Halloween candy meltdown on Reddit... what was YOUR thank-you rate?

Went down a rabbit hole on r/fayetteville last night and found the Halloween candy thread. Somebody spent around $150 on candy, says only two kids said thank you all night, and declared giving out candy is "done." Then the whole thing goes sideways... half the thread is "kids are shy, leave them alone" and the other half is "parents never taught them manners." Then somebody gets called cheap for handing out the little Tootsie Rolls, and somebody else defends the Tootsie Rolls with a straight face. I quit keeping score around page three.

My two cents... I'm on the porch with a bowl from about 5:30 until 8:30 every year. Partly because our rescue, Maggie, loses her mind at the doorbell, and I'd rather sit outside than listen to her announce every single ghost and Spider-Man to the whole street. So I get a front row seat for the thank-you rate. Saturday it was honestly not terrible. Maybe one in three said something, and the little ones mostly mumbled it into their costume, which I count. The ones who got me were the teenagers with a pillowcase and no costume who held the bag open like a drive-through window. But I'm not going to hold a grudge over a four-year-old dressed as a hot dog who was just trying to survive the steps.

The part I can't let go of is the side story about the $50 porch cauldron getting swiped, all caught on a doorbell cam. Who steals a cauldron... on HALLOWEEN... off somebody's porch? Fifty bucks of plastic and the guy makes a getaway. Meanwhile I pull the Chevelle into the garage every Oct. 31 because of the eggs, so I'm already in a mood by dark.

Anyway, two questions. What was your thank-you rate this year, and what are you handing out? (Full-size bars people, I see you, and I'm suspicious.) And please tell me nobody's dog got into the chocolate. Every year somebody ends up at the emergency vet at 11 p.m. with a Lab who ate a whole bowl, wrapper and all. Keep the bowl up high... that's my one real sermon of the week.

Ha, I read that thread too and quit around the Tootsie Roll defense 😂 Washington-Willow gets slammed every year, since everybody walks over from the neighborhoods around us. I'd say we got around half saying thanks, maybe more. The little ones always get a pass from me, a mumbled "thank oo" from inside a dinosaur head totally counts 🦖💛

We did Reese's and Kit Kats, and yes I judge Tootsie Rolls, but quietly 🍫 Spending $150 and expecting a standing ovation is a lot though... the candy's for the kids being kids, not a review of your porch 😅

The cauldron thing is wild!! Hope that guy steps on a Lego every day this week 🎃

And yes to the dog sermon!! Bowl goes on top of the fridge here 🐶🙏

The dinosaur head thank-you is the best thing I've read all week... I count those too. Mine was probably about a third this year, mostly the little ones, and I'd honestly take a shy wave over a thank-you a parent is hissing at them to say.

I'll confess I give an extra Reese's to anybody in a Razorback jersey or a little cheer skirt. No shame... gotta start 'em young. Teenagers with the pillowcase and no costume get the one piece and a "happy Halloween," and if they say it back, well, bonus.

$150 for applause is a lot though... it's candy, not a performance review. Agree with Ethan on that.

Reese's and Kit Kats is the right call. Ours was maybe one in four saying thanks, which I figured was normal for the teenagers.

Car went in the garage by 5 like always. Got egged on a fresh wax job once and never again.

One in four from teenagers is about what I'd expect, honestly... they're doing us a favor by showing up at all, apparently. Reese's and Kit Kats is a respectable bowl. I'll allow it.

Egged on a fresh wax job is a special kind of pain. Of course it's the one year you put the work in. Eggs aren't just messy either, they'll etch the clear coat if they bake on in the sun, so I hope you got to it fast. That's why the Chevelle is in the garage by 4:45 and I don't care who knows it. Maggie gets the whole garage door rattling treatment from the other side and still doesn't understand that the car is the one being protected.

Also noting that nobody has confessed to a chocolate incident yet. Ethan's got the fridge-top method, which gets my approval. Travis, where does your bowl live? I'm not letting this go...