With just over a month to go until Halloween, now’s the time to start stocking up on all the candy and goodies you’ll be dolling out to little goblins and ghoulies. Yeah, I know, you’ll just wait till everything’s on sale. Or you’ll grab something a few days before the big spook night. Biiiiig mistake. Unless you want to be stuck buying those horrible Necco wafers or boxes of wax lips, I highly suggest stocking up now on the good stuff before it’s sold out. Well, that is unless you enjoy having your house egged by angry Trick or Treaters.

Okay, so with that said, what candy should you get? Which ones will make you the heroes, rather than the villains of your neighborhood? Which candy has way more trading stock value then others? Don’t sweat it, I’m here to help. I even compiled this handy dandy list of the bestest candy ever to be given out on Halloween. And yes, please feel free to send any extras my way.

The Top 10 Halloween Candies to Make You Pumpkin King or Queen of the Block

10. Charm’s Blow Pops - Lollipops? I put lollipops on this list? Yes I did. But not any ol’ sucker. Yeah Dum Dum’s are okay as “filler” but they’re not really worth anything in the “Halloween Candy Stock Market.” And Tootsie Pops are just plain gross. But Blow Pops combine gum and candy, and slap ‘em on a stick. Simple yet effective.

9. Nerds - These were big in the ’80s I recall and apparently they still make ‘em. Good ol’ Willy Wonka. Two flavors in one box and tiny enough to share with friends.

8. Hershey’s Miniatures - This grab-bag mix of Hershey goodness is great all around. Kids should love all of them except those nasty Dark Chocolate ones. But on the strategic side, parents love those. So kids can save the good stuff for themselves by bribing mom and dad with the unwanteds.

7. Razzles - Is it candy? Is it gum? Yes. And every time I buy a bag of these, I inevitably stuff about 20 pieces in my mouth at once.

6. Twix Miniatures - I used to LOVE Twix bars. Then a few years ago I had one and it tasted kind of stale. Like chewing cardboard. I tried them a few times after that with the same results. So either they changed the formula or my “stale” taste bud is on overdrive. Whatever the case, the mini Twix bars don’t suffer the same fate and are just too scrumptious not to share.

5. Pop Rocks - I remember getting 1 or maybe 2 bags of these in our Halloween bags when I was a kid. These things were like solid gold. Super rare and dangerous sounding. They do explode in your mouth after all!

4. Chunky bars - These were also pretty rare if I recall. And for that reason alone (okay, so they’re damn tasty too), these delicious morsels of chocolaty-goodness will really go far in terms of trading stock.

3. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups - The regular-sized ones are truly awesome, and the mini ones are even awesomer. You truly can’t go wrong with either. But toss a big heaping handful of these mini golden-wrapped trophies of goodness into your guests’ plastic pumpkins and you’re sure to score major bonus points.

2. Mini Kit-Kats - Oh, man. I could seriously eat a bathtub filled with these things. They’re different enough from every other chocolate to really stand out. And each mini-pack contains 2 pieces. Two is better than one!

1. Mini Nestle Crunch Bars - Crunch bars are just divine. But the mini ones are sooo much better. I think it’s just a surface area thing, where they are way thicker than the standard bar. Pop ‘em in the freezer for added yum.

COUPON TIME:

Rather than posting tons of diet coupons to counter all this candy talk, I’ll continue the Halloween theme and offer up coupons for stores offering Halloween costumes and props. Bootiful, no?

Free shipping on orders over $70 at BuyCostumes.com
Use coupon code CJSHIP.
Valid through: September 30, 2008 11:59pm CT
Cannot be combined with any other offer. Not valid for prior purchases. Economy shipping orders over 30 lbs will be subject to additional shipping charges.

$10 off orders over $65 at BuyCostumes.com
Use coupon code SPOOKY10.
Valid through: October 31, 2008 11:59pm CT
May need to use an American Express card to activate coupon. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Not valid for prior purchases.

$5 off online orders over $65 at ShindigZ.com
Use promotion code SZCJB8 at checkout.
Valid through: Ongoing

10% off online orders over $100 at ShindigZ.com
Use promotion code SZCJC8 at checkout.
Valid through: Ongoing

$5.95 Shipping on any size order at Celebrate Express
Use this link to activate the promotional keycode.
Make sure keycode HRN-783 appears in your shopping cart.
Valid through: September 30, 2008
Coupon applies to standard shipping within the continental U.S. only. Not valid on previously placed orders. Cannot be combined with other offers.

Free Shipping on orders over $75 at Celebrate Express
Use this link to activate the promotional keycode.
Make sure keycode WYE-312 appears in your shopping cart.
Valid through: September 30, 2008
Coupon applies to standard shipping on merchandise orders of $75 or more within the continental U.S. only. Not valid on previously placed orders. Cannot be combined with other offers.

I  want to talk about matchboxes today. No, this isn’t an anti-smoking rant (though, come on, don’t you think it’s time you quit already?) I don’t mean those kind of matches. I’m talking about Matchbox cars. Or Hot Wheels. To me they were always the same. Different packaging, but same kind of toy. Cool little die-cast cars.

I have really fond memories of this one Matchbox racing set I had as a kid. The tracks were mostly blue, with white and red stripes in the middle. And you used these clear plastic pieces to slide underneath them and connect them together. But this one set I had was a raceway, where you’d basically create a big oval. One end was two hard pieces of plastic (that never seemed to fit together nicely), and the other end was the starting line, which was made of a huge motor-like thing. You pull down a handle and it basically pulls back a lever. Let go of the handle, it gives a whirl and a roar, then lets loose and smacks into your little car, sending it flying at insane speeds down the track. It could usually make it once or twice around before you’d have to rev it up again. With lots of practice, you could pull it as the car’s passing, so it’d never stop at all.

I used to also take tons of tracks and just make a really really really long track that’d run down our stairs (we lived in a high ranch house with a split staircase by the front door). then just let the cars free-fall down. I’d say I probably had about an 18% success rate of cars actually staying on the track until the very end.

Nowadays, though, I walk through the car aisles at the local Toys R Us or Target and just shake my head. There’s no longer “just” a race track. Uh uh. You need the track to be surrounding a giant killer shark or octopus. Or a three-headed dragon that snaps it’s head and tries to snatch your car as it races by. I even got one of those huge T-rex race sets for my older son. After spending 2 hours (literally) putting this thing together, it kind of worked. You shoot cars up the track and they get stuck in the dinosaur’s mouth until you pull a switch and a car does a jump and smashes the T-rex’s mouth open, freeing your cars and giving a loud roar. Fun for 5 minutes, if you don’t count the sheer terror it put in my 3 year old, not to mention the fact I was almost smacked in the head about 5 times by flying metal cars.

So yeah, I now understand when my folks talk about the “good ol days” when they didn’t have any newfangled toys. Just a stick and a ball and maybe a rock. Because while all these innovations are fun and neat and pretty and all… you sometimes can’t beat the sheer simplicity of a basic toy. Like a simple 5-foot track running down your stairs into the inevitable pit of doom…

COUPON TIME:

What, you think I’m gonna post coupons about toys or smoking? Shows how much you know about me. Nope, instead I’m going big and offering up coupons for real cars.

$10 off online orders over $350 at Auto Parts Warehouse
Use this link and coupon code 10APWOFF.

$15 off an order of $300+ of auto accessories at AutoAnything
Use coupon code SAVE15.
Valid through: September 30, 2008
Offer cannot be combined with any other offers. Due to manufacturer restrictions, offer excludes AEM, AFE, Access, Airaid, B&M, BAK, Banks, BedRug, Beltronics, Borla Exhaust, Brembo Rotors, Bully Dog, Corsa, Covercraft, Diablosport, Edge, Escort, Extang, Hypertech, K&N, MileMarker, Power Slot, Ramsey, Roll-N-Lock, S&B, SCT, Skyjacker, SnowSport Snow Plow, Superchips, Superlift, Thule, Truxedo, Undercover, Warn, Weathertech, Yakima, and Zymol products.

$10 off orders over $100 at Parts Train
Use coupon code PTF10.

Free shipping on orders over $75 at Stylin Trucks
Use coupon code STYLIN20.
Valid online only. Standard ground shipping only. Items shipped truck freight or via expedited shipping will be discounted by amount of normal ground shipping. Extra charge for oversize items. Must be shipped within the continental United States. Cannot be combined with other coupons.

Dunlop: $50 Rebate or iPod shuffle  at Tire Rack
When you buy a set of four (4) Dunlop SP Sport, Direzza, Grandtrek or Rover A/T tires you may be eligible to receive your choice of either an iPod shuffle or a $50 mail-in rebate. When you buy a set of four (4) Dunlop Signature, SP 60, Radial Rover RVXT or Radial Mud Rover tires you may be eligible to receive a $50 mail-in rebate. Valid on tires purchased from in-stock inventory between August 23, 2008 12:00am ET through September 20, 2008 11:59pm ET.

Anybody else out there remember all those McDonaldland characters? Sure Ronald’s still around and very rarely will you get a glimpse of the Hamburglar. But in the good ol’ days (I’m over 30, I can say that legally) there was practically an entire town of characters.

The large purple Grimace who I have absolutely no clue what kind of creature he was supposed to be. The Fry Guys, little colorful pom-pom creatures with legs (and sneakers!) that’d just giggle and bounce around, presumably feasting on french fries like there’s no tomorrow. There were definitely a bunch of other characters but the only other one I can recall is Mayor McCheese. Dressed sharply in a tailored purple suit, the mayor sported a gigantic hamburger-sized (and shaped) head.

Now what always confused me as a kid was why the Hamburglar (who would sell his own mother for a bite of a burger) never tried stealing or eating Mayor McCheese. Was it merely because the mayor was a cheeseburger? If he were simply Mayor McBurger, would he have quickly been assassinated by the Hamburglar? Or perhaps that’s how McCheese came into office; his predecessor was taken down and devoured?

I also found it a bit odd that McDonald’s, a chain known primarily for selling hamburgers, would have this cheery friendly living hamburger as one of its characters. I mean, it’s one thing to have a cute chicken costumed guy talk about some fried chicken place. That’s a little tougher for kids to digest in terms of making the connection between the food and the living creature. But Mayor McCheese practically slaps you in the face that you would be eating him! Yeah, I had some pretty wacked out nightmares as a kid.

Anyways, I have no clue why McDonald’s abandoned just about all of its characters except Ronald these days. They did introduce that super annoying Early Bird years back, but even she’s gone now. With The King creeping people out all over the place thanks to Burger King’s latest commercials, I’m really hoping the Mayor pops back into the limelight.

Or heck, with the big presidential election coming up, maybe the Mayor will be forced to actually participate in a legitimate election. Could we be looking to a Mayor McNugget instead? Or to counter Burger King, maybe we’ll see a Mayor McQueen. Ah, the politics of fast food.

COUPON TIME:

Hungry yet? Good. Because here’s a bunch of coupons good for food orders or cooking items and appliances. Just be sure to save me some leftovers, okay?

$15 off a purchase of $100 or more at Cooking.com
Use this link to get the coupon code and terms of the offer.
Valid through: December 31, 2008

Free Coffeemaker from Gevalia!
Try two 1/2-lb. varieties of Gevalia coffee for only $14.95, including shipping and handling, and receive a 12 Cup Programmable Stainless Steel Coffeemaker and a Stainless Steel Coffee Scoop as your free gifts!
You may cancel your service at any time after receiving your introductory shipment and the gifts are yours to keep with no further obligation.

10% off online orders at Legal Seafoods
Use coupon code AFL1628.
Valid through: September 30, 2008

Save up to 62% & get THREE FREE GIFTS at OmahaSteaks.com
Free Gifts are: 6 FREE Omaha Steaks Burgers, a FREE 6-Piece Cutlery Set and a FREE Cutting Board. Use this link to activate the offer.
Valid through: September 30, 2008

10%-20% Cash Back after Rebate on Appliances $399 or more
10% cash back on 1 item over $399
15% cash back on 2 items over $399
20% cash back on 3 items over $399
Use this link for details and to get the rebate form.
Valid through: September 6, 2008