Halloween By The Numbers and Chocolate By The Book

As you may know by now, I hate Halloween. I don't like putting on a costume, I don't like going to Halloween parties and I'm not a huge fan of candy corn – so really, what is there left for me? But my kids (and to a certain degree my husband) are waaay into it, so every year I do my best to take part. I help with the costumes, I buy the candy, I throw up a few decorations – sure I complain incessantly while I'm doing it, but everything has a price. I even carve a really mean pumpkin if I must say so myself:

Something to go along with my chocolate

To get me in the Halloween spirit, the people at Mars offered to send me some TWIX bars, which went over VERY big in this house. TWIX happens to be my girls' favorite candy, and I'm not just saying that because they offered to send me a box. Look, I've got enough candy laying around the house so if someone offered to send me, say, a box of wax lips or a bag of Tootsie Rolls I would politely decline. Well, maybe not the wax lips since I could always melt those down and make a big candle.

A huge box of TWIX. My teenagers refer to it as "a two day supply."

And here's another reason we are digging our TWIX bars: In the controversy surrounding some chocolate manufacturers' unfair labor practices (including the use of child labor on their farms), Mars is one of the few companies who are taking steps toward using only cocoa that is produced in an ethical and sustainable way. The company is partnering with certification organizations like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance and has pledged to certify 100% of its cocoa as sustainably produced by 2020.

On a lighter note, they also sent along an amusing survey pertaining to Halloween candy, and it certainly rings true, especially the item about hiding candy from a loved one. How else would I ever get to enjoy those twenty mini-Snickers bars if I didn't stash them away in the video cabinet? 

• The 30 year-old trick-or-treater: Nearly 7 out of 10 adults (69 percent) ages 18 to 24, and half of adults ages 25 to 34 said they would do it if they could. Trick-or-treating, that is. The only thing holding them back is dirty looks from the neighbors.
• Hide and seek: More than half of all adults surveyed (52 percent) admit to hiding a treat from their loved ones to keep the treat for themselves. Most hide their treat stash in their room (41 percent) or in another “super-secret place” (41 percent).
• Fruit-flavored non-chocolate Halloween treats get no respect: Only 3 percent of all adults surveyed listed fruit-flavored non-chocolate treats as their Halloween favorite. The winning treat combination? Chocolate with peanuts or peanut butter topped the list at 39 percent, followed by a chocolate and caramel combination as a close second (30 percent).
• Men seek the crunch; the ladies prefer something they can chew on: When it comes to treats, women prefer chewy treats more than men do (42 percent to 33 percent), while more men than women seek out treats with a crunch (33 percent to 23 percent).
• Taking candy from a baby: One quarter of all adults surveyed (26 percent) admit to taking candy from their child’s Halloween stash or a friend’s or co-worker’s candy dish and denying it.
• Sweets are social: Two out of three adults (64 percent) would rather enjoy treats with others than alone.

Any of these statistics sound like you? Don't be afraid to speak up - we're all friends here, and besides I've already told you where I hide my candy.

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