Holy smokes! Candy got expensive AF. (TikTok screencap)

  • SlippiHUD@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    I’m a house that buys Full size Candy bars. We average 50 kids in our neighborhood, so generally 1 fundraiser box covers us.

    I still have my 2024 screen shots and as you can see the price went up 31% I know it’s not an exact comparison, but the box I gave away last year appears to have been discontinued. On lower count packs its gone up nearly 45%.

    I was planning on doing Roasted Chestnuts and Apple cider for parents as a fun gag, but now I’m considering doing that exclusively.

  • RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    Candy canes for my house again. They remain cheap. You just have to wait for this stuff to sell and they put out the Christmas stuff.

  • Dohnuthut@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    We stopped giving out candy and instead do chips, juice, gummies, cracker packs, etc. The cost is roughly the same, he kids send to love it, and we don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of leftover candy.

  • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    I always take call on Halloween so my coworkers who have kids can go out and have fun with their family… This bums me out on their behalf.

    Are prices at places like Costco still decent? Or those restaurant supply type stores? Or some mythical product that isn’t candy and won’t be soul-crushing to a kid expecting candy?

    • CallMeAnAI@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      You literally just have to do 5 seconds of planning and not buy from the top manufacturer 3 weeks before Halloween. Everyone is just looking for reasons to bitch with this rage bait.

    • Duckingold@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      I’ve been a full size candy bar house for a while. Buying bulk candy bars spiked in 2021. Boxes usually average about $1.25 per bar, but you can find sales at Costco at $0.60 each if you aren’t picky on exact candies.

      Non-candy options I sprinkle in that are hits are rice krispy treats, bags of microwave popcorn (u popped) and the packaged 2 pack of cookies.

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.social
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    26 days ago

    Jesus fuck. Almost $30 for those big bags?

    I am definitely going to WinCo and getting 5 pounds of peanut butter cups. They’re only ~$2 or 3/pound from the bulk bins!

    They’re not Reese’s but they are just as good.

    • VitoRobles@lemmy.today
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      25 days ago

      Winco is incredible. At first, I was annoyed at them not accepting credit cards. But after seeing the prices, and how credit card companies work, I understand it.

      Things are higher quality/cheaper than Walmart, without the “Walmart tax” of cheating the manufacturer.

    • Aneb@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      The stupid shit tho is five years ago the candy would go on sale the day after and it $4 a bag. The candy is not expensive and the candy is probably somehow circulating from 5 years ago. Is all supply and demand, fucking capitalism.

      • indomara@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        Yeah that’s what’s so shocking about it, these bags would be $5 only a few years ago. And I remember how painfully impoverished large swaths of the country were then.

        I cannot imagine how the average American in the Midwest is surviving at the moment.

        • guldukat@lemmy.world
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          25 days ago

          Wife and I both work, everything is carefully calculated to have us constantly worry about bills and unexpected expenses. If one of us misses 1 day of work there is 1 bill that won’t be paid, which means multiple phone calls from bill collectors. A lot of them are super fast about sending to collections. I no longer fret about my credit score.

    • KoboldCoterie@pawb.social
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      26 days ago

      At this point is cheaper to be the house with full candy bars

      Okay, complete tangent, but…

      When my kid was still Trick-or-Treating age, I was walking around town with him and as it was getting a bit late, we came upon a house with a man sitting out front with a half-full box of full-size candy bars. He gave my kid one, and my kid asked if he could have another. Before I could scold him, the man said “Sure!” and gave him another, then followed up with “You can have the whole box, if you want…”

      My kid was obviously ecstatic, and after a minute of chatting with him, it came out that his wife had told him he had to stay out there til they were all gone, and he wanted to go inside and watch whatever game was on.

      So that’s how my kid ended up having the best Halloween of his life.

    • Rcklsabndn@sh.itjust.works
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      26 days ago

      A lot of people with, ehem, special needs, buy a shit ton of candy for Halloween so that when there are pounds of it left over they can be like, ‘Oh geeze, I guess Someone has to eat all this candy…’

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    26 days ago

    I get about 50 kids in average every year.

    So no matter the price (unless it gets any higher), I’ll spend a couple hundred on candies. I’m not wealthy but I can afford it once a year … I actually prefer spending more on this holiday than for Christmas.

    Plus I loved this holiday when I was a kid. What other time or place do you have an opportunity to see a strangers house and get candy in a safe and public holiday? So I’ve made it a rule in my life that on Halloween when a kid comes to my door, they’re getting a few handfuls of candy. I also don’t care of the kids age … they could be two or twenty (as long as they’re polite and non aggressive) they’re getting candy.

    I once had a group of college kids who were Indian nationality who were just out having fun with some face paint and daring each other to visit houses … I gave them a bunch of candy, told them which houses to go to and made them laugh.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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        26 days ago

        I’m not American … I’m in Canada in northern Ontario … we don’t have kids so I have a bit of extra cash, plus I grew up poor so I know what this holiday means to many kids, especially in my area where families don’t have a lot, especially these days.

      • mienshao@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        Am american and I have never ever heard of someone spending “hundreds” of dollars on halloween candy. 99.9% of americans are not doing that.

        • The_v@lemmy.world
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          26 days ago

          Come to my neighborhood.

          The average resident makes double what the average household income is in the region. It’s essentially the wealthiest neighborhood in the region without gates to keep the poors out. The houses are not too far apart for kids to walk either. So most of the community brings their kids to walk around this neighborhood. I get 400-500 trick or treaters on average.

          As my wife and I both grew up well below the poverty line we are very generous with the candy.

          • frunch@lemmy.world
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            26 days ago

            How do you manage to exist without spending money? How are you online? Do you live at a library or something?

            • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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              26 days ago

              You can cut back heavily without cutting everything. Doing my part to kill capitalism. Currently playing my part against all branded food/drink products and fabric softener.

          • Mac@mander.xyz
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            26 days ago

            I’ve seen you in multiple posts now being an utter shitbag. What the fuck is your problem?

          • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
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            26 days ago

            In Spain there’s a tradition to give out candy during The Wise Men parade. The town hall buys the candy, not the parents (socialism!), and they are mostly the cheapest ones because it’s just for fun.

            You can give out candy without turning it into competition and forcing everyone to spend money.

              • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
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                26 days ago

                I only know it from pop culture and online comments but in TV shows everyone wants to be the “house that gives out good candy” and people often brag about investing in better candy. So I don’t know, maybe most people don’t care but the concept of a competition is definitely out there.

            • Zier@fedia.io
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              26 days ago

              Unfortunately Americans are brainwashed to spend money on everything their whole lives. You’re a horrible ‘American’ if you don’t keep the ‘economy’ going (AKA making rich people richer). And everything in America is a stupid competition. Thankfully, not all Americans participate in the brainwashing.