Halloween comes around every Oct. 31, and with that comes gobs of candy. There are several kinds of sweets and snacks to collect and consume, which many do here in Oswego.
According to a 42Fifty Insta poll, OH students look forward to a small, spooky treat. However, the variety of responses sparked a sticky question: What candies do students like and expect to see this year for Halloween?
“It’s an interesting concept to talk about: what drives what you buy to give out for trick or treating [and] what you’re expecting to get for trick or treating?” wondered OH science teacher Jamie Piper.
In the survey for candy preferences, over 50 responses were gathered between Oct. 3 and 10, and several varieties of candy options were given. Many common preferences were shared, but a few uncommon choices appeared as well, which may be connected to the usual variety packs candy-givers often buy.
“People buy the big bags that have mixture [to give out], like those chocolate variety ones,” said OH freshman Ryan Maveus.
The three most popular types of sweets were chocolate-based, chewy/gummy-based, and flavor based. Among these, several brands were given and some reigned over their categories by a landslide. The many reasons for preferences were those such as the flavor or texture of the product, and sometimes even just one ingredient.
“The fruitiness of the Skittles, accompanied [by the] bright colors of the rainbow, makes every bite exciting,” said OH senior Alexander Robledo.
Among all selections, 27.78% preferred Twix, making it the most popular of both its style of candy and of all other candies. Reese’s received 16.67% of votes and was preferred more for its peanut butter and chocolate combination, making it the 2nd most popular candy throughout the whole survey. Kit Kats alone received 9.30% votes for favorite choice, making it the third most popular. All others (such as Milky Way, Snickers, Hershey’s, etc.) got a 12.96% portion of votes combined. This makes chocolate treats the preferred choice of a total of 66.71% of respondents.
“[Twix is] my favorite [candy] because I like chocolate and how it has a crunch to it,” said OH senior Brenda Trujillo.
Another popular category of candy regards chewy sweets, both hard and soft, including the harder Skittles, Starburst, flavored Tootsie Rolls, and softer gummy sweets such as gummy worms, Nerds Clusters, and Swedish Fish. Altogether, this category collected 27.78% of results, split into softer chews having 20.37% of votes and tougher chews having 7.41% of votes.
“[I like Skittles because] they are good and small and I can bring them everywhere,” said OH sophomore Vidal Vasquez.
Other smaller selections included lollipops and pretzels, which received 3.70% of favoritism and 1.85%, respectively. Truthfully, though a small percentage of people, it still shows there are still some who favor what others may not.
“[Caramel Apple Tootsie Pops] are my favorite candy to have during the fall season because it is caramel and apple-flavored, which are two popular fall flavors,” said OH senior Jazzy Abella.
This Halloween, it seems more than half of OH students will go trick-or-treating with family or friends, 32.14% plan on giving out candy, and 10.71% do not intend on participating. As to what sweets are expected this year, 68.10% of students look forward to chocolate-focused sweets, especially Twix, Kit Kats, and Reese’s. 25.86% look forward to chewy sweets of either soft or harder nature, with two-thirds of these votes looking forward to gummy candies. The other 6.03% looked forward to mostly lollipops, but some mentioned looking forward to pretzel snacks.
“They do fun Halloween-themed [Reeses],” said OH Junior Alondra Rodriguez.
Though there are many varieties in preference, allergies often restrict what people consider to give out. Peanuts are noted to be the most frequent of all allergies that cause concern, but there is not always a way to know who has an allergy or not, or what type of allergy. For this reason, the practice of getting more than one type of candy or variety bag is done to avoid such limitations.
“I know there’s as many kids without [allergies] than with [[…]] I would say most parents [[…]] or most people who are handing out candy get a variety; I try to make sure I have the chocolatey kind and the fruity kind,” said Piper.
In an attempt to not exclude anyone with allergies, picking out different types of candy to give seems to be the best thing to do. In fact, it could likely lead to better enjoyment of Halloween for all those allergic to candies and normally not given options.
“You should offer choice and not just dump stuff into kids’ bags; let them see what’s in the bucket and let them pick out because if they know they’re allergic to peanuts, they’re not going to grab the peanut items,” said Piper.
Students looking forward to Halloween this year should not be disappointed; there will be plenty of sweets that plenty look forward to feasting on. No matter if your preference is less common than another, there will be a house that will have the treat you yearn for.
I am a 1st year Staff editor for 42Fifty, a senior at Oswego High School. I know plenty that I wish to share with all, but most will remain as is for the meanwhile. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
