Halloween at the Good House year 2

September 15, 2023 7:56 AM

I'm back, baby. Once again seeking group feedback from MeFites who can ask their real, human children: what atypical things would you like to trick or treat this year?

My Halloween game last year was very successful. I've got my snack/candy offers on point (granola bars, flamin hot cheetos, sour gummies) and I'm definitely getting a full complement of stickers again this year.

I am now seeking feedback on the "fun thingy" category of trick or treatable goods: small inexpensive crap plastic toys that will thrill children and annoy their parents. What do your kids have fun with?

I had trick or treaters last year from 2 months to 22 years, so we've got a lot of range to work with.

p.s. For those keeping notes at home, glow sticks seem to have fallen out of favor hard.
p.p.s. I will likely be doing my purchasing on AliExpress to get the cheapest pricing.
p.p.p.s. The dinosaur will be going as a clown this year, if you're curious.

posted by phunniemee to Grab Bag (22 answers total)

Best answer: Skeleton wall crawlers were popular when I staffed a zoo kids event last year. Definitely also got annoyed parent comments about them!

Can't personally vouch for these similar slingshot sticky poos, but they seem promising!

Glow in the dark dinos to honor your yard friend?
posted by the primroses were over at 8:11 AM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm ordering my annual trick-or-treat go-to: the classic bouncy ball!
posted by shornco at 8:13 AM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Here are some items we’ve had luck with as bulk party favors in the past—random Amazon links are just to illustrate what each thing is:

LED finger lights

Slap bracelets

Ribbon sticks

Ice cream shooters

Squishies
posted by staggernation at 8:29 AM on September 15, 2023

Best answer: The 4 year old is currently having a ton of fun with the Sticky Hand she got as a party favor. There's also a minor Bluey tie in here, as she likes to pretend it's a Sticky Gecko.
posted by damayanti at 8:56 AM on September 15, 2023

Best answer: Glow in the dark bouncy balls and tiny plastic dinosaurs are consistently popular at our house.
posted by rockindata at 8:58 AM on September 15, 2023

Best answer: I added glow in the dark stars to my candy dish last year and they were very popular.

That said one year I had little cartoon character “magic towels” and kids lost their damn minds. But that was at a house where I only got 10-15 trick or treaters so it was easy to do.
posted by lepus at 9:01 AM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am not a kid or, usually, a trick-or-treater, but monster finger puppets still give me no end of joy.
posted by Dr. Wu at 9:27 AM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

My kiddos (boys in elementary school) like this sort of cheap crap:

Keychains (for their backpacks), especially if depicting a character they recognize or something extremely cute

Tiny stuffed animals

Little plastic hashtag blocks

Dice

Eraser cube puzzle blocks
(Honestly had no idea they were erasers until just this second)

As rockindata says, tiny plastic dinosaurs

Somewhat agreed with staggernation on squishes, because they were a hit but got very very gross FAST

All of those things migrate around the house regularly, because they get played with.

They don't much enjoy bubble fidget toys, mini ball-in-a-maze things, or pencils/pens/erasers that aren't blocks/stickers/stamps. By that I mean, they'll be happy to get one of those things and will use it once, maybe, and then after we tidy up it will stay tidied forever.

If you're feeling particularly evil, kinetic sand or slime. A bag of kinetic sand with a little dino in it, for example, will delight children & fill parents with dread!
posted by Baethan at 10:04 AM on September 15, 2023

Croc attachments would be an absolute hit with my 11 y.o.
posted by rube goldberg at 10:25 AM on September 15, 2023

Best answer: Data point:

my kids ADORE squishies and I hate them with a passion because they are gross. They keep coming home with them after getting to pick from the prize box at school, though, so the teachers must feel similarly to you.
posted by lydhre at 10:39 AM on September 15, 2023

If you want to annoy the greatest number of grownups, you can't go wrong with lip whistles. Kids also really love wax lips, which are super unusual to get these days (although I guess those are candy-adjacent).
posted by uncleozzy at 10:52 AM on September 15, 2023

Candy alternatives I found (at Target) last year that were very popular: plastic vampire fangs in assorted colors, Halloween self-inking stamps, and stickers. I'd already gotten a crapton of great candy from Economy Candy (thanks AskMe!) so it was great to have non-candy as well.
posted by winesong at 2:21 PM on September 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I asked my 7yo and almost-4yo what kind of toys they’d like to get while trick-or-treating. 7yo says she’d like to get a squishy/squeezable toy and almost-4 says she’d like to get a triceratops.

Also, we got this type of little slingshot dinosaur in a party favor bag and my kids LOVE them. Link is to Amazon, but I’m sure AliExpress has them too.

Other small cheap toys my kids love: little plastic rings, Mardi Gras type necklaces, mini containers of bubbles, any little plastic animal or doll, slime.
posted by maleficent at 2:27 PM on September 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

--Slime (with little charms in them)
--squishies
-- croc charms
--pop-its
--temporary tattoos

Sounds fun!!!
posted by AnyUsernameWillDo at 5:26 PM on September 15, 2023

Best answer: from the 3-5 age range, the biggest hits recently have been sticky hands (or geckos, basically any theme in that concept), things that can be used as treasure (plastic gold coins, plastic gems), and tiny animals.
posted by brilliantine at 4:44 AM on September 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Those sticky things can stick FOREVER and discolor walls and ceilings (ask me how I know) so - just a data point. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:46 AM on September 16, 2023

Best answer: I ran some options past my 12 year old (last year T&T for him!) and the slingshot dinos won.
posted by warriorqueen at 4:52 AM on September 16, 2023

I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but with the soft/stretchy plastic toys, I’d be worried about phthalates. Maybe some are less sketchy than others.
posted by Comet Bug at 10:42 AM on September 16, 2023

Tiny hands were a hit with kids when I sent care packages to camp this summer.


Finger traps would definitely fit the annoying for parents bill.

Fortune telling fish are fun
posted by MadMadam at 6:38 PM on September 16, 2023

Best answer: I asked my 8 year old this question and she did not miss a beat before saying "a squishy toy." I do not understand the allure of those things, but apparently the siren song of phthalates is strong.
posted by juliapangolin at 9:48 PM on September 16, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I got glitter squishys, sling shot dinos, glow in the dark dinos, glow in the dark stars, pokemon figures, skeleton wall crawlers, and randomly a 50 pack of glow in the dark ducks?? ? because they were silly.
posted by phunniemee at 11:31 AM on September 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

This year we gave out Pokémon mini packs (packaged and sold specifically for Halloween) and they were VERY popular.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:23 AM on November 6, 2023