Halloween: Sweet Treats, Last-Minute Costumes, and a Few Things Worth Knowing

The candy bowls are filling, the pumpkins are on the steps, and someone in the family still hasn’t decided what to wear.

Halloween arrives Saturday, October 31, bringing a weekend of neighborhood trick-or-treating, parties, and the annual debate over which candy deserves space in the bowl.

For this year’s Halloween feature, we’ve gathered a little of everything: surprising sugar comparisons, costumes you can pull together without a major shopping expedition, some Census Bureau curiosities—and a serious reminder for adults planning to celebrate.

How big is Halloween? Count the candy seekers

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there were 40 million children ages 5 through 14 in the United States in 2025. That’s a substantial potential trick-or-treating crowd, even before counting younger children accompanied by parents or teenagers making one more neighborhood round.

Behind the treats is a sizable business. According to the Census Bureau’s Halloween fact sheet, the country had more than 3,400 candy and nut stores in 2023. Chocolate and chocolate candy manufacturers employed approximately 42,000 people, while nonchocolate candy manufacturers employed about 29,000.

That’s a lot of people helping keep the candy bowl full.

Which candy is the sugariest? Chocolate doesn’t lead this list

Those little rolls of Necco Wafers and Smarties may look modest beside a chocolate bar, but they topped a comparison of sugar content among 37 candies and chocolates sold in the United States.

The analysis, supplied by Go Smoke Free, used nutrition labels to calculate sugar content per 100 grams, allowing products of different sizes to be compared by weight.

Here’s how some familiar favorites measured up:

Figures supplied by Go Smoke Free, calculated from declared nutrition-label values. These measure total sugar per 100 grams, rather than sugar in one candy or package.

No chocolate product appeared among the comparison’s ten highest ranking positions. The highest sugar figure among the chocolate products assessed belonged to 3 Musketeers, at 68 grams per 100 grams.

But there’s a practical detail behind the numbers: the size of the treat matters.

In the packages assessed, a small, 7-gram roll of Smarties contained about 6 grams of sugar, while an 18.5-gram Butterfinger fun-size bar contained about 7.2 grams. Butterfinger had a lower concentration of sugar, but the larger individual treat still delivered more.

And the Necco figure refers to weight, not the amount in a single wafer. Manufacturer Spangler lists approximately 51 grams of sugar in a full roll.

The comparison is a label analysis, rather than laboratory testing or an overall nutritional ranking. For families sorting the Halloween haul, the useful information is on the actual package: portion size, sugar, ingredients, and allergens.

Pets: Keep candy out of reach and give pets a quiet place away from the constantly opening door.

Still need a costume? Start with what’s in the closet

Sports and television offer some easy inspiration for anyone still deciding what to wear.

Suggestions supplied by AskGamblers include familiar coaches, athletes, and a certain singer-and-football-player pairing. Adapt the ideas to whatever you already own:

• Ted Lasso: A quarter-zip or tracksuit top, khakis, sneakers, a whistle, and a mustache. Add a homemade “BELIEVE” sign.
• Lionel Messi: An Argentina No. 10 shirt, shorts or athletic pants, and a soccer ball.
• Serena Williams: Tennis clothes, sneakers, and a racket.
• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce: Sparkles and a pretend microphone for one person; a No. 87 Chiefs jersey for the other.
• Your favorite hometown sports fan: A Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, or Red Sox jersey, a cap, and appropriately dramatic reactions to an imaginary scoreboard.

For a family or group, everyone can choose a different sport. One person carrying a whistle and clipboard becomes the coach.

The Census Bureau offers another reminder that costume inspiration is all around us: firefighters, nurses, doctors, police officers, and other familiar occupations remain part of the Halloween dress-up tradition.

For the kiddos – Start with a sweatshirt or pajamas, then add a few simple details:

• Kitty cat: Black clothes, felt ears on a headband, and whiskers drawn with face paint.
• Pile of autumn leaves: Attach large fabric leaves to an old sweatshirt and hat. Add one little bird for fun! (Publisher’s note:  🍂 A sweatsuit, a hat, and one orange leaf garland cut apart and hot-glued on. Simple, inexpensive, and adorable—with its own sound effects – rustling along!)
• Bunch of grapes: Attach purple or green felt circles or soft fabric balls – or balloons but they’re guaranteed to break along the way – to a sweatshirt, with a felt leaf on the shoulder.
• Doughnut: Cut a doughnut shape from lightweight cardboard, decorate with pink “frosting” and colorful felt sprinkles, and attach it to the front of a shirt.
• Scarecrow: Overalls, a plaid shirt, a soft hat, and felt “straw” at the cuffs.
• Black-and-white cow: Black felt spots on white clothes, plus soft ears on a headband.
• Little rain cloud: Attach white fabric fluff to a gray sweatshirt and add blue felt raindrops.
• Ladybug: Black clothes with a red felt panel covered in black spots.
• Crayon: A matching sweatshirt and pants, a paper cone hat, and “CRAYON” down the front.
• Popcorn: A shirt decorated with red-and-white stripes and crumpled white paper “popcorn” attached across the chest.
• Jellyfish: A soft, wide-brimmed hat with short strips of pastel tulle hanging from the brim, kept clear of the face.
• Flower: Green clothes and a soft headband with oversized felt petals.
• Strawberry: A red sweatshirt with felt seeds and a green leafy collar.
• Cookie: A tan felt circle with dark brown “chocolate chips,” attached to a sweatshirt.
• Little artist: An oversized paint-splattered shirt, a beret, and a lightweight cardboard palette.

For the youngest children: Keep faces uncovered, hems above their shoes, and decorations securely attached. For the grapes, soft fabric shapes are a better choice than balloons around toddlers.

• Any costume: A pillowcase decorated with fabric markers—a classic, and easy to wash.

A practical trick-or-treat reminder: Flashlights or glow sticks, visible costumes, clear walkways, and extra care by drivers.

For candy bags, and for little ones, choose something small with short handles that won’t drag. A grown-up can carry a larger bag for emptying their collection into along the way.

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Some Unique Events around the State

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, ProvidenceThrough Oct. 31 for families, 6–10:30 p.m., last entry 10 p.m.More than 5,000 carved pumpkins at Roger Williams Park Zoo. This year’s theme is “The Great Pun-Kin Trail.” Advance online tickets required. Nov. 1 is adults-only, 21+.

A Rough Point Halloween, NewportFriday, Oct. 30, 5–7 p.m.A Halloween treasure hunt and unusual objects and stories inside Rough Point, 680 Bellevue Ave. Costumes encouraged; children 12 and under free, with timed tickets required.

Cucumber Hill Farm, FosterFriday, Oct. 30, 5–9 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.Friday features a flashlight corn maze, lantern-lit hayrides, campfires, food trucks, and a Halloween movie. Saturday offers daytime farm activities before trick-or-treating. Activity charges apply.

HallUween, Downtown WesterlySaturday, Oct. 31, beginning at 5 p.m.; costume parade at 6 p.m.

Bank of America Free Family Fun Day – Audubon Society, Bristol, RI October Spooky Critters

All Day Activities:

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Spooky places that don’t need decorating

Some communities have a head start on Halloween atmosphere—at least on their road signs.

The Census Bureau’s Halloween fact sheet includes Scарville, Iowa; Slaughter Beach, Delaware; Tombstone, Arizona; Bad Axe, Michigan; Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina; and Sleepy Hollow, New York.

New England has its own unmistakable entry: Salem, Massachusetts.

There’s also Casper, Wyoming, although whether that sounds spooky or friendly may depend on which ghost comes to mind.

For adult celebrations: a serious warning about 7-OH

For adults heading to Halloween parties, health officials’ warnings about products containing concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly called 7-OH, deserve attention.

The FDA advises consumers to avoid products with added or enhanced levels of 7-OH, a potent opioid. These products may be marketed as tablets, gummies, drink mixes, or shots. Although the compound occurs naturally in trace amounts in kratom, concentrated products are the focus of this warning. There are no FDA-approved 7-OH products for medical use.

Combining kratom or 7-OH products with alcohol or other drugs can cause severe suppression of breathing and death, California public health officials warn.

Rhode Island has specific restrictions. Its kratom law, effective April 1, 2026, prohibits synthetic 7-OH in kratom products and sets limits on naturally occurring 7-OH. It also prohibits kratom products that mimic candy or are packaged or advertised to appeal to people under 21. Kratom sales require licensing, and sales to anyone under 21 are prohibited.

If someone is unresponsive or may be experiencing an opioid overdose, call 911 immediately and administer naloxone if available. Stay with the person until emergency help arrives.

Back to the candy bowl

Whether your Halloween plans involve a neighborhood walk, a costume party, or answering the door in comfortable clothes, there’s still one decision to make:

Are you buying the candy the children like—or the candy you hope will be left over?

BOO!  THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY – Check back for more local Halloween info!