Almost Half of Survey Respondents Say They Aren’t Giving Out Candy This Halloween

For a while, you’ve probably had a hunch that Halloween isn’t going to be quite the same kind of candy-filled frightfest in 2020. After all, a year defined by a pandemic is already plenty scary enough as it is.

While the fact that people felt it necessary to invent candy cannons and tubes to figure out how to deliver the goods to trick or treaters should’ve already been a bad sign, new survey data indicates that almost half of folks have given up on the idea of handing out candy altogether.

According to a survey conducted by Apartment Guide, 46% of the 3,000 respondents said they won’t hand out candy to trick-or-treaters this Halloween. While the plurality of respondents said they didn’t plan to interact with costumed kids at all this Halloween, a further 24% plan to just leave candy outside in a bowl for anyone to come by and grab.

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That leaves only 30% of those surveyed who said they’d proceed as normal with their plans to dole out candy hand to hand. Most surprisingly, the age group most likely to say they’d hand out candy were those between the ages of 55-64.

For those on the receiving end of Halloween candy, 34% said they intended to trick or treat as normal, while 16% of those polled planned to keep their Halloween celebrations confined to the home. Given that the CDC’s Halloween guidelines recommend either rethinking trick or treating to incorporate now-common social distancing practices, those in the 16% category (unfortunately) might have the right idea.

Given that Apartment Guide’s survey was conducted in August, it’s entirely possible a greater percentage of respondents would say they plan to err on the side of caution if asked again today. If there’s any good news, though, it’s that you’ll probably be able to get away with keeping more of whatever Halloween candy you buy for yourself this year. It’s not much of a silver lining, but it’s something.