of candy, other screamed and dropped the candy and ran. One young kid who was just behind one of the older kids that I scared was so frightened that he dropped his entire bag of candy and ran off. I felt really bad, but felt that if I chased after the kid to try to give his candy back, it really would have just made it worse.

I give out big candy and I have been surprised at how many asked if they could take more. Only 2 kids grabbed more than one without asking and I blame their mom who watched and just laughed. But mostly the kids have been super polite and all the parents told me they remember my house and always make sure to stop by. :)

We still have a lot left and I have only had one in the last 45 minutes so it's probably time to pack up. I've been out here 3 hours and it's getting cold. :)

We had bowls of Snickers, Skittles, KitKat, and Starburst.

Approximately 180 kids showed.

Skittles emptied first, Starburst was second, KitKat and Snickers finished in a tie for last place.

A Kit-Kat sure is good with morning coffee. :)

I love your experiment. Most kids are a delight. I love to see them work through things and their revelations. It's so cute!

I don't give out candy where I live (now. I have at all my other homes) because it must be where the thugs bus in their kids. They reach into your bowl without it being offered! Never say trick or treat. You get an icy glare instead. Never say thank you. They suck all the fun out of it. I have no idea why this enclave where I live is so popular, but it is the place to be on the north side of town? I cover the windows with blankets and shut the curtains and enjoy movies instead. I will have to go someplace next year just so I can see fun costumes and happy kids. I may go back to my last neighborhood where even the adults dress up and it's enjoyable.

Glenda, that is hysterical.

Bob, when I went out with my two, there were a few houses where the families really got into scaring the kids. They created a haunted house and were very interactive with the trick or treaters.

Chi, not only are you generous with your candy but you even created a nice presentation!

Michael, I also buy only our favorite candy. Leftovers are a good thing.

Rob, I feel sorry for you. My neighborhood is a drop off one as well although we have tons of kids now who live here. It is contained neighborhood so easy to trick or treat.

In years past though there were issues with houses being egged, even if you gave out candy.

Lived in my condo for 16 years and no trick or treaters. There are kids in the area, but just stick to the units closest to their condos.

I sure picked a good year to resume welcoming Trick-or-Treaters. NOBODY braved the six inches of snow to come see what was behind the spooky blinking eyes or the light-show ghosts circling the walls and ceiling at our front door. What to do with three bags of small candies (my backup plan) and thirty pieces of full size candy (M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way)?

Donate to service men? These are organizations that collect and mail.

We had one group of 6 kids... I had full size candy bars because last year we only had 5 kids total. One little girl started to take 2 and I told her to only take one - and she said one was for her baby cousin. That irks me more than anything. I really would like to ask parents if they are feeding their BABIES chocolate!

Local church had "trunk or treat" event where people set up their car trunks with candy, maybe decorations (I wasn't there) for the preschoolers during the day. Trick or treaters in training I guess.

Chisue, some organizations and businesses are collecting today, just can’t remember who. Call the community center, there is an organization in there who does stuff for kids who may be able to use it. You can also take it to Midwest Veterans Closet, they have a food pantry for veterans’ families. Treats for the kids are always welcome!

I often let the kids take what they want, but they often seem shy to do it! They aren‘t sure if they are being too greedy or not greedy enough lol. It’s easier to put s handful in their buckets, but fun to see their process as they decide how much and which ones, and to ask shyly “can I have another?”

We had an odd day Thursday and were home for only 10 minutes during a Trick or Treat. We had one doorbell ring (our intrepid catsittter who braved the snow!) We had bought candy while up north for Canadian Thanksgiving, all DH’s favorites from his childhood, and he was so excited to hand them out. We ended up leaving them with our son and his troupe, and the candy was gone by the end of the evening.

socks, when he was growing up, at my son's schools, they separated the older and younger children. I assume to keep the little ones from harm and it's probably similar. That is, to avoid being trampled or overwhelmed.

We were in one of the city neighborhoods Halloween night. While waiting for the theater to open we had nibbles in a corner pub. They were offering “Kids eat free on Halloween” so it was fun to see young families, kids in costumes and snow jackets, coming in with their full buckets. They got the room at the back, while the rest of us watched football up front.

glenda, I love the broccoli! My dad used to do that with potatoes and onions. :-)

Last night we gave out the fun size Snickers and let the kids take what they wanted. Most were pretty good. We had quite a bit left over...much to DH's delight.

A neighboring town’s Halloween announcement: (edited by me for privacy):

Village of (we ain’t wimps) officials announced today that Halloween will not be rescheduled due to a forecast of inclement weather. The Village’s trick-or-treat hours are October 31 from 4-7 p.m.

“Back in my day, I had to walk fifteen miles to trick-or-treat in the snow! Barefoot! Uphill! Both ways!” said (everyone’s grandparent!), Village President and retired principal. “Our kids are avid walkers in the cold and will still be enjoying themselves in the streets tomorrow night.”

The National Weather Service is forecasting that accumulating snow and temperatures as low as 20 degrees may occur Halloween night

No trick or treaters in my neighborhood last night. There haven't been for a number of years now. I think maybe a couple of the newer neighborhoods get a few, but for the most part, kids don't go door to door anymore. The police and sheriff's departments have a big "Trunk or Treat" event, including costume contests, kiddie rides, & other entertainments. A number of the local churches also have the "Trunk of Treat" events. The elementary schools have their own costume shows, parades, treats, etc. It's all geared towards keeping kids off the streets and in safe environments. And I think it is a wonderful thing!

Rusty

We had a fair number this year, but the weather was rather balmy - over 70° at night. I think most of the kids were bused in, as I am sure that none of them live in this neighborhood. There are a few, and I know who they are.

We gave out Snickers and Twix, but have quite a few Twix left over, which is what my brother and I like best. I did not know that kids preferred Skittles. I don't like those at all. Some years I give out Japanese Gummy candy, which I do actually like, and it is not too sweet and has nice fruit flavors. I think it has fewer calories too.

Nextdoor had a great idea this year with a treat map. Everyone participating could put their address on the treat map. It worked well. I have never had any kids come by here and very few at the Encreek house. I had 2 adorable little boys last night. They are new to the neighborhood. They said they were going by the treat map. I knew I wasn't going to be getting any more kids so I gave them a huge handful each. One of them said mommy did you see how much she gave us lol. We all laughed.

It was great reading all the positive comments about last night. I have not heard of any negative events. One lady who had to leave put a bowl of candy on the porch. She assumed it would all be gone quickly. She returned home hours later and found there was still a little candy left in the bowl.

No T&T'ers at my place. Too dark (no street lights), too long a private and heavily wooded drive. Plenty spooky on a cold blustery night without benefit of any decorations! And the local business area - a 5 minute drive away - hosts an early evening T&T event with all the shops giving out candy to anyone in costume (although the event is intended for kids).

When I did live where I would get T&T'ers, I would always dish out the candy myself. Usually several of the fun size bars or boxes.

Only 5 houses on my street with a wood on the other side so no tricker treaters except the neighbor kids when they were younger. A suggestion for next year to reward the children who only take one then thank you. Just give them another one while telling them it was because of their thanks.

"Nextdoor had a great idea this year with a treat map. Everyone participating could put their address on the treat map."

ravencajun, I put our house on the treat map. It was a great idea

We had a strong storm blow thru last night exactly at trick or treat time, so most people on the town's social media agreed to postpone treating until tonight. Well, it's still a bust. We bought enough candy for 200 kids. Maybe 20 kids have shown up. So, they each got a huge double handful.

ETA: Bah humbug!

What is a “treat map”? It tells you who has the skittles?

It shows all houses that are handing out candy. Plus they had special indicators for allergan free candy, and other special categories. Very good idea.

We got the usual 30 kids in our neighbourhood. DH handed out the chips and candies this year with help from DS. They said the kids costumes were great this year. DH gave leftover chips and candies to his delivery people truck drivers and employees as well since we had so much left. He said they looked as happy as kids :-)

Friday we had a student with a large back pack FILLED TO THE BRIM--50lbs worth of TT candy. He is a freshman. How he got that in the three hours our town trix or treats IDK but I am thinking it wasn't by "taking one" at each stop. Another boy reported he and his siblings drove around LOOKING for the homes with bowls out and a sign that said "please take one" and proceeded to dump the bowl in their bags. A block across from my church has barriers set up, music blasting and a huge bon fire in the middle of the cul-de-sac. People drive their kids from all over town, park in our church lot to over flowing. On the way into Mass Friday morning an older gentle man, who lives across the street and next to the "party block" said he had 406 kids come to his door--he had to shut off his lights an hour early as he ran out of candy. Not sure how that all fits but sometimes the view from reality is revealing.

When our kids were younger, we‘d have to leave the candy bowl unattended for an hour or two while we rang doorbells. One year I was walking past our house and could hear kids on the porch saying “the sign says to take one or two” “oh, oops” and I saw a kid put one back!

One year, we had to go to an appointment so we set the bowl on a kitchen stool. As we headed to the garage, we heard “crash (giggles)”. I threw open the front door, saw an empty bowl and 3 boys running down the walk and yelled “Stop right there!” They froze. In my best stern teacher voice “Was that the right thing to do?” All three turned around. “Noooo...” “Put it back.” They did. “Sorry Mrs. Path.” We KNEW these boys it turned out, friends of my son! Actually pretty good kids. I said each of their names but nothing else. Finally told the moms about it about 4 years later, we couldn’t stop laughing. But I really was surprised at the boys, they knew it was our house and really were friends with our son.

bpath -- Our DS and family will take our candy to DGD's school to be distributed -- presumably to poor children who don't have their fair share of cavities.

Your story reminds me of the old adage: One Boy = Half a Man; Two boys = Half a Boy; Three Boys = No Boy At All.

We moved this summer to a long culde sac dead end . Don't see many neighbors out but were told the kids don't come down this street. Hubby really gets into decorating , in his own weird way , just different than mine.

We knew he'd be so disappointed if we didn't get any kids so my daughter went to Lowe's, got some bright arrow signs, wrote CANDY in big letters. She placed them on the main street and a few others leading to our street with one at our house.

A neighbor across the street caught me at the mailbox, asked about the sign..she movedin just after us and loves Halloween. She went out and got herself an arrow sign lol. Another neighbor asked, we've decided next year to plan for the occasion and get the street involved .

It worked! We got plenty of kids , some parents followed the signs after leaving a church or trunk or treat event.

I think the treat map on NextDoor is a terrific idea. I noticed that not one house in my neighborhood was shown as giving out candy, even the houses with children. No wonder I never see any trick-or-treaters.