Halloween Candy Calculator
Estimate your trick-or-treater count, set pieces per kid and your bag size. The calculator adds the rush-hour buffer, totals bags and cost, and shows the half-show floor for the rain scenario.
Party stores want you to over-buy; neighbors under-buy and run dark by 7:15. This one prices the 25% rush buffer explicitly - the difference between a legendary house and a porch light off early.
How to use
- Use last year's count or ask the neighbours who have done a decade of Halloweens.
- Two pieces per visitor is the standard; check your bag's piece count - fun-size bags range 40-90.
- Buy the figure and keep the receipt unopened bags can go back on November 1st sales.
Frequently asked questions
How many pieces of candy per trick-or-treater?
Two is the unspoken standard: generous without setting the new street record. One is remembered for years, and not the way hosts hope; full-size bars buy neighbourhood fame at roughly triple the cost per kid.
What if I run out of candy?
Lights off means the evening is over - trick-or-treaters read the porch, not the doorbell. The half-show figure is the honest floor for bad weather; if you do run dark early, a sign and the leftover decoration budget beat an empty bowl.
How do I handle allergies on Halloween?
A separate bowl of non-candy options - stickers, glow sticks, pencils - and the teal pumpkin that signals it. Allergy kids travel the longest distances for houses that stock them, and word travels through school gates fast.
What do I do with leftover candy?
Chocolate freezes perfectly for months - December baking and the advent calendar are covered. Opened mixed bags do not keep well past a few weeks; unopened bags return on the sales cycle if kept for receipts.