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Don't forget cough drops!

I have to say that I still love Smarties - I drive the misses crazy because when we are back in the US and find ourselves within 100 meters of a candy store I always find a way to buy at least 5 pound of em...

My next-door neighbor, a vegan, always gave out kid-sized bottles of Odwalla carrot juice. No, thank you!

I remember one of the houses in my hometown would always give pennies...that's not very exciting for a 7 year old.

@eleeb, so funny....my father-in-law loves peanut chews! Goes to show you. I'd have to add mini bags of pretzels also, but THE WORST IS GETTING CHANGE!!!!! My kid looks at 22 cents like WTF?!?

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yeah-there was an older lady who always gave out one quarter to each kid.

it's a pretty spot on list, although i do enjoy the "fun sized" candies.

cough drops? really, franktex? that's just cruel.

Who thought of Necco Waffers anyways?

I want to eat some candy, but I also want some chalk.

yep, pennies suck. and i kind of hate getting caramel apples. fresh ones are great, but when you get them trick or treating, they're the wrapped kind that have been sitting around getting crusty for god knows how long.

and i love candy corn as well, wouldn't throw those out of my pillow case!

Someone handed out Jesus pamphlets to us every year when I was a kid. Now THAT'S a sin.

There are also those gross chunk caramels with a stripe of pink. The worse fun sized candy is Peanut M&Ms because they can only fit a couple of those oddly shaped ones in the small package. I also don't like how they are making Peeps for every holiday. I know it's only psychological but only the chicks and bunnies taste good.

One year I had a kid give us Jesus pamphlets and refuse our candy, that was strange.

peanut chews are one of my favorite candies in the whole world...maybe its because I live in Philly and I grew up on them!

My neighborhood was full of kids and often households ran out of candy. When one household finished handing out candy only halfway through my friends I was the lucky recipient of an instant packet of cream of wheat. That was disappointing.

Two words: Circus Peanuts.

@scauer - if they were Chick tracts, I'd be pretty excited. otherwise, it would be a big suck.

If you're not giving out fun-size bars, what the heck are you supposed to give? It would cost me a few hundred bucks to give every kid who came by a full size candy bar!

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is this lumping Smarties in with Necco wafers? One is awesome, the other repulsive. The more Smarties, the better, is my halloween motto.

I love fun sized. And yes, that's an appropriate portion for a six year old. I love the variety too, they're easy to swap and easy to have two or three and get a little of everything as an adult. There are far worse things given out at Halloween and to categorize them in quotes as candy, well, please don't come to my house.

Other non-candy items that should have been considered - sugar free candies (the sorbitol ones give kids the runs), change, little Chinese plastic toys, tattoos & stickers and finally - those cheese & peanut butter crackers.

I agreed with most of the items on the list, but I did like getting Laffy Taffy and the fun-size candy when I was a kid. Granted, it was awesome when we knew someone was handing out full-size bars.

Pennies. Old ladies and pennies.

I like candy corn. And Smartees and Necco wafers...and Tootsie rolls and fun sized candy bars.

the worst is the bowl of pennies.

First, i must add sugar free candies to this list. surely that is the greatest of all insults to the spirit of halloween.

Secondly, lay off the fun-sized portions. it really is more fun to get a lot of little candy bars of different sizes, shapes, and flavors, than it is to get a sack full of chocolate ingots. kids like little things. you could give them ketchup packets, i bet they'd even like that.

Also, from a health standpoint (lame, i know), a seven year old doesn't need to eat an entire milky way bar. hell, with the rate of obesity in this country, even adults should stick to the fun size. doesn't milky way make little squares that are one bite big? give that to the kids.

Finally, i'd like to also add licorace and those sugar-coated jelly wedges that looked like slices of lemon, lime, or orange to the list of bad halloween treats.

When I was a Halloweener (50's-60's), we didn't take pumpkins or bags, we took pillowcases. The candy bars had not been whittled down to one bite. Our favorite treats were candy apples - I preferred caramel with nuts, but the hard red candy coated were great, too. They were homemade, not even sold anywhere, as far as I remember. Some of our neighbors made cookies or little cakes. We'd stop home occasionally to dump the heavy goodies (the 3 of us were very territorial and were not anxious to share our booty). The pennies and other change were for UNICEF and we had labeled cans. Nobody ever gave us money, it went into the can. Unwritten rule was that trick or treating was over at 9 p.m. Even though we had pounds and pounds of candy, Mom did regulate how much we could eat and when. My sister had a ton of allergies and her discards went to my parents (who ate one or two and gave away the rest) and we gave her stuff she could eat. I think Mom threw away the majority of our haul by Thanksgiving. It was the thrill of getting the most, not necessarily eating it.

When I was the Mom, it had changed considerably. The local hospital was offering to x-ray the candy. I did make candy apples, but affixed my name and number to each one and only gave to kids I knew. I also bought full sized candy bars. I just couldn't justify the "fun size" - which were bigger then than now. Eventually, children were being bussed to my neighborhood. I didn't know any of them and they'd be ringing the bells at close to midnight. Some were bigger than my husband. I started leaving a large bowl of the fun sized bars on the porch, but had turned off the lights. Where I live now, out in the country in the middle of nowhere, only a few children come to the door, and most are driven here by their parents. I offered full sized candy bars and candy apples that I made myself. I go to a birthday Halloween party now, so I'm never home except for the really early birds.

I agree with most of the list above. I got the biggest laugh out of candy corn being called the fruit cake of Halloween. I agree. Too sweet. Those silly lollipops are barely bigger than a tiny grape. Hardly worth the stick and wrapper. Necco chalk - yuk. I do like the banana taffy as others have mentioned and I could eat tootsie rolls all day long. I got the biggest kick out of the toothbrushes, as I had been a dental assistant and they got them so cheap. 'nuff said on that. I eat raisins today for the potassium, but was not happy to get them in a trick or treat bag. So, I'm with you about 97% Erin. Thanks for the memories. ;-D

Even when full size candy bars were $.50 we still didn't see 'em handed out to us. Now they're over a dollar assuming you aren't buying in bulk.

@eliemalone, perhaps it should all be treated as a gift, but try telling that to an eight year old.

Maybe it's just me, but when you run out of candy you should just shut your door. You shouldn't look at it as an excuse to clean out your pantry.

"What'd you get?"

"A can of Beanie Weenies and a little box of Raisin Bran. You?"

"Seven unshelled hazelnuts and three Kraft Singles."

Score.

I love Necco Wafers and candy corn.

I love the fun-sized candies! I buy extra and stash them in the freezer to nibble at the rest of the year. And I like the candy corn too.

@Perky--we get busloads of kids in our neighborhood, too. And what's with the giant teenagers with grocery bags and no costumes?

Those comments about the Jesus pamphlets made me laugh. That is exactly what my ex-husband is planning on doing this year, and he's making our 5-year-old son stay home with him to help. My child is already pissed. He had his heart set on being Superman this year. :(

We can all just be thankful that they don't make Circus Peanuts in a fun snack size.

I will take the hit for humanity: PLEASE feel free to send me all your Necco Wafers. I always hated the peanut butter kisses, taffy, and yes, Tootsie Rolls.

I love tootsie rolls and laffy taffy. i love them. they go in my favorite pile.

I HATE PEEPS. THEY MAKE PEEPS GHOSTS AND PUMPKINS NOW.

College age is ok, but your costume has to be risque...

Ever tried putting a circus peanut in the microwave? It's awesome! the only thing they're good for.

For all of us who watched Charlie Brown year in and year out, a "rock" must be on the list too.

I knew a girl who dipped Circus Peanuts in MUSTARD.

My older brother always said Bottle Caps were the best and always tried to trade for them... I thought they tasted like crap.

ok smile that is just NASTY! (the mustard - i liked bottle caps)

Why all the hater's on bit o honey yes my sis broke off her tooth in one but yummmmmm so good. and fun size is awesome take 'um off the list :)

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I grew up in an upper middle class retiree neighborhood (my parents hadn't a clue when they bought the house) so there were about 5 kids max in my neighborhood. hurray for whole candybars!!!
They'd usually always give us multiples too.
Too bad my dad always intercepted the snickers and reese's :P

What about those horrible circus peanuts? GROSS!

Though, I was never allowed to trick or treat. Religiously fanatics as parents and all. All my Halloween experience is post moving out.

I totally agree, except on the Smarties.

Getting anything for free was always a nice thing so I can't knock anything really. The thing I have been seeing the last few years here in Bama, are the folks who come to the door with their kids and give me a pamphlet to their church, the kids take the candy while at the same time mom or dad is telling me how their kids don't "celebrate halloween". Instead they call it a "fall festival"... hypocrite ass-clowns. When I was a child, I don't recall a whole lot of emphasis being put on how we should go out and be good little witches or pagans. It was a fun time to go out and get free candy with your parents permission. Leave it to an adult to put a spin on something meant for children for their own political/ religious views.

All of you who just love the fun-sized bars were not around when they didn't exist. Your 30 bars compared to "our" 30 full sized bars? No contest. Like salpico, we weighed our pillowcase haul, and made a couple of stops home to lighten our load. .

My children enjoyed one particular house where they always photographed the kids (and another photo with their parents) and made a fuss over their great costumes. The kids got the photo along with the candy and felt really special. .

I love candy corn, damn it! And Indian corn and Autumn mix.

Fun size candy is awesome, because you can eat more, convincing yourself that it's only a fun-size bar, and get more variety. Yesterday I ate a fun-size Butterfinger, Oh Henry, and Three Musketeers and as much as I adore chocolate, I'd be pretty nauseous if I hat eaten a full size.

Tootsie Rolls: FULL SIZE tootise rolls are good. Tootie lollypops are okay. But the mini kind get stale and raunchy and people seem to never throw them away and I swear I've found some as old as me, in candy dishes and I'm 34.

Uggh I ate a tootsie roll once, (am Irish) it was the worst kind of awful thing I have ever eaten. Just baffling as to what it is supposed to be. It isn't chocolate at all - the closest it has ever been to chocolate is maybe having a dream about it. Seems we have way better 'candy' offerings in Europe, though the most disappointing thing you will get in your Halloween sack are the monkey nuts (peanuts still in the shell). These aren't even in the candy family!

I do envy the wholeheartedness that everyone in America has for Halloween, the costumes and the way people decorate their houses looks amazing. We really do not have that kind of enthusiasm here, which is a shame for a kid.

I buy all the fun size candies to give away, but I buy a lot and then give away handfuls to every kid that comes. The kids in my neighborhood don't have many houses at which to trick-or-treat so I offer as much as I can.

Also, I love tootsie rolls.

@shownote ~ one year, there were two very suspicious guys lurking around and following behind a group of older kids. then some of the homeowners called the police and a couple of neighborhood men started following the men. turned out they were mommies dressed in daddy's clothes and keeping an eye on their tweenaged daughters. everybody thought it was hilarious except their children, who are probably still mortified and horrified. talk about a scary halloween!

IN DEFENSE OF PENNIES! My mom gave out candy and pennies when I was a kid. We lived near a 7-11 which at the time sold lots of penny candies. The point was that the kid would have a bunch of change and could go nuts the next time they went to 7-11 to pick out their own candy. (I was a sucker for the chocolates shaped like little footballs.) A few years later, there were no more penny candies, so it was back to just plain ol' candy.

And Smarties and Necco Wafers should NOT be in the same category. Smarties are AWESOME!

Ok, so please remember that kids get loads of candy for Halloween. Fun size bars can add up to a substantial amount of loot!

When my daughter gets home we put all of it on the table, then we take turns and make out choices as to what our favorites are. At some point we decide we have enough and the rest goes to the office the next day. Remember, some of those people were not home and did not buy treats to hand out, no leftovers, and some don't have kids to snarf their stash, they need that stuff at the office.

I usually throw most of out around Thanksgiving time anyway. It just doesn't get eaten!

Worst Candy Ever: Good & Plenty

I love candy corn, but as a kid in my neighborhood money was better than candy.

As the daughter of a dentist, I have to speak up. You may not believe this (and I expect you won't), but kids LOVED getting the toothbrushes my parents gave out at Hallowe'en. We had several younger ones cry if we ran out before they got to our door. My brother and I of course were completely humiliated that our parents gave out toothbrushes and refuse to believe our friends when they said they liked it, but as we got older we saw the evidence for ourselves. Astounding.

Of course the worst part of being a dentist's kid on Hallowe'en was that we weren't allowed to keep all the candy we got-- only as many pieces as we were years old. I don't think either of us would have wasted one of those precious slots on Necco wafers.

I always liked the money I got. I'm not talking pennies, I'm talking bills like $20s.

I never had a full-sized candy bar, not in any of the variety of neighborhoods I went to over the years.

The worst candy I ever encountered was the bowl of "other kids" candy. I was over at a friends for Halloween, too old to go out, so we were giving out the candy. The mom had 2 bowls: 1 for the "neighborhood kids" (Snickers, etc.), and 1 for the "other kids" (cheap crappy stuff). And by "other kids," of course she meant the more highly-pigmented.

Teach 'em while they're young...

(I didn't comply fwiw)

I would like to give out those gold wrapped buillon cubes.. they look like neat candy, but can you imagine noshing into one??
My nephew gave out canned olives, hush puppy mix and other things from his pantry one year. The kids were not impressed, but they still remember it several years later.

When I grew up in the city, we were not allowed to eat so much as one piece of candy until it had all been "properly" inspected by our parents and x-rayed at the local hospital. We only went trick-or-treating at houses on our street so how "dangerous" could the treats have been?? We live in a farming area these days and kids mainly go to "safe" parties or Harvest Festivals (can't even call it Halloween anymore...boooo!). We have already been warned by the parents association at the local schools that fresh fruit and homemade cookie and cupcakes will be thrown out so don't bother making them. Wow, we really trust our friends these days don't we? On topic, the only "worsts" I disaree with are the fun size candy bars and the toothbrushes. Strange as it sounds, the kids around here actually like the toothbrushes because it is something different, and the small candies mean you get a great assortment.

Mary Janes and those Boston Baked Beans things - UGH!

I got around the parent inspection trap by spending the night at my girlfriend Debbie's downtown where there were apartment complexes and we could go door-to-door and get a great haul.

I haven't had a trick-or-treater in 13 years. But the day before Halloween I go to the store and buy what's left of the shelves... raisins. Sorry, kids.

I remember getting candied cigarettes in the early 80's. How politically incorrect is that today!! Hmmm, Maybe that's why I smoke. Also I happen to like the "New and Improved" , fruitcake of Halloween, caramel apple flavor. They will still make you wanna puke after eating too many. BUT they sure are good...... By The Way-- "Fruitcake of Halloween" is forever added to my phrases I'll use again and again. Lets not forget about wax teeth, and candied jewelry... What FUN...

I once gave out candy and packets of flower seed. One kid was excited to get the seeds and showed his mom. She said "that's nice dear, we can plant them on Uncle Kenny's grave."

My parents gave out raisins one year for Halloween and my friends still make fun of me for it 15+ years later.

For the record, I used to trade with my best friend for all her tootsie rolls and smarties. My absolute favorite used to be the flavored tootsies - a rare and delicious find.

What about root beer barrels, bottle caps? Yummy. Worst candy.....Nerds

How did this strange custom originate? Unfortunately, we have this kind of dross over here in the UK, but I still don't know how it came about. Can anyone enlighten me?

In Canada we call Smarties Rockets, equally as unpleasant. Smarties here are like M&Ms.

anybody heard of "you get what you get and you dont get upset"
jeez you act like this is life or death here!

I love fun sizes...that's the best way to get lots of different candy bars!!

Mounds and Almond Joy have GOT to be put on the list! Giving coconut to a child is pure torture, IMO. Worse than fruitcake! Last year, I took my daughter to a house where the family was leaving to spend the rest of the evening taking their small children trick-or-treating. The man said, "We're leaving. Want the rest of them?" and proceeded to dump a large bowlful of Almond Joys into my daughter's bag. Ewwwwww! Each year, my kids give all of their Almond Joys and Mounds bars to our hairdresser because she's the only person we know who likes them. This year, she's dieting. Do you suppose any of our our local homeless shelters would want them?

The Jesus pamphlets really cracked me up. We live in the Bible belt. One year, someone handed out play money with a picture of Jesus on it. My son was 3 or 4 at the time. When he pulled it out of his candy pile, he said, "Look, God money!"

My husband thinks it's mean to give a kid Cinnamon Red Hots, too (and he likes spicy food!).

Whatever happened to Zots, Marathon Bars, Bubs Daddy? Are Slow Pokes and Sugar Daddys the same thing?

Necco and tootsie rolls are my favorites...

if you lived in a wealthy neighborhood you'd know that the richest homes generally give the worst treats. in fact, sometimes they even post armed guards to keep the kiddies away.

I disagree about a lot of the candy items mentioned here.
I, for one, LOVE the fun-sized (or mini, if you prefer) candies. It's a tiny bit of something insanely tasty, enough to give pleasure without causing tummy pains. When I was a young'un and I went trick-or-treating, one house gave out mini Clark bars. Yum-o-delish! I polished those off first.
I think the chewy peanut butter kisses taste absolutely divine.
Candy corn, I think is plenty of tasty, as are the candy pumpkins made of candy-corn base. Think little dollops of hardened cake-frosting.
As for apples and raisins, those I didn't mind in the least.

However, some items, I do agree about.
Toothbrushes -- a boring reminder
Religious pamphlets -- disappointing and WEIRD to boot.
Packages of "normal" food -- oh, for crying in Manhattan, what kid wants to receive a can of baked beans or a box of oat bran in his little plastic jack-o-lantern.
One time I received cough drops -- and not the Ludens or Pine Bros or Smith Bros or F&Fs, which are tasty and could pass as hard candy (as can the Ricolas). These were nasty little green pellets that were -- and tasted like -- MEDICATION. Like I said, for crying in Manhattan! For crying in Manhattan, Chicago, and San Francisco

Oh well. At least I didn't get a ROCK