Old-School Halloween Candy People Rarely Give Out Anymore

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When spooky season approaches, candy is on the menu big time. But there's some old-school Halloween candy people seldom hand out these days. That bowl of treats ready to hand out looked very different in years gone by. Back then, a night of trick-or-treating would give you hard-to-find curios, chewy relics from corner shops, and long-lasting sweets that tested your patience and your teeth in equal measure. These are the candies people loved — or loved to grumble about — that now mostly live in memory.

These days, most folks head to the store and pick up whatever giant bag of mini candies they find first. And it just so happens that most retailers stock things like Reese's Pieces, M&M's, and Mars. Great candy that kids are thrilled to eat, sure. But where's the excitement? In the past, part of the fun of picking through your bag of candy at the end of the night was seeing what weird and wonderful treats you'd gotten that you didn't see again until next Halloween.

We're nostalgic for all those vintage Halloween candies from a different era. Some were beloved, some were tolerated, and a few were blatantly terrible, but all of them deserve a place in Halloween history. Maybe next time you pick up sweets for trick-or-treaters, it will convince you to look harder and buy something unexpected.

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If you grew up a few decades ago, you probably encountered a Sugar Daddy on October 31. It's an old-fashioned block of caramel on a stick — the kind of candy that isn't interested in being eaten quickly. Instead, you worked on it slowly until you either gave up or swapped candy with a sibling. It was a regular for trick-or-treaters everywhere, but not anymore.

Why do people rarely hand these out these days? It might be that it's the kind of candy that feels like it can pull teeth right out of your mouth. Cavities are the last of your issues. Perhaps the people giving out candy today remember how sticky and messy they were and want to save parents everywhere the hassle. It could also be that the name feels a bit outdated now.

Whatever the reason, it's not the kind of thing kids regularly get handed to them anymore. If you want to put them back in trick-or-treat rotation, they're not easy to find, which is part of the problem. You can sometimes find them in Dollar Tree or Cracker Barrel stores, but it's unlikely you'll be able to pick them up at Walmart or Target.

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Necco Wafers are one of those candies that people either love for the sheer nostalgic weirdness or remember as a chalky disappointment. Wafers might sound delicious but we're not talking cookies here. These are thin, coin-shaped discs in muted pastel hues that are sweet with a kind of drywall texture.

Each color is a different flavor: wintergreen (whatever that is), licorice, lemon, lime, orange, chocolate, cinnamon, and clove. Not exactly the trendiest of flavors. For decades they were a Halloween staple, but you'll rarely see them turn up in a kid's trick-or-treat haul these days.

They fell out of favour for a few obvious reasons. Texture is the biggest: that dry, crumbly, chalky mouthfeel is a hard sell next to glossy chocolate or chewy gummies. The flavours are unapologetically old-school, meaning not many kids enjoy them. So, they just don't really stand up next to mini chocolate bars. Necco Wafers even disappeared for a couple of years when the company that made them went out of business. But, they were revived by another manufacturer, for better or for worse.

It might seem like we have nothing good to say about them, but Necco Wafers still have some charm. A big part of it is nostalgia. You'll remember Halloween nights gone by and trying to avoid your least-favorite flavors. Plus, some people genuinely enjoy them. But, you're unlikely to find many in a modern trick-or-treat bag, and that's a shame.

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Mary Jane candies feel like a treat your grandma might have kept in a jar in the kitchen: a dense, chewy peanut-butter-and-molasses sweet wrapped in wax paper. They're not glamorous. There's no glossy chocolate or neon packaging. But they have a homespun charm. For kids who liked something that seemed a little old-fashioned, even in the '80s and '90s, these candies were a Halloween favorite. But, it wasn't that simple. For some, these were on their lists of least favorite things to get in their trick-or-treat bag.

So why don't you see them on porches much anymore? The flavour is an acquired taste. Molasses gives them a deep, not-quite-sweet edge that sits far from the bright gummies and milk chocolate minis kids now expect. Their chewiness is another strike against them. They're the kind of sweets that keep dentists in business. Plus, they're just not on trend anymore.

Allergies and caution about nuts in community trick-or-treating is also a factor. Anything peanut-forward is often avoided for safety's sake. Mary Jane candies taste like a recipe kept in a drawer rather than something mass produced in a factory. They have an authenticity that people still look back on fondly, even if this wasn't the thing they were most excited about getting in their Halloween haul at the time.

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If fruit flavored candy was your childhood nightmare, you might not have been happy to find a pack of spree in your trick-or-treat candy stash. However, for many these candies are a nostalgic relic of Halloweens gone by. For those who haven't tried them, they had a hard candy shell with a tangy interior once you made your way through the outside, all in a range of fruity flavors.

The original Spree candies had a slightly crumbly dextrose interior that was significantly tart. Later, Chewy Spree was released, which had the same hard shell but with a chewy, less tart center. Whatever your preference, they don't make it into Halloween treat buckets very often anymore.

Part of this might be simply because they're less widely available. You can sometimes pick them up in drug stores and places like Dollar Tree, but you're unlikely to find them in the supermarket where you do your main shop. They're also just not the kind of thing most kids get excited about these days. So, if you're looking to be the house with the best candy on the block, you're probably going to go out and buy chocolate — maybe even the full-size bars of Halloween legend — rather than sprees. This vintage candy is probably going to stay in the past, but it's still a nostalgic pick for many.

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Chiclets were the neat little rectangles of candy-coated gum that somehow became a popular Halloween treat. There were mini two-packs of this gum that many houses used to give out to trick-or-treaters back in the '70s and '80s. No, they're not quite candy, but they're still something that many kids were happy to get in their haul.

These days, they've vanished from Halloween loot. You might be wondering what happened to Chiclets. While Chiclets are not technically discontinued anymore (the candy-coated gum was for a time), and it is still extremely hard to find this treat, which explains part of why these two-packs are no longer a treat-or-treating staple. You can't just pick up a big bag of at your local grocery store. Aside from that, gum isn't really seen as a treat anymore. And some parents might consider it a choking hazard.

If you miss Chiclets, specialty candy stores and online retro shops sometimes stock small boxes. However, we wouldn't necessarily recommend handing them out to kids at Halloween. Not because it wasn't a fun addition to many buckets of treats, but because gum might not be the most appropriate thing to give out to children these days, particularly little ones.

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Remember Zagnut bars? These once-popular Halloween candies had a peanut butter center coated in toasted coconut. They have that vintage candy-shop vibe — a bit rustic, a little odd — but many trick-or-treaters loved getting the mini versions on their rounds. It's got such iconic Halloween vibes that this candy bar even appeared in "Beetlejuice."

They've mostly disappeared from Halloween bowls today. Part of this may be because they're an acquired taste. Coconut can be divisive and mixing that with peanut butter isn't exactly a mainstream flavor pairing. Plus, many folks avoid giving out treats with peanuts in them due to allergies. They're also not a "brand mini" in the way a Hershey or a Mars product is, which makes retailers less keen to stock them in big bags, ready to give out.

That said, the decline is a pity. This is top tier candy for many. Unusual, sure, but totally delicious. For anyone who remembers them, finding a Zagnut now is a real treat. They're not everywhere and that scarcity makes them seem even more valuable somehow. It doesn't look like you can get mini Zagnut bars anymore, either, which means anyone wanting to give them out would have big and buy full-size versions. It seems like most kids would rather get a full-size Hershey bar or Snickers, so we can see why people rarely hand these old-school treats out on Halloween anymore.

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Those little orange-and-black wrapped peanut butter blobs are an autumnal icon, even if you don't recognize the name Peanut Butter Kisses. They're not to be confused with Hershey's Kisses, but are rather taffy-like candies with peanut butter folded into a molasses-sweet base. They're not a branded candy so much as a variety that's made by several manufacturers. If you did your trick-or-treating a couple of decades ago or more, you'll certainly recognize them.

Candies like these date back to the early 1900s and for many years they turned up in trick-or-treat bags because they were affordable, readily available, and came in seasonally themed wrappers that made them look the part for Halloween. But, these days, they're tricky to find with some people reporting that they haven't been able to find them in any local stores. They're available online and in specialty shops, but many people wouldn't go out of their way to buy them.

There's another reason you won't see them as much: public taste. The molasses-forward, slightly old-fashioned profile divides people on these candies. We listed the best and worst old-school Halloween treats and these were picked among the worst. Yes, they have fans, but they have just as many people who dislike them, which may explain why they're not easier to find. The folks who once hated finding them in their own trick-or-treat hauls are now making the decisions about what candies to buy for the kids in their neighborhoods and these aren't making the cut.

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Bit-O-Honey is a classic, old-school candy that was once popular at Halloween. It's a honey-flavoured taffy with little almond pieces throughout. Each piece comes individually wrapped, making it a perfect choice for the Halloween treat bowl. But, if you've hit the streets trick-or-treating with kids lately you'll know it's no longer a go-to offering.

You might be wondering how Bit-O-Honey is different from Mary Jane candies and we can see your point. Both are chewy taffy sweets with a nutty twist. However, Mary Jane candies are made with peanut butter and molasses. They have a sweet-and-salty flavor and a smooth finish. Bit-O-Honey candies are more straight-up sweet with a honey flavor and tiny chunks of almonds that add texture.

Admittedly, they haven't always been a beloved Halloween candy. Of course, everyone has their own thoughts and feelings on the matter, but some have seen them as inferior to chocolaty treats and gummy sweets. That might be part of why they've fallen out of favor today. Originally made in the 1920s, they haven't been new or exciting for 100 years. So, it makes sense that more modern sweets would take over. But that means kids will never know the joy of slowly chewing their way through a Bit-O-Honey. It's not shiny or exciting, but it's a classic that deserves a spot in Halloween candy memories.

Old-school 5th Avenue bars have a dense, flaky peanut butter core wrapped in a thin coat of milk chocolate. They're similar to Butterfinger, but with a richer, even more peanutty flavor and less in-your-face sweetness. And where some bars use a chocolate-flavor coating that tastes like a memory of chocolate, 5th Avenue wraps its centre in real chocolate, making it a much more delicious choice.

There was a time when 5th Avenue sat comfortably alongside the big seasonal minis and would often make its way into a Halloween haul. It was a sensible, slightly grown-up offering for trick-or-treaters and adults raiding the bowl. Maybe not the most flashy, even then, but a solid candy that had some rabid fans. Lately, though, it seems old-timey. That retro vibe is part of its charm, but it also works against it in a market that prizes the big brands everyone knows.

A practical reason you won't see many of these bars in Halloween hauls now is its size. The 5th Avenue bar hasn't been widely available in "fun-size" packs for years. For most folks, this takes it off the menu for trick-or-treaters. Sure, you could give out full-size bars — and you'd be the stuff of legend for it — but most of us don't have that kind of budget for Halloween candy. This sadly means it's no longer a part of spooky season.

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You don't need to think too hard when wondering whatever happened to candy cigarettes. The bigger question is, what were people thinking in the first place? We've known for a long time that smoking is bad for you, but people were still handing out little cartons of candy cigarettes to trick-or-treaters back in the day.

Of course, it's strange to promote smoking to children. But, to add insult to injury, these sweets weren't even good. They didn't just look like sticks of chalk, they tasted like them, too. You probably remember that dry, mealy texture that no amount of sweetness could totally cover up. Yes, most of us ate them chasing a sugar rush, but that didn't mean we liked them.

It's not a surprise that candy cigarettes are no longer part of the average trick-or-treat candy haul. Oddly, they are still available to purchase, although they're called candy sticks and no longer come in packs that look like cigarette cartons. But, for obvious reasons, candy cigarettes are no longer popular to give out at Halloween.

What is more fitting for Halloween than skeleton candy? Mr. Bones was the perfect spooky treat. It consisted of individual bone-shaped sweets that you could fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to form a skeleton. That said, you may have needed to buy a few packs before you could make the whole thing. It also came with a plastic coffin that you could lay your candy skeleton to rest in.

Macabre, maybe, but totally in keeping with the spirit of Halloween. It might not have been the sort of thing you'd get from every house on the block, but if you were lucky, someone might have been giving out Mr. Bones in your neighborhood.

You won't find it these days, for a simple reason: it was discontinued in the '90s. It was probably popular around Halloween but perhaps didn't sell enough the rest of the year to make it a viable product. The candy itself was on the chalky side and better to play with than it was to eat. But, we still miss the spooky fun that was Mr. Bones.