It is nice ... our house gets on average about 50 kids a year ... and most of the neighbourhood have figured out we serve a good amount of candy. I talked to some of the kids from years before and I was surprised when they explained that most houses give out one or two small pieces of prepackaged Halloween candy or chocolate. Those are tiny pieces, just big enough for one bite. Last year, one kid told us that we were one of the few houses that served handfuls of candy.

I can never tell how many kids we'll get so I over prepare. It's always prepackaged Halloween candies, chocolates and chips. I learned a few years ago that parents who are with their kids won't accept anything unless it's store bought Halloween candies that are packaged, sealed and labelled. So I'll fill a bin with chips, another bin with chocolates and a third smaller one with various candies, gummies, sour candy, jelly beans. Then at the start of the night, each kid is getting a couple of chips, a handful of chocolates and a handful of candies. And if I like them or they make me laugh .... they get another handful. My wife absolutely hates me and constantly complains that I do too much.

Apparently, most houses just do an honour system and leave a bowl of candies or chocolates out and let kids serve themselves. And kids are so good these days that they'll just take one little candy or chocolate and leave. Last year, I had one little girl with her mom come to the door. I couldn't get there in time so she opened the door, saw my bins full of candies and chocolates and chips and took only one little chocolate. I called them before she went too far and told her to come back .... she giggled and laughed when I told her that I was supposed to give her the candy. She laughed and said 'Trick or Treat', then I filled her bag with several handfuls of everything.

I grew up poor and my family is Indigenous Canadian. We had enough but not so much to be comfortable. My parents didn't fully understand the meaning or history of Halloween ... all they saw was that it was a fun time for kids to dress up and a time when adults freely gave them candy on a fun night. We never had much money back then, but my parents always made sure to have enough candy for everyone and when they did run out, they'd start handing out food, like sandwiches, cookies or muffins ... they always wanted to make sure everyone got something. And it also didn't matter if the 'kid' at the door was a little toddler or a 20 something young man or woman dressed up as a vampire. So, I make sure every year to have a good supply of stuff for everyone that comes to my door.