Trick or Treat! Gimme something good to eat!

Hershey's was the first to specifically market candy for Halloween.

In the 1920s, Hershey's began promoting their milk chocolate bars as a treat for trick-or-treaters. They introduced seasonal packaging and advertising campaigns focused on Halloween.

Other candy manufacturers soon followed:

1. Mars (1930s): Introduced Snickers and Milky Way bars with Halloween-themed packaging.

2. Candy Corn (1900s): Produced by Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly), but gained popularity during Halloween in the 1950s.

3. Reese's (1950s): Introduced Peanut Butter Cups with Halloween packaging.

Hershey's innovations:

1. Introduced Halloween-themed candy wrappers (1920s)

2. Created "Fun Size" candy bars (1960s)

3. Developed seasonal marketing campaigns

Hershey's pioneering efforts cemented Halloween candy's place in American culture.

Here are the most popular Halloween candies:

Top 10:

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

2. M&M's

3. Snickers bars

4. Kit Kat bars

5. Twix bars

6. Candy corn

7. Skittles

8. Starburst

9. Jolly Ranchers

10. Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars

Kids' Favorites:

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

2. M&M's

3. Sour Patch Kids

4. Skittles

5. Starburst

Adults' Favorites:

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

2. M&M's

3. Snickers bars

4. Kit Kat bars

5. Twix bars

Regional Favorites:

1. Northeast: Candy corn, M&M's

2. South: Peanut butter candies (Reese's, peanut butter M&M's)

3. Midwest: Sour candies (Warheads, Sour Patch Kids)

4. West Coast: Chocolate bars (Snickers, Twix)

Non-Chocolate Treats:

1. Candy corn

2. Gummy worms

3. Sour Patch Kids

4. Fruit snacks (e.g., fruit roll-ups)

5. Caramel apples

I remember going trick or treating as a kid. A warm October evening, heading out with my little sister and brothers to get our candy. We would start out on 21st avenue at 6:00 on the dot. 5 blocks up to the main road (that we never crossed because it was a busy street) - then back down the other side. Drop off our loot at home, then do the same thing up 22nd and then 23rd. 10-12 houses per block, 30 blocks, that's maybe 300 stops!

Oh sure, there were a few people who didn't turn on their porch lights, but most did back then. And none of that x-ray your candy stuff back then, that came after I passed trick or treating age. Mostly you got candy, sometimes the older ladies gave you bags of cookies or popcorn balls they made. and every once in awhile somebody gave you nickles or dimes!

I always liked getting the chocolate bars, Hershey bars or Mallo-Cups. Smarties were bad, or those Necco wafers that taste like chalk! Wax lips were cool, Nik-L-Nip wax soda bottles full of syrup...Candy dots on long strips of paper...peanut butter cups...and candy corn! I know that last one is controversial, but I love it!

I miss the days of "Halloweening" when times were more innocent. Cheap plastic costumes of cartoon heroes and the days before looking forward to it. Less scary and more fun!