It’s November first and you walk into the grocery store ready to purchase the remaining Halloween candy off of the shelves for half the price. You walk past the bags of Nerds, Twix, Smarties, and Butterfingers, but which one should you purchase? The decision is a tough one that people wrestle with every year.

The answer to this dilemma would depend on whose opinion you ask.For me personally, this is always a difficult choice. I find my favorite candy to change overtime, but most consistently, it includes chocolate. However, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to what Halloween candy is worth buying. Emma Hutchinson ‘22 would pick her favorite candy, Skittles. “I prefer fruity candy over chocolate candy because fruity candy is much more flavorful and chocolate just isn’t my favorite,” said Hutchinson. 

Fruity candy isn’t as appealing to everyone though, like myself and Carolyn Hultz ‘22. “I like chocolate candy better because chocolate is more satisfying to me. I like both [types of candy] but given the choice, I would choose chocolate candy,” said Hultz, whose favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. 

While Hutchinson and Hultz have different answers when it comes to what candy they would buy come Halloween time, they both came to those answers in a surprisingly similar way. Hutchinson says that, “An important memory I associate with Skittles is that me and my dad would eat them together all the time when I was younger.” Similarly, Hultz says that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were always her mom’s favorite candy as well. Maybe our favorite candy is influenced by factors other than our taste buds more than we think or realize. 

Another reason to prefer a specific candy over another that can help people to decide which to buy, besides flavor or experiences with it growing up, is price. Miriam Burgher ‘22 doesn’t have any preference in general when it comes to different types of halloween candy, like chocolates or fruity candy, but rather tends to make her purchasing decisions on the factor of price. “I chase the bargain,” said Burgher, “and usually for me it’s quantity over quality.” 

The candy that people consider to be their favorite can also be influenced by the nostalgia that may come with it for them. Burgher says that when she was a kid, her siblings would always trade her their Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups after trick or treating, and now it’s her favorite candy come Halloween. 

While everyone is going to have a Halloween candy that they consider to be their favorite, there’s really no clear criteria to determine which one is the best. There are countless factors that people consider when picking their candy, and that set is not going to be the same for everyone. 

When we were kids and dumped our bags of candy onto the floor at the end of Halloween night, we could trade candy with our friends and siblings to get more of what we like best, but in the end, candy is candy and we were just happy to have it. This sentiment still holds true today–that while people will always have their own preferences for a variety of reasons, candy is candy and we’re still excited just to have it every fall.