A Halloween alternative to candy

[Pab Sungenis]

Over the past five years we've become the "cool" house in our neighborhood. Why? Because we don't give candy.

We give comic books.

Every year, a number of publishers put out special Halloween mini-comics from their lines. They sell packs of 20 for $5.00 each, and most comic stores offer discounts for advance orders. This year we got 400 books for $80.00, about what we would have paid for candy for a similar crowd.

Comic books encourage reading, can be traded from one sibling to another, and last a lot longer than a little bite-size candy bar.

So if you're concerned about giving candy to kids on Halloween, find a comic shop near you and look into the better alternative.

[MineralMan]

1. Cool idea! I like it.

They can read while they pig out on all that candy. Great job!

[HappyMe]

2. That is a good idea.

[In_The_Wind]

3. I like that idea.

[hlthe2b]

4. nice idea...

Probably beats my sugar free bubble gum and mini packages of raisins.

[bobclark86]

23. Oh, you're THAT house...

Yeah, I think rulers and pencils are better than that stuff...

[PoliticAverse]

26. At least go with chocolate covered raisins... n/t

[JaneyVee]

28. At least you're not the toothbrush and pennies house.

[kiawah]

5. There's a house just asking to get egged....

Not quite as bad as dental floss or pennies - but close...

[Pab Sungenis]

7. Done it for five years

and not had one complaint from kid nor parent.

[Aristus]

10. Wow. Really?

This house offers a festive gift, and that's sufficient grounds for egging?

I was thinking it sure beats the hell out of finger-wagging "You're too obese to be eating candy, youngster!" letters...

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

14. Comic books will get you egged?

I call bullshit on that.

[Bradical79]

30. Loved getting comics as a kid.

It's been a long time, but the lady giving comic books was one of the more popular houses when I was a kid.

[Codeine]

44. My kids would be thrilled.

They're both avid comic book fans. Free Comic Book Day is an event in our family, and every other Wednesday we go to the comic shop and get our new books then stuff ourselves at Chipotle. We even had a family day at ComicCon this year.

I love this idea and I'm totally stealing it next year.

[Pab Sungenis]

51. They're in the July Previews

usually. Your shop can help order them.

[surrealAmerican]

6. That's a good idea.

You get 400 kids showing up - that's impressive.

[Pab Sungenis]

8. We had 300 last year

and ran out with an hour to go.

[KittyWampus]

20. do you decorate outside? I'd love to see a pix…

[Pab Sungenis]

52. No, we don't.

our one neighbor does. I'll see if I can get a photo.

[ZRT2209]

9. K&R

[TlalocW]

11. What about Chick Tracts?

TlalocW

[frylock]

12. those are scary enough to give out on halloween!

[Mariana]

13. My daughter LOVES to read Chick Tracts.

When we lived in Texas, she got them a couple of times at Halloween. It made her night. She collected them and traded candy to the other kids for their different ones. Even when she was very little, she recognized them as comedy gold.

[Jenoch]

15. We don't get many kids coming to our house anymore.

However, if we did have a lot of kids around the neighborhood, I recently read of a great Halloween idea. I read where some people rent one of those movie theater style popcorn machines and make popcorn in the driveway and give out sacks of hot popcorn. It sounds festive to me.

[frazzled]

16. In the 70s, we tried giving out cool pencils and erasers

That was during the time the razor-blades-in-apples/candy scare was floating around, so we thought we were being progressive and cool to give something non-candy. Whoa, you should've seen the looks on these kids' faces. We were lucky we didn't get soaped/egged. We gave out candy every year after that.

Now we live in a condo building and don't get trick or treaters at all. I miss them.

I'll never forget trick or treating when we were kids in the late 50s or early 60s. There was a big house a block or two away from us that always invited kids inside for hot cocoa and donuts laid out on their dining room table. Perfect strangers (we didn't know them and they didn't know us). Wish people could still do that kind of thing!

[Pretzel_Warrior]

17. come on, man. at least tape one Reeses mini cup to the thing!

Kids want candy on Halloween. I'm sure some will really like the comic book too. What do you give the little preschoolers who don't even know how to read yet?

[cynatnite]

19. Totally agree...

I appreciate the sentiment behind this, but kids want candy.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

24. But they're going to get candy at 30 other houses

Quite frankly, one house giving something different is a nice surprise.

[cynatnite]

27. So what's wrong with being house #31?

It's one night a year. Kids dress up and go trick & treating. Give 'em candy.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

29. So what's wrong with being a bit different?

It's still a gift that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

If a handful of kids think that comic book is the one thing that stands out as cool over hundreds of pieces of sugar, that's worth something.

[cynatnite]

34. If folks are so anti-sugar one day out of the year, sugar free candy works, too...

Also, cool is in the eye of the beholder....in this case...it depends if you're old enough to read or if you care about that sort of thing.

There are multitudes of other options that isn't over-the-top sugar candy. One of my aunts always gave out those little boxes of raisins to kids.

Either way, it's one day a year. Kids want the candy.

It was always the one day a year I let my kids go crazy for the candy they got. It was a blast for us to sort through it and make grabs for our favorite ones.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

37. I'm not an anti-sugar freak at all

I most likely will hand out candy because it easier to buy a few bags of that than go hunt down some comic books at this late moment. I just have no illusions that my candy is going to be appreciated as they jam it in their mouth and sugar freak out.

I would think that as has been mentioned here, handing out raisins annoys kids. More than a comic book.

[cynatnite]

38. Well, I did tell my aunt that chocolate covered raisins were better. :) n/t

[Luminous Animal]

45. I think it is a great thing. My daughter always loved the little toys/comics/fun erasers/stickers on

Hallowe'en. We never let her get much candy anyway (and would end throwing a lot of it out) and she really enjoyed revisiting the houses that gave away trinkets the following years.

Keep it up!

[FrodosPet]

54. If they are like my niece

Then they will go to "Cute Factor 8" and ask a grownup to read it to them.

Which, in my house, is an easy sell.

[Luminous Animal]

55. Do you have kids?

[johnnyrak88]

18. cool idea! nt

[Wolf Frankula]

21. Do What The Coneheads did

Give out beer and potato chips.

Wolf

[Revanchist]

40. It was fried eggs and beer

Which make's it even more surreal, I can see giving out snack pack bags of potato chips, but fried eggs?

[Wolf Frankula]

41. Correction Accepted

It was beer and eggs. Mr. Frankula regrets the error.

Wolf

[Egnever]

22. I am sure some love it

My kids would not be pleased. They have been looking forward to Halloween for a month now and not once have they said anything close to "I just can't wait to get comic books when I trick or treat."

[BainsBane]

25. I don't know

Comic books are full of misandry. I don't think I can support that.
Take for example the Hulk. He's green and rocky. That's clearly a conspiracy to denigrate all men as over-sized and off-color.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

31. Stop being so ignorant.

The Thing is made of rocks, not the Hulk.

[BainsBane]

43. Sadly, my education is not complete

I stand corrected.

[Vashta Nerada]

32. I like this as long as the comics aren't Chick Tracts.

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. Love it, no kiddies around though

[NYC_SKP]

36. I am recommending a Pab Sungenis post.

Without snarky comments!

[liberal_at_heart]

39. what is so wrong about giving candy one night out of the year?

I think it is really sad how Halloween has been so villainized. Over the years I see fewer and fewer houses decorated for Halloween and yet every house on the block is decorated for Christmas. We need a Halloween Renaissance.

[Pab Sungenis]

42. A couple of reasons.

(1) the kids get enough candy at the other houses.

(2) literacy is my pet cause.

(3) the books last longer.

[Luminous Animal]

56. There are no rules that it has to be candy. The line is Trick or Treat...

and treats can be small trinkets or toys or (where I grew up) a cup of warm apple cider to send you on your way through the cold Michigan evening. The nuns handed out Saints cards which I loved.

My daughter's candy bucket was one of those small plastic pumpkins and when it was full, we went home and she had a blast. At age 23, she still has her Jack Skellington pencil that she got when she was around 7 or 8. Even with her small amount of candy we ended up throwing away half because we just didn't allow her to eat that much candy.

She had two houses that she looked forward every year and those were the people who gave out trinkets.

[Codeine]

46. I really love this idea and I'm totally doing it next year.

I'm sure my local shop would order me some.

[Pab Sungenis]

48. They can be ordered in July.

Call 1-800-COMIC-BOOK to find a store near you. They can help you through the process.

[The Straight Story]

47. I give out cigarettes, toy guns, olive garden gift certs, and pit bull puppies

and dress up with a baby doll that I am pretend breastfeeding while eating corn flake coated chicken and drinking bud light (all while wearing a hat with a confederate flag on it).

[Brigid]

49. How about beer and chips?

Last edited Wed Oct 30, 2013, 10:26 PM - Edit history (1)

[Liberal_in_LA]

50. cool idea

[riderinthestorm]

53. Great idea! I'm rural so no kids here but if I weren't your idea us great! nt