Just have to have some candy corn around the house for Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving, here. And of course, I need treats to hand out on Hallowe'en.
For the candy corn, I found WinCo has the best prices in our area on candy corn, in their bulk bins, at $1.48 per pound. Compare this to the other budget candy corn venue -- Dollar Tree, at $1 for an 8 oz bag (equals $2 per pound). Dollar Tree is still a pretty good deal, when compared to buying name-brand, bagged candy corn from the grocery store.
Last week, at WinCo, I did buy our candy corn for the season, a little over a pound. We'll use some of it to decorate Jack O Lantern cookies, and some will go on the Thanksgiving table.
As for the trick-or-treats, I have a set budget per treat of 15 cents. We get around 30 trick-or-treaters at our house.
While at WinCo, I deliberated the merits of all kinds of treats, -- juice boxes, bags of chips, fruit snacks and candy. I weighed the pros and cons of many treats. I wanted just the right treat to hand out. I didn't want any kid to feel like I gave out rotten treats. But I also remembered that my own kids would occasionally get something other than candy, and really appreciate the variety. And I didn't want to add to the sugar overload from the huge pile of candy. Nor did I want a bunch of candy left over in my own home. Wow, so much to consider. I spent close to an hour trying to find the one right treat.
I settled on individual bags of pretzels. Pretzels may not be the most impressive treat, but I'm together enough that my ego will stay intact if I don't impress every child in the neighborhood. And the treats that I give out don't need to in some way "fix" the lives of every kid who knocks on my door.
I felt okay about my choice of treat, okay in a good way. Because I don't have to feel super-duper fantastic about every detail of my life. The treat, itself, is just a token. It's the fact that I open the door, and wish the trick-or-treaters a happy evening, and I ooh and ah over their choice of costume, and I make them feel that I have enjoyed this moment of time with them at my doorstep. All of that is what matters to the kids, isn't it? At the very least, I made at least one mom pleased that their child got something other than candy on that night.
And just so you know, WinCo also has a lot of pre-wrapped candy, in the bulk bin section, at awesome prices, if candy is your preferred treat for Hallowe'en.
