A note to those planning on giving change to NJ trick-or-treaters this Halloween

Here come the ghosts, goblins, and witches, just waiting to scare you and satisfy that sweet tooth as well. It's Halloween in New Jersey, and the kids can't wait to trick-or-treat at your door.

Well OK, maybe trick-or-treating isn't what it used to be. Perhaps it's just me, but trick-or-treating definitely doesn't seem to be as big as it once was. It just seemed like so much more when I was a kid, as well as going much later into the night. Who knows, maybe I'm just overthinking it.

There's also the growing popularity of trunk-or-treating. If you've never heard of that, it's when a bunch of cars come together, usually in a parking lot, and decorate their trunks. Then kids would walk from trunk to trunk trick-or-treating, instead of door-to-door throughout their neighborhood.

Perhaps activities like truck-or-treating are the reason why the traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating doesn't seem as big as it once was. But again, perhaps it's just me comparing it to my childhood.

Either way, kids still get to enjoy some sort of fun that results in a huge bag of candy back at home. Candy you're often stuck with for weeks to come.

But let's focus on the candy for a moment. Sometimes, we get the favorites that we gobble up right away. And with those favorites also come the not-so-desirable candies. Those undesirable candies are the ones that end up sitting in the house for weeks.

It's happened to all of us, and it's part of the fun. And, if you were lucky, you might get someone just trying to get rid of the candy and they give you handfuls to take. That's usually a perk for those who wait till the later hours to go out.

Then there are those who don't seem to understand the true concept of what to give away at Halloween. And I can almost bet it's something you've received at some point as well.

It's the unwanted pennies. Yes, some people still feel that giving away pennies, or a handful of change is perfectly suitable for that Halloween bag. If you're one of those people, here's a little note for you. Please just keep the change.

Look, I get that back in the day pennies were actually worth something. At one time, you can get a piece of gum for only 5 cents. In that case, maybe pennies weren't that bad to receive. But we're a long way removed from that and pennies simply don't cut it anymore.

Yes, we all have that container of change in our homes that we don't know what to do with. But trying to dump it onto trick-or-treaters isn't the answer. Especially if it's only pennies.

Do you know what'll happen to those pennies you give away? Not a whole lot. After they get unloaded from the bag of treats, they'll probably just end up lying around the house. Or, they'll end up in a new container of change.

You might think it's an exciting thing to give away, but in reality, the kids really only want candy. And let's face it, Halloween isn't complete for a kid without a bag full of candy.

Now I'm not saying adjust that amount you give away to account for inflation. It would just be better to avoid the change giveaway if possible.

And if you do have to give out money, at least make it an amount worthwhile. Maybe throw some silver coins in the mix so it at least adds up to something.

But when it comes to just pennies, please don't do it. Yes, we all have that container of change we keep sitting around the home that we want to get rid of. And yes, we all should just bring it to a bank and either deposit it or exchange it for cash.

So for this Halloween, please skip the practice of handing out pennies and get a big bag of candy for the trick-or-treaters instead. Trust me, it'll make the kids much happier.