Illinois, Here’s The Best Time To Buy Halloween Candy

Halloween is inching closer and the grocery store shelves are loaded with fun-size candy bars, but when should you pick up a bag for the festivities?

Let's start with the obvious: there's a definite distinction in Halloween candy quality. Are you getting the (albeit cheaper) less-loved Child's Play mix or are you springing for the fun-size Snickers and Milky Ways? (For the record, Circus Peanuts and Candy Corn are also both just fine, back off)

In the past, I've gotten both cheaper candy mixes and the mini candy bars (because #budget) and I'll keep the fancy candy in the basket earliest in the night, then the later ones get the cheaper mix. That's my strategy and I'm sticking to it.

When Should We Pick Up The Halloween Candy?

If you've been inside a Hy-Vee within the last couple of months or so, you've seen this giant aisle:

While your cart may not look as sugary as hers, we're getting close to the time that you'll need to pick up your supplies for trick-or-treaters.

According to Food Republic, this is one of the few holiday things you should procrastinate. Shopping app Ibotta found that you can get deals on bags of candy if you wait as late as October 27th to get your trick-or-treat candy.

Deals on Halloween candy can be best the last week of October, with the average price per unit on October 27th coming in at $1.94. Don't procrastinate too much though, you could pay more if you wait until the day before Halloween, when the average price per unit goes up to $2.75.

Whenever you do your grocery shopping this weekend, that will probably be a good time to pick up a few bags of your fave candy (it's not a holiday foul to hide away a few pieces for yourself, for sure).