Write Team: Trick or treat! What is your favorite?

How many times did you hear that last night as you handed out candy to all the ghosts, Spidermen, ninjas and Barbies who rang your doorbell?

Did you have enough treats to last the evening? Figuring out how much candy to buy can be tough to estimate. You don’t want to run out, but you also don’t want too much left over.

Although chocolate does keep well in the freezer if you had enough self control not to overindulge last night.

What types of candy do kids want? I remember when I was young nobody liked those chewy, peanut butter squares wrapped in orange and black wax paper, and I doubt anyone cares much for them now.

Here is this year’s top 10 Halloween candy list, based upon total weight sold. 10. Starburst. 9. KitKat. 8. Candy Corn. 7. Sour Patch Kids. 6. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate. 5. Twizzlers. 4. Tootsie Pops. 3. Regular M&M’s. 2. Peanut M&M’s and 1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Three of these candies are new to the top 10 list: Tootsie Pops, Sour Patch Kids and candy corn.

There are other list sources that include Snickers and Skittles, so go with the list that includes your favorites.

I love candy corn, which seems to fall into the either you love it or you hate it category. It was originally called chicken feed and was difficult to make since each color quickly had to be individually poured. It tastes so good, taking a small bite from each section!

Midwesterners are definitely consistent because Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the No. 1 candy choice in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin. Peanut butter cups taste best when kept in the refrigerator so the chocolate doesn’t melt.

Some old-fashioned candies from our past include Turkish Taffy, Necco Wafers, Chuckles, Lemonheads, candy cigarettes, Charleston Chew, Mallo Cups, those wax bottles with liquid inside and caramel creams.

Ooh, I still like those caramel creams. I also remember a big sucker, similar to a Safe-T-Pop but the candy was rectangular in shape. Those suckers looked huge to me, with their thick, twisted loop handles. While shopping with my grandma in Joliet, I would choose one of those suckers as a special treat. I always picked the root beer flavor, and it was so good. I don’t know who made those suckers, but I sure would like to have one again.

Not that I really need any more candy. Ironically, as I am writing this, I am munching on some Smarties.

Today, parents everywhere are going through their kids’ candy bags while the children are at school, hoping to score some M&M’s or a Butterfinger bar that won’t be missed. (Small sizes are misnamed – a fun bar should be the large size, not the mini size).

Whatever kind you like, I hope you find some enjoyment in a little candy treat today.

And if you don’t find what you’re looking for at home, no worries.

All the unsold bags in stores are now half price.

Karen Roth is a semiretired librarian/educator living in Ottawa. She can be reached at dbarichello@shawmedia.com.