DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710220045

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RUTH FANTASIA, FLAVOR EDITOR 

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EATWHEN IT COMES TO THE RIGHT TREATS, SOME GROWN-UPS JUST DON'T GET (OR GIVE) IT, SAY SOME TRICK-OR-TREATERS

IT'S LIKE THIS - Halloween is a time for candy.

That's candy, not canned goods. This is one of many suggestions from a group of 6th- through 8th-graders at Christ the King School in Norfolk who volunteered their ideas of what's a treat and what's a trick. But before you go off thinking they're just a bunch of greedy, sugar-addicted preteens, read their suggestions.

Sometimes it's fun to find out what children collect door to door in Hampton Roads. Other times, it's downright scary.

Each student was asked to submit a list of their favorite candies to receive and a list of stuff they didn't like to get on Halloween. Our Top Ten Treats list was compiled from the responses, but not all children agreed.

While gum garnered the most votes, at least one boy noted that he can't chew it because ``I have braces.''

And remember, the children surveyed are between the ages of 11 and 14, so the list is skewed for older kids. Parents we talked with recommend having lollipops and Smarties (little sugar candies) on hand for the younger set.

Then, there were a few oddities that seemed to delight the recipient, like miniature pumpkins and slices of pizza.

But the most revealing facts came with the lists of things kids didn't like to receive. Here's a sampling:

Many, many, many children reported they hated to get the peanut butter taffy in the orange and black wrappers. Comments included ``they are just plain nasty'' and ``no one actually knows what that is.''

Pennies are also not a favorite because ``there's no such things as penny candy anymore.'' Still, pennies seem to be commonly distributed in trick or treat bags.

Other things kids don't want include:

Business cards

Toothpaste and toothbrushes

Coupons

Advice

Shoelaces

Instant eggs - ``You should not give breakfast for Halloween''

Carrot sticks - ``I can get those at home.''

Religious materials

Having people swear at them

Canned pork and beans

Homemade treats - ``My mom throws them out''

Fruit - ``My mom throws it away'' and ``I got a razor blade in an apple once''

Unwrapped candy

Old, stale candy

Bread

Pencils and erasers - ``The pencils break too easily'' and the erasers are too small to use.

But not all the tricks are played on the kids. Consider this story from a 12-year-old we think should remain anonymous:

``One Halloween my friend a I were out trick treating and we came to one house that gave great candy. So, we switched costumes and went back to that house four times.'' ILLUSTRATION: COLOR PHOTO BY NHAT MYER[sic];SCULPTURE BY PEGGY EARLE

Halloween is a time of hand-outs for trick-or-treaters, who say they

prefer gum or chocolate. Keep the bread in the house.

Graphic

TOP TEN TREATS

BOTTOM OF THE BAG

[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]

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