If you like candy, this is your day – your one day
Boo! Have a fun Halloween!
Memories of being a green-haired witch in Manhattan always bring warm feelings to mind. So do memories of Paws and Yogi, the Halloween greeting committee, when I lived in a suburb of New Jersey. It only seemed fair they got a few extra dog biscuits for their hard work.
For the rest of us, it was candy of all varieties. Last year’s numbers give us an idea of how big the business of candy is. According to Capital One Shopping Research, candy accounted for almost 30 percent of the $12.2 billion spent on Halloween in 2023. We Americans take Halloween seriously – over 169 million created a candy budget for Halloween in 2023 and the average American shelled out over $100 for Halloween supplies ranging from candy to costumes, that same year.
I don’t know your weakness but mine as a kid were Reese’s Cups. I’ve recently seen other entrants to this segment of the candy market, but Reese’s holds delicious memories for me. I remember rustling through my trick-or-treat bucket, hoping to find a few more. I am not alone in liking them. Last year Reese’s Cups came in at number one, followed by M&Ms, Hot Tamales, and Skittles, as the most purchased by weight in pounds, according to Capital One Shopping Research.
Candy is just one element of Halloween, though. There’s the social interaction and the community aspect of it. I had a wonderful neighbor in the suburbs and every Halloween I’d dash out the door, dogs bounding alongside me, their costumes clinging to them and the air. She’d be there, smiling, a bowl of candy in her hands. We’d chat as trick-or-treaters, big and small, rushed up to her front door. Laughing, we’d part, happy for yet another joyous Halloween. There are so many good things to say about Halloween—it hits all the right buttons for tradition and social enjoyment.
But it is one day. And only one.
Refined sugar and corn syrup are the basis of most candy. And most candy isn’t nutritious. It’s based on sugar and while that tastes great, it can spike your blood sugar (and the best is to keep blood sugar nice and even). It also can contribute to cavities and our overall health as we ask our bodies to process a high amount of sugar.
That’s why I say – Halloween is one day – one glorious day to enjoy a treat. The rest of the days – well - they can be in anticipation of this special day of ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, witches, bats, and black cats.
Now since I wouldn’t naturally have a Reese’s peanut butter cup on hand for Halloween, Phil and I went out to find one. I didn’t want to buy a bag of them, even if they were snack size. I just wanted one. We found it at the local CVS, but alas, as I had grown from my childhood, so had the single Reese’s peanut butter cup. It was now a Caramel “Big Cup” – YIKES!
In the store I looked closely at the packaging of the Reese’s Caramel Big Cup. I turned to Phil and said, “it’s too big.”
I began to put it back on the shelf.
Phil, standing beside me, didn’t say anything right away but then quickly blurted out: “Don’t worry – we’ll split it.”
And with some trepidation, I nodded my head OK and gave him the candy to purchase.
And that’s how we ended up with one Reese’s Caramel Big Cup.
We’ll see whether the witches on Halloween put us under a spell and force each of us to eat half of the Reese’s Caramel Big Cup. Phil thought it was possible we’d break down and have it anyway. That’s just part of being bewitched on Halloween.
From my side, no witch’s spell is so mighty that I cannot resist. For this superpower, I have my father to thank. Every family member still chuckles about the razor-thin piece of cake he’d try to cut but we all know he was quite serious about it. Growing up, I was certain everyone else had better food than me because I was stuck eating healthy things, like brown bread, and that was NOT cool in grade school. I’m sure Pop would be proud that I’m following in his footsteps with Halloween candy!
With this kind of family history, candy companies are probably not going to get far with me. I know my candy allowance and it’s quite short and small, if at all. That said, even after all these years, Halloween still makes me nostalgic for the pleasure of a teeny bit of candy and for the pleasure of the day itself.
It never ceases to amaze me how something that can be so small – a piece of candy – can have so much intertwined with it – family, friends, pets, psychological dynamics, cultural roots, and cultural awareness. We can still enjoy all that while balancing out how much candy we consume on Halloween. That’s up to each of us. I look at it as a mindful exercise. Candy is everywhere year-round, especially during Halloween, but I save myself for the big day—to splurge on a taste of childhood with a Reese’s peanut butter cup. It’s my no-guilt taste I look forward to all year!
I hope every one of my awesome subscribers has a fantastic Halloween. Candy is second to the ways that Halloween brings us together to build memories and bond us as people.
In my dearest memories remain Paws and Yogi, who lived very long, wonderful lives. I never failed to dress them up for Halloween even after I married Phil. The three of us descended on Phil in his serene NYC apartment like a tornado touching down in Kansas. Phil didn’t realize the dachshund would take command of the place, with his trusty sidekick shihtzu, and that was especially true on Halloween.
The dogs were still barking when the kids knocked on the apartment door. This time I was giving $1 to each kid. I thought they might buy something outside of all the candy they already had. As for Paws and Yogi, they were happy with their dog biscuits and being in the hubbub of it all.
Ah, the memories. May your Halloween bring you joy and memories well beyond the candy! And I’ll let you know in the Fischer Kitchen Chat if Phil and I split the Reese’s Caramel Big Cup or kept it as a Halloween decoration!
Your story about the Reese’s Caramel Big Cup just “inspired” me to get one, lol. But I’m not sharing with anyone!