Features / Living
Monica Green: Trick-or-treating
On Saturday children will wander the streets knocking on doors and asking for candy.
I will be taking my fiance’s daughter and several of her friends from church trick-or-treating this year.
It’s an activity children have participated in on Halloween for years. But are children the only ones who enjoy it?
According to the National Confectioners Association’s 2009 Halloween survey, four in 10 adults admit they purposely keep treats instead of giving all the loot away to revelers.
So children aren’t the only ones who enjoy savory treats? One third of adults admit they will pocket at least a handful of goodies for themselves.
The most popular treat, of course, is my personal favorite: chocolate. Fifty-two percent say that will be the first treat to be placed in their candy bowls.
Following close behind are hard candy and lollipops, gummy candies and gum.
Adults will also dress up to pass out the candy. Forty-three percent said costumes were one of their must-haves for the holiday.
The NCA also offered several tips for storing Halloween candy because, really, who eats all the candy they get in one night?
The organization said dark chocolate can be stored for up to two years if wrapped in foil and stored in a cool, dark and dry place.
Too bad there’s not any chance that any chocolate in my house will last that long anyway.
Milk and white chocolate have a more limited storage time — no more than eight to 10 months.
Hard candies can last up to a year when stored at room temperature in a cool, dry location.
Soft candies can be stored for six to nine months if covered and kept away from heat and light at room temperature.
In case you were wondering, that candy that you found in your child’s bucket from last year is still good, as long as it’s dark chocolate.
For more information on candy, Halloween history and celebration ideas, visit NCA’s Web site at www.candyusa.com.
As for me, I’ll leave the passing out candy to my fiance, and I’ll take the kids trick-or-treating. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll join that percentage of adults who dress up for the occasion.
Of course I could do what I did last year. I was a fisherman and just pulled things from closet to assemble the costume. It was a cheap and easy costume that looked great.
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