Tips And Tricks
- Start early, finish late. When you hit up the good stops when the toddlers are going by from 6-7, you can pick the quality candy. They are more likely to have more child-friendly treats, which forces them into only certain treats like chips or no treats at all, leaving the small, hard, or chocolate-bar candies (e.g. Skittles, Mars bar, Werther's Original)
More soon!

Halloween Strategy: Sleepover for 2014
Candy Bag Tips
1) Size. This thing better be a custom Halloween bag or bigger. Don't use a bucket, wheelbarrow, etc. or they'll think you're greedy and give you less candy. But, a wheelbarrow or wagon is great for overflowing bags of candy to sit in between doors.
2) Durability. Pillowcases and special candy bags (if, like me, my dad won't let me use a pillowcase) are good, but giant plastic bags look greedy and rip badly. A small 10 quart pail holds approximately 9.5 pounds. That's far less than this guide will get you. A full-sized round paper grocery sack held 885 pieces, or a whopping 25 pounds. It's weak, though. A pillowcase, the main event, held a giant aspiration for all trick-or-treaters, a massive stash of 1690 pieces, a candy feast! And that's before you even start shaking the pillowcase to lower the candy level to fit more! It weighs an amazing-wait for it-47.75 pounds! Get out all of your soccer mom's old dumbbells until you hit about 47-48 pounds. Lift the bag and practice running around. Does the bag rip or fray? Do you tire out? Get a more durable bag and maybe a cart to carry it on. Assuming a 50% success rate and 2.5 pieces of candy per house, you would have to visit about 1352 houses to fill a pillowcase or 540 houses to fill a 5 gallon bucket. That's easily 2-3 hours. I suggest bringing snacks in your candy bag carry cart/s (if you're going with a friend or two which you probably are for a sleepover, you'll need a few) that isn't sugary, something like an apple or a juice box, to keep you alert and not starved, but leave some room for the sugar high.
3) Costume Appropriateness. If you're going as a zombie, but don't want to rip up a perfectly good pillowcase, take one and smudge it with dirt or maybe use the one with blood on it from a nighttime nosebleed. Witches should use a solid-colour black, dark blue or dark purple one. Possibly a grey one wrapped in gauze for a nice mummy, or a white one for a skeleton. If all else fails, use a Halloween fabric sack.

Trick-Or-Treat Game Plan:
Eat some nachos, put on mouth makeup, and grab your candy bag. (Asterisks * will be used to denote parts that pillowcase users need not worry about unless they really want to). It's time to hit the streets! Strap your fists to your back and go out for candy! If you stay in character, don't worry about the bag. Just take the candy, maybe say thanks, and run to the next driveway. *Your bag should have two handles. If you use these, they might dig into your hands. Try slinging it over your back as you run.* When you meet face-to-face with a candy bowl, stuff its contents evenly between the group's bags, leaving the terrible candies behind if you want to. Try to shake the candy down so it falls between the cracks. It'll land in the bottom. If needed, stop to pack the candy together a bit. Stretch the bag to bursting! Start at 7-7:30 on an empty-ish street but one with lots of good houses. Raid the take one bowls and get the good candy while the getting's good!
From 7:30 to 8:00, eat some snacks. *If your bag is full, see how much more you could fit. Maybe empty it out at the house!* Then, right after you finish whatever you were eating go to the good streets: full but not too full. If it's empty, some people might not keep handing out candy with no kids to take it, and start eating their own bounty. If it's too full, the people start with the rationing “one for you, one for you” instinct. But, when a few enthusiastic children bound up the door every minute or so, they will replicate those feelings and dish out the goods.
Now, until about 9 repeat this procedure, but take a few stops to fiddle with the candy in your bag to fit even more. This is the 8:00-9:00 Fill Up. hen you hit 9, you've reached the 9:00-9:30 Clean Up. Zigzag along the streets to collect leftovers and desiccate Take One bowls.
Double back to whatever house you're staying at and trade candy, then enjoy the sugar rush before you crash. A sickish candy hangover will follow, but it's WORTH IT.

goldfish678 wrote:

Wait a second, it's normal to literally eat all your candy right after you're done trick-or-treating?

goldfish678 wrote:

Wait a second, it's normal to literally eat all your candy right after you're done trick-or-treating?

pearlymoorehen wrote:

I'm going as miku, come look at This for the hair accessories, it was quite helpful!
people will have NO CLUE what my cosplay is though XD

mario91100 wrote:

Tip; Make your own costume! The more originality, the more candy. Your going to get a bigger haul by being creative. Try avoiding costumes of typical video-game characters, such as Mario, or typical ghouls, such as a witch or zombie.

eveadelekitty wrote:

Tip: Don't go for the rich people. Rich people got rich from being cheap and their massive yards may just slow you down.
Go for the new, tightly-packed neighbourhoods with the all-important families with kids.

Tresdin wrote:

eveadelekitty wrote:

Tip: Don't go for the rich people. Rich people got rich from being cheap and their massive yards may just slow you down.
Go for the new, tightly-packed neighbourhoods with the all-important families with kids.

Rich people got rich from working very hard. A lot of the wealthy families I've worked for in big neighborhoods with massive yards have handed out huge goodie bags, as they don't get many trick or treaters and want those they do get to get a lot. This is just not good advice you're giving. While a big, tightly-packed neighborhood is still more efficient, it isn't because rich people are cheap.

Mewly wrote:

I don't plan on going trick and treating this year because of school (and peer pressure).

However, I'd gladly cosplay.