It was a very busy Halloween evening this past week as I once again had the honor of taking my kids trick-or-treating. I noticed a handful of trends I thought worth mentioning…

The Crowds – Everyone I spoke to reported record numbers of trick-or-treaters roaming their streets. I think we can chalk this up to a Halloween that luckily (for parents and children) fell on a Friday night. This trend was unmistakable at my parents’ house. With Sloan helping her grandma distribute candy, 354 trick-or-treaters came to the door! That topped the 318 young candy-seekers that came last year, crushed the 292 trick-or-treaters from 2023, and put to shame the 275 trick-or-treaters from 2022.

The final tally of trick-or-treaters from Halloween 2025 at my parents’ house.

Full-Sized Bars – Every year there is always a discussion about the ultimate Halloween flex of passing out full-sized candy bars. Back in my day, a house or two in the neighborhood would earn legendary status for doing so. However, it seems like more neighbors have embraced the “jackpot” gesture over the years. The trend escalated this year! My kids each received six full-sized candy bars from different homes during their trick-or-treat odyssey. I don’t know what caused the outpouring of generosity but Sloan and Beau sure were happy.

The full-sized candy bars that Sloan hauled in during trick-or-treating this Halloween.

Popular Costumes – What were the “trendy” costumes this year? That’s easy! We saw numerous duos walking around with one person sporting a “6” and the other a “7.” I also observed plenty of children decked out as “KPop: Demon Hunters” characters. And, I would be remise if I didn’t point out that my own son dressed in a popular costume—let’s just say he wasn’t the only Stitch walking the streets on Friday night.

Along with “KPop Demon Hunters” and 6-7 costumes, Stitch was also a popular costume choice.

Coveted Candy – Besides the full-sized candy bars, Sloan and Beau were all about another coveted item: Feastables! They went nuts whenever they received a candy bar from the confectionery line of Mr. Beast. Needless to say, they never let me try any of their Feastables so can anyone tell me if they are actually good?

Notice the Feastables candy bar in Beau’s treat bag. They went crazy for those things!

A Social Holiday – When I went trick-or-treating as a kid, neighbors stayed inside their homes and creaked open the door to pass out candy. That’s no longer the case. 30 years later on those same streets, adults are now out in lounge chairs in the middle of their driveways passing out treats while a fire burns.

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I hope everyone had a nice Halloween. October 31 will be on a Saturday next year so you can probably anticipate another big night in 2026. Don’t Blink.