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Running out of candy!??

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2.2K views 16 replies 17 participants last post by  jeremydbrooks  
#1 ·
Our first year handing out candy we had 14 or so TOT's. Since then we have increased by 10 or so every year. We have never run out of candy before but this year we are fairly established in the area and alot of people have mentioned how we are the one house (because of our yard decor) they are going to TOT this Halloween. I'm not sure if we'll have enough candy.

The question is what is the correct protocol if you run out of treats? I would hate to just turn out the lights and hide inside while they knock at the door knowing were in there. It would be like Night Of The Living Dead.

Any Ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Marc V.
 
#2 ·
Be proactive - buy more candy!

Seriously: I always buy too much candy, and then one extra bag of "emergency back-up candy," something cheap and plentiful like kid's play suckers, etc.

This year I have a big box of fruit rollups on standby that my husband bought at Costco, thinking he'd like them in his lunches. (He didn't!)
 
#3 ·
Don't run out of candy! Buy a bunch of filler candy if you hand out the better stuff, bags of mini tootsie rolls 750 per bag, lolly pops. Turning off the lights is the universal sign that you're closed for the night. We some times sit on the steps & tell people sorry we're out of candy before they walk all the way across the yard & up the steps.
 
#7 ·
I always run out of candy. We live on base, so we get an insane number of trick or treaters! It's not just the kids that live on base. Everyone military brings their kids to Trick or treat on base...it's the craziest thing I've ever seen. No matter how much candy we buy, we always run out! It gets pretty expensive, even when getting th cheap stuff! Anyway, it's not a big deal when we run out, because nobody actually comes to your door here....you're expected to sit out in your driveway and hand it out if you're participating.
 
#8 ·
I always buy more candy than I think I need and we still run out

Once we are running low we send someone out to buy more...

If you run out you can always turn off your porch light which is the universal sign for no candy here or put out a sign

Or you can give something else.... my husband gave out money one year while we were waiting for more candy
 
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#10 ·
I buy non-edible items from Oriental Trading or other bulk novelty vendors and keep them at the ready in case I run out of candy. Vampire teeth, paddle balls, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, etc. can all be bought in quantity and stored from year to year. Some parents prefer non-candy items, so I always offer a choice between novelty items and candy. I have had some of the small toys for YEARS. They are usually individually wrapped and I box the unused items up tight and store them in a dry place.

I also look for after-Halloween bargains, like Halloween party favors and small decorations at the Dollar Stores after Halloween. At half price, a set of small skeletons or mini pumpkin 'Frisbees' are often a dollar a dozen. One year I cut apart the small foam skulls on a garland and the TOTer's grabbed them over candy!
 
H
#12 ·
I make my own treat bags and then keep a good 3 pounds extra and we still run out. Last year I made 160 bags, this year I made a little over 200 so maybe we won't run out. But then again they are shutting one of the roads down here so there just might be a few more people than before. I use stickers, pencils, and a cheap toy in the bag like a glow in the dark bounce ball, lip whistle or a double sided Halloween stamp, then I have a few pieces of candy from the mixed bags at Walmart and a ghost lollipop and glow bracelets(this year I got 500 so I am set I know it!). I over bought the mixed candy too so I have way plenty I think hopefully 5 lbs plus the 200 is plenty and then the bracelets! Most of the toys I buy at Oriental trading too. Just go out and buy an extra big bag of mixed candy $8 at Walmart.
 
#13 ·
I make treat bags also. I make 80-120 bags which has candy and a novelty in them. Then I have a cauldron full of individual sweets. We just bought the chocolate Freddos this week but someone was picking them up for me and almost bought 20 bags instead of $20 worth! lol So we have about 180 chocolate Freddos (chocolate frogs) for the bags also smaller individually wrapped lollies, lollipops and various other sweets :D We expect between 70 and 160 people so we wanted to allow for extra people especially since Halloween is much more available in stores this year but we will also have a back up to the cauldron.

angelique_nm
 
#14 ·
I post about 35 fliers around the area for the last couple years the first year I made 140 gift bags with candy and a toy.

Last year I made 240 gift bags that were gone by 8:30 then I hand out small chocolate bars then out come the cheap stuff.

I do have a TRICK that I have used several times and the TOT's have never knew the difference. When I am down to about maybe 30 pieces of candy in the bowl, I will reach in and swish the candy around make a fist and then reach into their bag wiggle my hand a little bit. Like I said they never know that my fist was empty, and it's probably around 9:30-10:00 p.m when their bags have plenty of treats in it already.:p

What do you guys think is that mean or creative, the last thing I want to do is shut everything down because the TOT's showed up so late.:confused:

This year I have made 340 gift bags and I will be going to SAMS to pick my backup candy we will see how long it last.:D
 
#17 ·
We get an insane number of ToTs...I've never counted, but my neighbor did last year and came close to 800. I've run out several times...first two years, we didn't do haunts, so we just turned off the lights (they kept coming until 11PM! a few of them still rang the bell with the lights on!) Now that we do a big haunt, if I run out early I'll do a quick store run, but if it's close to 10 and don't have any visitors for 15 minutes or so, I'll shut it down.

This year I opted for the cheap candy--walmart packs of single lollipops, sweetarts, etc...cheap, but I can't afford expensive chocolate for crowds that big. Hopefully, that will help. Part of their treat is the haunt, IMHO.
 
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