As Halloween approaches, parents and kids alike are anticipating the sugar rush. Whether you raid your kids’ buckets after they go to bed or wait for clearance candy on November 1st, most parents have preferred sweets on their minds long before the costumes are first donned.
Kids have their favorites too, and there’s good news for parents: other than the single top-rated Halloween treat, there’s a wide line between the candies that trick-or-treaters love most and the ones their parents prefer. That means that there’s a good chance your kid will happily fork over your favorite while they fill up on their own top choice.
You might have to cut a sharp deal for the Reese’s Cups, though.
Kids’ Favorite Candies
In a survey done by Little Sleepies, kids and adults agree that Reese’s Cups top the list for best Halloween treat. From there, though, the majority of adults polled stick with other chocolates as their next four favs, while kids move on to brighter colors and chewier textures.
For kids, the next two favorites on the list are Sour Patch Kids and Skittles. At number four, they choose the best of both worlds: M&Ms for the chocolate rainbow. Their fifth favorite swings back to a chocolate staple with Kit Kat bars.
Side note: According to Delish, Reese’s are a recurring favorite — they topped the list for Halloween favorites in 1991, 2016, 2021, and 2022. Skittles hit high from 2018-2020, and M&Ms have won the crown in 2008 and 2017.
Over the years, various novelty candies, like Baby Bottle Pops and Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans, have taken top spot, but the classics always hold pretty steady.
Parents Like Pilfering Chocolate Bars
If you want to make sure the parents of your costumed guests also get some joy from their takings, make sure to add chocolate to your shopping list.
The five favorites of parents are Reese’s Cups, Snickers bars, Kit Kat, Twix, and M&Ms.
(So, a little calculation suggests that the average parent could easily sneak the Snickers and Twix bars without their kids getting too upset, and maybe just a few Kit Kats and M&Ms. The Reese’s Cups might be a bit more contentious.)
Not every parent admits to raiding their kid’s treats, though. Just over half (51%) say they go through their kids’ bags to steal candies for themselves. More (61%) are checking for candy that may have been tampered with. (According to Today, experts say there’s only one time that’s actually been confirmed to have happened, but as parents, we often err on the side of caution!)
Other safety issues also play a part. About 1 in 5 parents (22%) check their kids’ candy for choking hazards, and 15% say they’re looking out for allergens. Another 15% examine the take to control portion sizes.
The Quick & The Abandoned
Notably, not all candy makes it to Halloween. About one-third of parents say they’ve bought candy with the intention of handing it out to trick-or-treaters, only to devour it before the big day accidentally.
One in four parents also admits to taking candy from their kids’ bags and hiding it to eat later! About 40% are open with their kids about sharing a treat, calling it a “candy tax” as a form of owed debt for taking them trick-or-treating.
On the other hand, about one-third of parents also say they’ve thrown out their kids’ candy because it sat too long uneaten. So, if you’re aiming for your handouts to land in tummies rather than trash cans, you may want to focus on those top favorites.