What Kind Of Candy Are You Giving Out For Halloween?

This is the time when most of us are preparing for Halloween, and one of the necessary preparations is the purchase of candy to give out to the children ringing your doorbell.

Do you buy the giant bag of cheap candies, or do you try to buy the candy you know kids will like? If you are in the latter group (like me), then the YouGov Poll did a survey of 703 kids between 8 and 14 between September 22nd and October 1st to help you choose.

The chart above shows the 20 favorite candies chosen by the kids. Giving these candies are sure to please most kids. 

Placate The Creatures At Your Door With Union-Made Candy

(This Halloween cartoon is by Mike Luckovich in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)

We're only a few days away from that time when you will likely be inundated by witches, ghosts, goblins, and other tiny nefarious creatures appearing at your door and demanding tribute. The best (and traditional) way to handle this is to ply them with copious amounts of candy -- and I suggest you do that. But not with just any kind of candy. As a good progressive, supply these tiny beings with the best candy -- candy made by union workers.

To help you do this, Daily Kos has provided a list of union-made candy. Here is their list:

5th Avenue
Abba-Zaba Original and Strawberry
Almond Roca
Baby Ruth
Big Hunk
Butterfinger
Cadbury
Jelly Belly Candy Corn
Candy House Buttons
Caramello Bar
Clark Bar
Disney Jelly Beans
Ghirardelli Chocolates
Gimbal’s Fine Candies
Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans
Hersheys Kisses and Hugs
Hersheys Nuggets
Hot Tamales candies
Jawbreakers
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
Kit Kat Bars
Laffy Taffy
LOOK!
Mallo Cups
Mary Jane
Mighty Malts Malted Milk Balls
Mike and Ike
Necco Candy Wafers
Nestle
Pearsons Candy
Red Vines Red Licorice and Black Licorice
Rocky Road Original, Dark, Mint, and S’Mores
Rolo
Russell Stover Candy
Sconza Candy
See
Sip-n-chew
Smarties
Smarties Candy Lipstick
Snaps
Sour Punch
Sunkist Candies
Super Ropes
Sweethearts Mummy Hearts
Thin Mints
Tootsie Rolls
Trolli
U-NO
Zagnut
Zours

Treat The Little Goblins With Union-Made Candy

(The image above is from Sacramento Sidetracks.)

Halloween, my favorite holiday (even if it isn't an official one), is fast approaching -- and you need to prepare to save yourself from the little goblins and witches by stocking up on treats with which to bribe them. And a good progressive, which I assume most of you are, will buy candy that was not only made in this country, but was made by union workers. And fortunately, the website Labor 411 has provided us with a list of good candy made by union workers. Here is their list:

5th Avenue 
Abba-Zaba Original and Strawberry 
Almond Roca 
Baby Ruth 
Big Hunk 
Butterfinger 
Cadbury 
Jelly Belly Candy Corn 
Candy House Buttons 
Caramello Bar 
Clark Bar 
Disney Jelly Beans 
Ghirardelli Chocolates 
Gimbal’s Fine Candies 
Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans 
Hersheys Kisses and Hugs 
Hersheys Nuggets 
Hot Tamales candies 
Jawbreakers 
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans 
Kit Kat Bars 
Laffy Taffy 
LOOK! 
Mallo Cups 
Mary Jane 
Mighty Malts Malted Milk Balls 
Mike and Ike 
Necco Candy Wafers 
Nestle 
Pearsons Candy 
Red Vines Red Licorice and Black Licorice 
Rocky Road Original, Dark, Mint, and S’Mores 
Rolo 
Russell Stover Candy 
Sconza Candy 
See 
Sip-n-chew 
Smarties 
Smarties Candy Lipstick 
Snaps 
Sour Punch 
Sunkist Candies 
Super Ropes 
Sweethearts Mummy Hearts 
Thin Mints 
Tootsie Rolls 
Trolli 
U-NO 
Zagnut 
Zours 

Easter: A Great Week For Candy Makers

There are those who will say this week is all about religion, bunnies, and boiled eggs. But the truth is that the people who benefit the most from Easter are the candy makers and sellers. While it doesn't equal the candy sales of another holiday -- Halloween -- the candy sales for Easter is a solid second. In the week leading up to Easter, about 71 million pounds of chocolate candy will be sold (a full 20 million pounds more than is sold for Valentine's Day).

So what is the favorite chocolate candy in the United States? Here are the top ten according to msnbc.com:

1. SNICKERS
unit sales: 407,409,600
dollar sales: $424,112,200
introduced: 1930

2. M&M's
unit sales: 383,686,900
dollar sales: $417,264,000
introduced: 1941

3. REECE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
unit sales: 347,164,400
dollar sales: $420,451,700
introduced: 1923

4. HERSHEY'S
unit sales: 249,449,600
dollar sales: $261,430,700
introduced: 1900

5. KIT KAT
unit sales: 197,127,200
dollar sales: $209,861,000
introduced: 1935

6. TWIX
unit sales: 161,715,900
dollar sales: $193,999,300
introduced: 1967

7. 3 MUSKETEERS
unit sales: 94,410,500
dollar sales: $101,472,500
introduced: 1932

8. MILKY WAY
unit sales: 80,053,290
dollar sales: $76,982,430
introduced:1923

9. HERSHEY'S COOKIES 'N' CREME
unit sales: 73,445,960
dollar sales: $82,236,820
introduced: 1994

10. ALMOND JOY
unit sales: 60,808,770
dollar sales: $65,632,620
introduced: 1946