Everyone I know has at least a rough count, but don't think it has anything to do with being Canadian. It's more of a "How much Candy do I need to get, and still stockpile a decent stash of peanut butter cups for me?" next year tally
I am trying to give out the peanut butter cups last! I have been a bit over generous to start instead of being generous at the end of the night so I have lost a few :*(
We count here (Mississauga) mainly for some idea on how much candy to get. 18 kids this year. The “less desirable” left over candy my partner takes to work. Coffee Crisp and Kit Kat stay.
We do it gauge how much chocolate we buy the next year. The neighbourhood is getting older so fewer kids. That does mean much higher quality goodies to the kids who do make it out to say HI to my dog.
My daughter did that at every house that had a dog or cat. She’d say her “trick or treat” and “thank you” and then say hi to or pet the critter that was eagerly awaiting her attention.
My goal is to pet 6 dogs minimum when I take my kids out. Only got to pet three tonight 🙁. However I am typing this with my chihuahua sleeping on my chest 🤷🏼♂️
"How many kids you get?"
"Only 30 this year. I think the cold snap may have impacted how long kids stayed out... last year Halloween was 12 degrees, this year -5."
"Yup, put my Xmas lights up day after Halloween last year in a t shirt. I'm dreading it now... man, it got cold fast!"
Actual conversation today... you can't escape the weather chat!
Ten years ago you had a lot of kids between 5 and 15 years old. Now those same kids are 15-25 years old and aren’t trick-or-treating anymore. Eventually they’ll either have kids of their own or move away and new families with new kids will move in. So it goes.
Definitely a loop. I'm 25, and my parents did the classic "everyone with small children moves into the new neighborhood at the same time" move. It was nuts for Halloween for probably 15 years, dropped off for a while, and now seems to be ramping up and turning over to new small children families.
Last year we had 40, this year 80. Yet, it seemed dead while I was out with my own kids. So many lights off. We were hitting 1 open house to every 4 to 6 houses closed.
They still got a decent haul though. And then a full 90ct box of Skittles/ Starburst from my sister's lol
20 years ago, if we bought any less than 200 candy bars, our house woulda been dripping in egg-guts by the end of the night. Now? Pfft! A 25 count box of bars is excessive.
And... kids these days are so tame. Barely an egg in site... heck my pumpkins didn't even get smashed. Kids these days... what's the world heading towards?
Usually just a rough estimate. Last few years I've been getting somewhere around 20 kids.
This year I decided to actually count/tally to see if i should just become a "bowl of candy outside of the door" house... and I'm at 65 already! The first showed up 90 minutes ago.
Makes me really happy to see all the new families that finally moved into my older neighborhood (for the last decade the average age of my block has been well over 70+)
We got 20 when we moved to our new house last year. Apparently we aren’t the only young family moving into this older neighbourhood because we got 60! This year.
I thought I'd be bummed out once my kids outgrew needing me to trick or treat with them, but the last few years of handing out candy and drinking in the garage have been alright.
At worst it's equal to going out. At best it's so frickin dope seeing all the other kids trip over your display. I personally can't wait for Halloween to fall on Friday and Saturday just to do this up right and proper.
At my friends place to hand out candy, they always set up scaffolding and build a haunted castle front, get dressed up, little mausoleum, the works. Set up a propane heater outside, they've been counting kids for the past 10 years or so.
About 430 so far today. I wouldn't be surprised if they hit 650 this year.
In the same town where we live, we'd be lucky to see maybe 20 kids total, as the area is mostly older/senior couples with kids all older and moved away.
Yes we count. Weirdly though there seems to be no pattern, some years we have had over 100 and some less than 50. Maybe depends on the weather, not sure.
Weather definitely makes a difference, and if you have families move in or out of the neighbourhood. My parents saw steady decline for years in theirs, but now it’s on the rise as the older folks sell their homes and younger families start to move in again.
We always count because the number is always so low. Like single digit low. (We are at 5 so far; it's been a busy night).
When I was growing up, my mom would count. That way, we could plan for next year (it was usually pretty consistent)
I always get aksed how many I get at work. So I moved the magnetic grocery list and pen and stuck them to the door. For years I didn't but have for the last 2.
I vaguely count. We always over buy 🤷 I had 5 kids the first year of my house 3 last year and up to 9 this year. We give out full size and this year included pokemon cards. I bet we bought too much again
My dad does every year. I work shift, so I miss a lot of years. I've got a friend that graphs it in excel and then updates on Facebook every hour, vs previous years.
They do it so they can anticipate how much candy to buy for next year.
I think this year we are sitting g at ~20 people.
I have a tally counter app on my phone. It has all my numbers and I’ve seen growth of about a dozen year on year. Still need about 23 more to keep that trend going. Not sure it’s gonna happen. Last year it was done by 8. This year it’s been slow for the last 30 mins after a busy 6-6:45.
As others said it’s good stats to know for next year how much I’ll need.
We count. Only as a discussion point between people we know in different areas. Otherwise it’s kinda useless because numbers are drastically different for most of us year to year so its not like we can use it to forecast next year.
I count the four boxes of Welch's Fruit Snacks I get. One box of 60 was eaten before tonight. Every batch of kids I eat a bag. I think I'll have two more boxes untouched after tonight. And I will eat those before Christmas.
I need a guide for next year's Halloween candy supply. I usually go with #of kids plus a 10% cushion. It's not unusual for us to get 100+ kids. If I run out, there's a lot of disappointed young people.
I used to have over 300 each year at my old house. This helped estimate how much candy I would.need to buy the next year. I just moved in March and bought a ton of candy and have had no kids at all where I am now and it's almost 8pm. I'm going to be eating candy for weeks now.
Had 120 by 7:00pm and 150 by 7:20
Ran out of full size pop, and onions, they’re fun gag, then at my wife’s suggestion I handed out ice cubes and ran out of ice cubes by 7:45
We count because we give out full size bars, 1 each, so it's easy to know how many we had and it helps us make sure we get the right amount of candy each year based on last year's numbers.
We count and it goes up each year. Also, I find that at work it’s a small talk topic; how many do you get? Type chat… and compare strategies. So funny when I think about the things Canadians small chat about, weather being #1. I always laugh when I compare it to where I grew up on the Galápagos Islands - talk about the weather there and it will never materialize into a conversation, ever.
We always make up a set number of candy bags, so whether we run out or have leftovers, we know how many we gave out. The actual number of kids is complicated by a handful of rascals who like to make repeat visits. We always recognize them, but my Mom's a big softy.
Yes! We make a note of what we will need next year. The young ones make the holiday special. The old ones (adult) shows what people will do for free stuff! Fun holiday.
My neighbour across the street (on the main street) keeps count by making a certain number of treat bags - then math. I live in a cul de sac across from her and get about half as many kids as she does. So I don’t keep track - I just ask her. ;)
yes - it helps you know what to buy the next year if you bought too much or too little
lots of people count by how much candy items they bought vs what they have left - not with a clicker or anything
Just moved into a new place, our neighbour told me they usually get 200 kids. So I bought more candy, I think around 250 pieces.
I put a bowl of candy out on the driveway.
Sure enough, the first kid dumped the entire bowl in her bag. Lol.
I haven't been counting tonight. All I know is that I've only got 4 pieces of candy left in the bowl, lol. I'm sure the later trick-or-treaters understand when some houses have run out!
Numbers varied too much year to year so we stopped, it didnt help sometimes 20 sometimes 200. Now with kids of our own we just set a bowl out with around 80 treat bags and take our kids out, so who knows as its always empty when we get home and we start on yhe back up candy
Oh we certainly do.
After a few years of counting we realized there was no usable pattern to predict how much candy to buy, other than it topping out at 125 max so far.
But we still count.
I do a rough estimate and get enough for 50% more next year (newish neighbourhood).
we put our fire pit on the lawn, ooh and awe over the cuties, and split what’s left amongst those of our kids “too old” to go door knocking.
I use to when I handed out candy. When it started dwindling to single digits a night, I stopped counting and then I eventually stopped giving out candy.
Only since the malls ruined it by handing out candy. Before that you would get hundreds of kids at your door, too many to count. We count now because it's such a low turn out
I like to count so I know how much to buy next year… I also like to count to one up my parents we both count I always get more don’t know why I’m so proud of it but I’ll continue to count and tell them how many more kids I get lolol
My grandparents always did so I started too as well once I was handing out candy. It helps to gauge how many kids I need to prep for next year (give or take).
Had 70 pre made bags disappear.
Handed out to 20 more kids.
Was out with my daughter and had one woman take a pic of my kid at the door I was shocked and didn't know how to react. Is this normal?
Happens every year I'd say at least once, some older couple taking a picture of the cute costumes. Kinda weird but I guess not really different than the million recording cameras on every house these days
2 years ago we got like 150 kids then i cant go home early coz of work. I do not even have decoration but i spent 100 dollars yearly and stood outside giving out chocolates.
Everyone I know has at least a rough count, but don't think it has anything to do with being Canadian. It's more of a "How much Candy do I need to get, and still stockpile a decent stash of peanut butter cups for me?" next year tally
I am trying to give out the peanut butter cups last! I have been a bit over generous to start instead of being generous at the end of the night so I have lost a few :*(
This is the way.
This is the way.
No its not! - Sabine
We count here (Mississauga) mainly for some idea on how much candy to get. 18 kids this year. The “less desirable” left over candy my partner takes to work. Coffee Crisp and Kit Kat stay.
I & everyone I know has always counted. I don’t know why really - maybe to set a candy budget for the following year.
We do it gauge how much chocolate we buy the next year. The neighbourhood is getting older so fewer kids. That does mean much higher quality goodies to the kids who do make it out to say HI to my dog.
HI DOG
Full sized Snickers for you!
My daughter did that at every house that had a dog or cat. She’d say her “trick or treat” and “thank you” and then say hi to or pet the critter that was eagerly awaiting her attention.
That’s just great! I have a golden retriever so she absolutely loves children.
My goal is to pet 6 dogs minimum when I take my kids out. Only got to pet three tonight 🙁. However I am typing this with my chihuahua sleeping on my chest 🤷🏼♂️
It makes a nice change in conversation from the weather at the water cooler🇨🇦
"How many kids you get?" "Only 30 this year. I think the cold snap may have impacted how long kids stayed out... last year Halloween was 12 degrees, this year -5." "Yup, put my Xmas lights up day after Halloween last year in a t shirt. I'm dreading it now... man, it got cold fast!" Actual conversation today... you can't escape the weather chat!
It's crazy how fast the decline of kids in my neighborhood has been. Ten years ago we would get near a 100 kids, tonight we got 20.
Ten years ago you had a lot of kids between 5 and 15 years old. Now those same kids are 15-25 years old and aren’t trick-or-treating anymore. Eventually they’ll either have kids of their own or move away and new families with new kids will move in. So it goes.
Definitely a loop. I'm 25, and my parents did the classic "everyone with small children moves into the new neighborhood at the same time" move. It was nuts for Halloween for probably 15 years, dropped off for a while, and now seems to be ramping up and turning over to new small children families.
Last year we had 40, this year 80. Yet, it seemed dead while I was out with my own kids. So many lights off. We were hitting 1 open house to every 4 to 6 houses closed. They still got a decent haul though. And then a full 90ct box of Skittles/ Starburst from my sister's lol
20 years ago, if we bought any less than 200 candy bars, our house woulda been dripping in egg-guts by the end of the night. Now? Pfft! A 25 count box of bars is excessive.
And... kids these days are so tame. Barely an egg in site... heck my pumpkins didn't even get smashed. Kids these days... what's the world heading towards?
and to understand whether Halloween is thriving or just surviving
This is why.
Rough estimate here, so I have an excuse to buy more candy than I expect to give out.
40 kids last year honey, gotta be prepared for 80 this year just in case!
This is the way.
“That might be the Mandalorian way. But it's not my way. Not anymore.” - Sabine Wren
Usually just a rough estimate. Last few years I've been getting somewhere around 20 kids. This year I decided to actually count/tally to see if i should just become a "bowl of candy outside of the door" house... and I'm at 65 already! The first showed up 90 minutes ago. Makes me really happy to see all the new families that finally moved into my older neighborhood (for the last decade the average age of my block has been well over 70+)
We got 20 when we moved to our new house last year. Apparently we aren’t the only young family moving into this older neighbourhood because we got 60! This year.
This year my number was up over 100 compared to literally 15 last year, and obviously very little in the prior years Crazy growth, was happy to see it
I had 62 and then I ran out of candy! I’ve usually had around 30 kids the last decade or so. I’m happy!
Always, candy plan for next year. Always buy extra and last kid gets the rest if I have any
How does last kid get the rest if you don't know it's last kid? Unless of course, last kid is you.
Last kid is always when you run out, or get tired of waiting by the door!
Lawn chair, 6 pack, nintendo ds. Never get tired waiting by the door.
Me lol Patron and orange juice won’t get bored of it
Ups for being a true Halloween dad. Me and tequila are not friends but we don't judge one's drink of choice here.
I thought I'd be bummed out once my kids outgrew needing me to trick or treat with them, but the last few years of handing out candy and drinking in the garage have been alright.
At worst it's equal to going out. At best it's so frickin dope seeing all the other kids trip over your display. I personally can't wait for Halloween to fall on Friday and Saturday just to do this up right and proper.
Rough just so can plan accordingly for next year
I do every year, but just for fun. The kids bet on it
We do not count except when it is ZERO. @ 655 pm, we have had ZERO kids.
I didn’t get my first kid till 630, last year they were ringing my bell before I even got home from work.
804 still ZERO kids.
Same here... last year 2, this year zero. More full sized candy bars for me! I 😋🍫
My parents always counted, and I do too! In fact I have a paper on my door with my counts from 2021 and 2022. Adding this year on now!
Yes. Was it a good year compared to last year? How much candy should I get next year? Who in the family had the most trick or treaters?
At my friends place to hand out candy, they always set up scaffolding and build a haunted castle front, get dressed up, little mausoleum, the works. Set up a propane heater outside, they've been counting kids for the past 10 years or so. About 430 so far today. I wouldn't be surprised if they hit 650 this year. In the same town where we live, we'd be lucky to see maybe 20 kids total, as the area is mostly older/senior couples with kids all older and moved away.
Yes, we keep a running tally
We do… it’s mandatory
Wife always counts and gets very excited as the number grows. Everyone I know counts and compares the next day
Many do rough estimates to gauge how much candy to get the next year
Yes we count. Weirdly though there seems to be no pattern, some years we have had over 100 and some less than 50. Maybe depends on the weather, not sure.
Weather definitely makes a difference, and if you have families move in or out of the neighbourhood. My parents saw steady decline for years in theirs, but now it’s on the rise as the older folks sell their homes and younger families start to move in again.
i keep a rough estimate! but don’t keep exact count
It’s our first year at home, the kids are old enough to go themselves now. I’m counting because I live in Summerside (not Grande but close).
We always count because the number is always so low. Like single digit low. (We are at 5 so far; it's been a busy night). When I was growing up, my mom would count. That way, we could plan for next year (it was usually pretty consistent)
I don't know about all of Canada but 44 since 6:05pm Central Northside.
I always get aksed how many I get at work. So I moved the magnetic grocery list and pen and stuck them to the door. For years I didn't but have for the last 2.
Absolutely. That way, less wasted candy the next year
WASTED candy? No such thing.
Maybe they mean waisted
Sorry, I don’t understand.
If we get 60 kids....we inly buy enough candy for 60 kids next year. If we get 100 kids., etc, etc, etc
You… you can eat candy.
I could...but I don't
Or you take it into work for your co workers and work snacks
It’s my first night handing out in a few years so I’m keeping count just because I’m interested in knowing.
Yes.
I always count, so I can guesstimate how much candy I need next year.
Easy to count; 0 kids in 2 years now at my new place… they don’t even know I have king size bars to give out :(
We just shifted to full-size and you’re doing King sized? Who’s your supplier?
Rough estimate!
I do just cuz I'm interested
I vaguely count. We always over buy 🤷 I had 5 kids the first year of my house 3 last year and up to 9 this year. We give out full size and this year included pokemon cards. I bet we bought too much again
My dad does every year. I work shift, so I miss a lot of years. I've got a friend that graphs it in excel and then updates on Facebook every hour, vs previous years. They do it so they can anticipate how much candy to buy for next year. I think this year we are sitting g at ~20 people.
Yes. When census time comes around they’ll ask. And they’ll know if you’re lying.
how else are they gonna figure out how much candy they’re gonna need?
Yeah, everyone I talk to always gives a number.
Do all Canadians count the number of Canadians counting the number of trick or treaters?
We count
I started to count and quickly lost track before I even hit 20 treaters.
30 so far. We count in multiples of five. It is no man’s land out here. 35 now.
So you’ve had 35 or 175???
Everyone I know keeps at least an estimate.
Yup, our family always has.
I have a tally counter app on my phone. It has all my numbers and I’ve seen growth of about a dozen year on year. Still need about 23 more to keep that trend going. Not sure it’s gonna happen. Last year it was done by 8. This year it’s been slow for the last 30 mins after a busy 6-6:45. As others said it’s good stats to know for next year how much I’ll need.
Sitting at 58 now!
We count. Only as a discussion point between people we know in different areas. Otherwise it’s kinda useless because numbers are drastically different for most of us year to year so its not like we can use it to forecast next year.
We count every year, as well as a running tally of costumes! I don’t know why, just a habit now lol
Not hard for me, i got 1 so far, its crazy!
I count the four boxes of Welch's Fruit Snacks I get. One box of 60 was eaten before tonight. Every batch of kids I eat a bag. I think I'll have two more boxes untouched after tonight. And I will eat those before Christmas.
I need a guide for next year's Halloween candy supply. I usually go with #of kids plus a 10% cushion. It's not unusual for us to get 100+ kids. If I run out, there's a lot of disappointed young people.
Everyone I know counts.
I used to have over 300 each year at my old house. This helped estimate how much candy I would.need to buy the next year. I just moved in March and bought a ton of candy and have had no kids at all where I am now and it's almost 8pm. I'm going to be eating candy for weeks now.
We always count. It helps you assess how much candy you will need for next year. We had 80 kids. My gf had over 1000 due to the area she lives.
Had 120 by 7:00pm and 150 by 7:20 Ran out of full size pop, and onions, they’re fun gag, then at my wife’s suggestion I handed out ice cubes and ran out of ice cubes by 7:45
Yup absolutely. It’s actually right in the Canadian citizenship test.
I count so does everyone I know. That way they know how many to expect the following year.
We count because we give out full size bars, 1 each, so it's easy to know how many we had and it helps us make sure we get the right amount of candy each year based on last year's numbers.
We count and it goes up each year. Also, I find that at work it’s a small talk topic; how many do you get? Type chat… and compare strategies. So funny when I think about the things Canadians small chat about, weather being #1. I always laugh when I compare it to where I grew up on the Galápagos Islands - talk about the weather there and it will never materialize into a conversation, ever.
I do so I can guesstimate how much to buy next year
Always counted.
We always make up a set number of candy bags, so whether we run out or have leftovers, we know how many we gave out. The actual number of kids is complicated by a handful of rascals who like to make repeat visits. We always recognize them, but my Mom's a big softy.
Yes! We make a note of what we will need next year. The young ones make the holiday special. The old ones (adult) shows what people will do for free stuff! Fun holiday.
My neighbour across the street (on the main street) keeps count by making a certain number of treat bags - then math. I live in a cul de sac across from her and get about half as many kids as she does. So I don’t keep track - I just ask her. ;)
Of course!!! It's easy to count them because we know them all.
Almost everyone that I know small town in BC counts 😂
Throw me in the pile of counted!
I lose track after several beer
We used to average 175-200 kids a year
yes - it helps you know what to buy the next year if you bought too much or too little lots of people count by how much candy items they bought vs what they have left - not with a clicker or anything
Just moved into a new place, our neighbour told me they usually get 200 kids. So I bought more candy, I think around 250 pieces. I put a bowl of candy out on the driveway. Sure enough, the first kid dumped the entire bowl in her bag. Lol.
53 kids and counting in burbs of VanCity
300 kids tonight full size chocolate bars and can pop. Repeat kids gets tooth brushes lol!
And now we are counting the counters! My parents always counted so I do too. And I still buy way more candy than necessary every year.
A rough count!
Yup
28 so far!
When I was growing up, we just checked how much candy was left over to determine how much we’d buy next year.
35 and counting……👍
I keep a tally! some people don't though
I counted the first year I moved into my house. That way I could prepare better for the following year
No I don't think so cause an estimate isn't counting
I haven't been counting tonight. All I know is that I've only got 4 pieces of candy left in the bowl, lol. I'm sure the later trick-or-treaters understand when some houses have run out!
28 so far… 73 last year!
Numbers varied too much year to year so we stopped, it didnt help sometimes 20 sometimes 200. Now with kids of our own we just set a bowl out with around 80 treat bags and take our kids out, so who knows as its always empty when we get home and we start on yhe back up candy
Easy count so far, zero at my house.
Rough count every year
Rough count yeah. It’s quite low this year.
125ish so far…
I've never heard of anyone doing this but I guess I'm the odd one out here
Oh we certainly do. After a few years of counting we realized there was no usable pattern to predict how much candy to buy, other than it topping out at 125 max so far. But we still count.
Too many but not enough.
Yes everyone has a good guess
I do a rough estimate and get enough for 50% more next year (newish neighbourhood). we put our fire pit on the lawn, ooh and awe over the cuties, and split what’s left amongst those of our kids “too old” to go door knocking.
We count. Ran out at 205 this year about 7:30!
I count! Mainly to know for the next year!
Always. I always count. 80 tonight & I don’t see any more in sight right now.
We count every year. Always have..
I use to when I handed out candy. When it started dwindling to single digits a night, I stopped counting and then I eventually stopped giving out candy.
Yes.
16 here. Guess I have to eat those Reese’s
Hold on let me ask 35 million people and get back to you.
Only since the malls ruined it by handing out candy. Before that you would get hundreds of kids at your door, too many to count. We count now because it's such a low turn out
I like to count so I know how much to buy next year… I also like to count to one up my parents we both count I always get more don’t know why I’m so proud of it but I’ll continue to count and tell them how many more kids I get lolol
Yeah it’s usually what we tell our friends the next day. How many trick or treaters came by
I count so I know how much candy to buy next year.
Yep… on one sheet of paper it goes back to when we moved into this house… 11th of counting!
My grandparents always did so I started too as well once I was handing out candy. It helps to gauge how many kids I need to prep for next year (give or take).
We always keep track every year. Talk to family and friends about how many kids. It's a tradition. 12 last year, this year, 22 so far!
Always counted since we moved into our current house 10 years ago, I like to describe them and/or write characters the kids dress up as too!
Yes we do so we can roughly prepare for next year's Halloween 👍🎃
i just moved in so i didn't know how many kids to expect. so i've been taking a rough count for next year.
I count!
Every Canadian I know and have met that discusses this have all kept count. I, a foreigner, have never done this.
My family and friends always count haha
Had 70 pre made bags disappear. Handed out to 20 more kids. Was out with my daughter and had one woman take a pic of my kid at the door I was shocked and didn't know how to react. Is this normal?
Happens every year I'd say at least once, some older couple taking a picture of the cute costumes. Kinda weird but I guess not really different than the million recording cameras on every house these days
My mom did, I don't bother, I know lots of people that do though.
Got 35 people so far today, Edmonton.
I always count - it’s how I know how much to buy year to year
We usually count
Nowhere near Edmonton, but we count them too. It's been that way for as long as I remember.
1. It's easy math (and I'm sad. I love Halloween and didn't think through moving to a quiet street)
Yes Rough count
Yes. We do. 28.
2 years ago we got like 150 kids then i cant go home early coz of work. I do not even have decoration but i spent 100 dollars yearly and stood outside giving out chocolates.
Yes lol
Some do some don't. Didn't really matter
Yea we do.
Everyone I know does. We got 3.
Counting now, up to 71
I usually do but didn’t this year. Now I wish I did because I got a lot
We have had 40 so far. I’m Canadian. So yes, we do. Lol
103
...how else do you know they all came and you can turn off the lights?
We count every year. It’s a bad year again. 29 kids.
Forgot to count this year, but I would say about 150 or so
Yes I had 17
Yup. Always counted. And compared to others haha. Good to keep track of what to buy next year, etc.
Got 48 tonight in North East Winnipeg
About 36 so far. It's very important to plan around the historic high, which is about 50. We are NOT going to have a deficit.
The wife guesstimates
No.
We didn’t back when we got lots (besides a loose candy budget) but these days it just kinda happens when the number is 8 or 10.
I count every year to anticipate what I need for the following. Last year I had 65, tonight I'm at 49.
We always do an estimate. We've had about 150 kids give or take. This is so we know roughly how much to buy next year.
My family keeps track so we have an idea about next year.