The Eve before Halloween is upon us and the air is sweet with all the candy that is in full abundance in all the stores and homes, eager for Tricksters and or Treaters. I have placed a smiling paper skeleton on my door( a welcome note that i have candy) and bought three big bags of candy, for which I have already raided. I took out the all the Almond Joys, a few the M&Ms, and a couple the Snicker Bras, because well my only justification is I bought it.

Got me thinking what are other people’s favorite candies, and what are the most dreaded candies to get from trick or treating? According to Forbes America’s #1 candy is the Snicker Bar. I can see the Snicker Bar being it, because it is one of my go to’s at the vending machine. I also take it out of my son’s trick or treating haul, because he is allergic to peanuts and why waste good candy. However, it is not the only thing he is allergic to. Most of the popular candies in America, he can’t really have.

The most popular candies to get at Halloween are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Twix (left or right), M&Ms, KitKat, Nerds, Butterfingers, Sour Patch Kids, Hershey Bar and Skittles (not by a rainbow, but you can taste the rainbow). My kid can’t even have any of these favorites, because he is not only allergic to peanuts as I mentioned before, he is allergic to chocolate and Red food dye. Check this sight for a list of candies that contain Red Food Dye. 4/10 of America’s favorite candies have peanuts, 7/10 are chocolate, and 4/10 have red food dye. I asked him if he was going trick or treating this year, and he was like “no, what’s the point, I can’t eat the candy!”

I don’t blame his outlook on his candy hauling experience, but that’s how I secretly got the candy I liked. I used to make him the equivalent to an Easter basket full of Halloween candy, the candies that he could eat. Most of the candy was yellow and green, and I used to add chips and cookies. He is a teenager now and he is trying out for his school’s basketball team, so he is watching his calories so no basket making for me. I kind of see why people have extra kids, so you could part take in the festivities longer, but I digress.

One of his favorites are on America’s most hated candy. Among the hated candies are Circus peanuts, Candy Corn, Wax Coke bottles, Necco Wafers, Peanut Butter Kisses, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, Licorice, Good and Plenty and Mary Janes. He likes the Tootsie Roll, which I wondered why he didn’t break out because of the chocolate, but after researching, it only has chocolate flavoring and its neither a caramel or a taffy, it’s a hybrid in a world by itself.

Halloween nights are usually spent sorting candy, and only giving him a tiny pile of edible candy, very disappointing for him. Although it is very disappointing for him, candy sorting for parents with kid’s with allergies is very serious business. Even trick or treating can be dangerous, candy’s that escape their confined packaging can leak onto, in our case ‘good candy’. Zach has a sever peanut allergy, if peanuts touch his skin he breaks out and swells immediately ingesting would be fatal. I have to walk with an Epipen just to be safe.

I try my best to have a variety of candies available for trick or treaters because I know how hard it is for the parents but especially for the children trying to have a good time and balance that with what are people’s favorite candies to get for Halloween. Happy Halloween and Happy and Safe Trick or Treating.

Halloween Candy and Allergies