Halloween Challenge: What to do with all this CANDY?!?

Day 8 - What do you use to hold your candy while trick or treating? 

 I think this is a great question. I think I need to mention a few different "trick or treat" baskets, offer up my opinions, and then admit my favorite type of container for all those tasty and teeth-rotting little morsels! I think the best types of containers are those that fit a lot the perfect amount of candy while being easy to carry.

Okay, so when I started Trick or Treating, I had one of those typical plastic jack-o-lanterns. I think we all know the kind I'm talking about, even if you've never used one.

Look at it smiling; It's like it knows your secrets! (source)

Now, these were perfect when we were kids. They were easy to carry, the small opening was great for our little grubby hands, and the circular shape provided room space for our goodies while minimizing spillage if dropped (if it didn't crack in the fall!). They were also happy and yet just the right degree of creepy at the same time. There was only one problem with these containers, which we quickly realized: They were way too small for the amount of candy we would require.

What to do? Like most kids, my brother and I soon learned to use the next best thing. It was around the house, cheap, and BIG. What was it? The PILLOW CASE! Pillow cases are seemingly the ultimate candy holding receptacle. They are huge, hold tons of the sweet sugary goodness, and made of soft materials so they are comfortably slung over the back or toted in hand with little to no spillage.

Now, pillows are still probably the best and cheapest to use for maximum candy storage, but there was always a problem with them for me: carrying the damn things. I mean, seriously... Grabbing it at the top with one hand is fine when there's not much candy in them, but you still get the "sweaty palm" effect. Then when your case is heavier, it's too much of a pain to keep holding it with one hand and a two hand carry looks ridiculous and is massively uncomfortable! This leads to the one-armed sling-over-the-shoulder. Debating on how intricate your costume is, this could get pretty ugly pretty fast. If you aren't crushing your costume with your candy, you're making the back of it sweaty, not to mention making yourself look silly if you're costumed as anyone other than Santa Claus, a sailor returning to port, or a college student heading over to do the laundry.

My personal preference for carrying candy by far is the handy Tote Bag. What's great about these is that they are soft, have a large candy capacity, and they have a handle! So much easier than a pillow case, in my opinion! It's also nice because now stores sell a lot of Halloween tote bags around this time of year, and if you're anything like me, you'll find a great one and use it all year long. For me, I've been using this lovely black, red, and gold Edgar Allan Poe tote bag from Barnes and Noble, which cost about $12 if I recall correctly and was worth every dollar. Look at this beauty!

Ravens, Trees, and Premature Burials, oh my!

You can bet that I'll be taking this baby around all year and hopefully trick or treating with it if I end up going! If you want one of these, they're for sale now at your local B&N and online (except they don't have a picture of it on their website, to warn you).

What do you like to keep your candy in?

Love and Tote Bags,
♥Lilith