I was mildly horrified last week when I rang the doorbell of a lavishly decorated house and, expecting handfuls of delicious candy, was presented with a bag of pretzels. The bald man quickly tossed me two more bags, laughing, and though this occurred most likely because I was dressed as a giant pretzel, I was not amused.

Every Halloween rewards trick-or-treaters with a bulging bag of candy, full of Twix, Snickers, Milky Ways, and Kit Kats. However, each person is always left with that small pile of strange food that leaves her wondering what exactly would possess someone to think that that was a normal thing to hand out.
Maybe it would aid those adults who are confused about what qualifies as proper Halloween candy to list a few of the items that hungry trick-or-treaters will not greet with enthusiasm. Do not hand out any of the following:

-Airplane candies. Honestly, who would be happy to have that in her bag? No one enjoys the taste of small, stale mints, and if you’re traveling enough to acquire that many candies you probably have the money to buy normal candy.

-Fruit leathers. My grandma hands these out. I think people have learned to avoid her house.

-Pretzels. People expect sweet things for Halloween; the dryness and saltiness just don’t cut it. If you can’t bring yourself to have a Halloween without pretzels, stick to Pretzel M&Ms.

-Crayons. I was filled with overwhelming sadness when I received these once for a best costume award. A good rule of thumb is to stick to treats that are edible. Otherwise everyone will dress as a boring cat, for fear of winning the unwanted prize.

If you are still doubtful as to what exactly to give out, or the stress of Halloween is too much for you, simply buy a jumbo bag of candy from CVS and dump it in front of your door. It may not be very original, but it will provide you with content trick-or-treaters, which, on Halloween, is all that really matters.