I tried Hallowe'en sweet bags to see which is best for Trick or Treat

Hallowe'en or the eve of All Saints Day is looming large. With the Witching Hour approaching we thought we'd try out the best shops in North Wales to buy those all important treats.

Tradition has it of course that if people call at your door on October 31 they'll play a trick on you unless your appease them with a treat for Halloween.

I tried some shops around Llandudno and Llandudno Junction on Thursday afternoon to see how the displays of creepy confectionary compared. It varied quite a lot.

Even though there were still five days to go before October 31, stocks were often running low with rapidly-emptying display boxes or shelves which were already bare.

1. Asda in Llandudno

Hallowe'en treats bought at Asda in Llandudno (Image: David Powell)

This supermarket offered by far the biggest range of Hallowe'en-related sweets and chocolates, as you might expect from such a household name. I particularly liked the idea of their Zombie Biscuit Kit and Spiderweb Cupcake Kit, not pictured here.

But for research for this article I did buy a box of their Chocolate Orange Pumpkins and Trick or Treat Box of Frogs both of which were free from gluten, milk or egg. This showed they cater for people with dietary or ethical needs.

I'm looking forward to trying their Milk Chocolate Popping Candy Eyeballs, too, with a bag costing 80p, and the Chilling Chocolate Coins cost 75p. The only odd thing was I got the Haribo Monsters Zing and Haribo Sour Skeletons thinking the "2 for 1" on each bag meant you get two for the price of one.

It was only when I got home and read the tiny print I saw it said "2 for 1 entry with this pack for Alton Towers."

2. Home Bargains, Mostyn Champney's retail park, Llandudno

Hallowe'en treats bought at Home Bargains in Llandudno (Image: David Powell)

There was a much smaller selection of Hallowe'en treats here than in Asda. It is a smaller store after all.

But I thought their hefty bag of 42 Eyeball Lollipops was good value at £2.49 or just over 5p per lollipop. Similarly for £1.49 you can also get a pack of Barratt's Spooky Lollies which will keep the kids happy for quite a while.

The flavours are "frightening fruit salad", "freaky frosties", "wicked wham", "really spooky refreshers" and "devilish dip dabs. I also bought their brand of Chocolate Eyeballs, with the label Hallow-scream, for 75p a bag.

3. B&M, Mostyn Champney's retail park, Llandudno

Hallowe'en treats bought at B&M in Llandudno (Image: David Powell)

Again they had a smaller range of Hallowe'en sweets available than in Asda but I liked their bumper red box of Bebeto Spooky Mix. It contains a whopping 45 bags of mixed fruit flavour soft sweets for £4, which is about 9p per bag.

I also liked B&M's idea of cherry and strawberry-flavoured "Mallow Zombie Guts", which look like sugary intestines, and their 180g bag of Eyeball Lollipops for only £1.

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4. Lidl, Llandudno Junction

Hallowe'en treats bought at Lidl in Llandudno Junction (Image: David Powell)

Lidl had its own range of Hallowe'en goodies including a chunky 750g bag of Frightfully Freaky Chew Mix of bars and mini chews. Children would get a lot of pleasure out of such a big bag so £4.99 is probably worth it.

Another product was a bag of Swizzels ' Monster Treats for £2.99. And I liked the fact on the back was a website address (swizzels.com/halloween) to find out more about trick or treating tips, make-up tutorials, party games and recipes.

But their box of Pumpkin Patch Cakes (£2.49) looks so nice they might be gobbled up by October 31 or even by the end of the weekend.

5. Tesco, Llandudno Junction

Haunted Gingerbread House Kit bought in Tesco in Llandudno Junction (Image: David Powell)

Tesco offer a massive selection of sweets, a cornucopia of confectionary. Shoppers had devoured many of their Hallowe'en products though because when I got there their £1 bags of chocolate Creepy Pumpkins in the shape of eyeballs had sold out.

I made do with a box of their make your own Haunted Gingerbread House DIY kit. It costs £6 but will give the kids something to occupy them for a while.

Verdict

Overall I think Asda offered the best choice of Hallowe'en treats, although by going on October 26 I had perhaps left it a little late and some stocks were depleted in other shops. But they all had a spooktacular set of non-edible products too from skeletons to masks and costumes.

Have fun on Tuesday night everyone and give those trick or treaters a few sweets on the big night. Or else!