When your kids go around the neighborhood for trick-or-treat, or to the church parking lots for the Trunk-or-Treat parties, … what will they carry their candy in?

Here are some possibilities I’ve seen, the price ranges, and a frugal or frivolous report card.

• Licensed character bags. The ones I saw were about $2 at Wal-Mart in Monroe and  big enough to hold a lot of loot. But as your child grows into different interests, you’ll get only a year or two use out of them. Frivolous.
• Plastic pumpkin buckets. About $1 on most Halloween shelves. Nice size for little kids to hold. Classic design has been updated with some cool color selections. They don’t hold much, so you might have to “dump” the bucket at least once into another bin or bag. One pumpkin bucket, as long as you don’t break the handle, can last your child’s entire youth. You might still have your old pumpkin bucket somewhere. Frugal.
• Plastic shopping bags. Free. Just grab what ever plastic bag your most recent grocery or drugstore purchase came home in. Over the years I’ve seen stores give away trick-or-treat design shopping bags in October. Problem: they will rip and the candy will fall out. Frugal, but not recommended.
• Canvas shopping bags. Free if you use ones you already have. Pick one that’s green, orange or black; turn the bag inside out, and you’ve got a nifty solid-color bag for trick-or-treat. The canvas shopping bags don’t rip easily, they have handles, and they’re a good size for the purpose. Frugal.
  
• Pillow case. Free if you use one you already have. Not very expensive if you buy one at a second-hand store or even a retail store and decide to decorate it up with fabric paint or stencils. The pillowcases work better for bigger kids than little ones because of the size and the fact they don’t have handles, but they do hold a lot of loot. They also don’t rip as easily as a plastic bag. Frugal.
• Paper framed pumpkin buckets. Sorry, but they’re going to rip under real-life use. Remember that it sometimes does rain on Halloween. Frivolous.
• Backpacks and big purses. I’ve seen people carry those around for candy containers. Try looking for a spare pillow case first. Frugal, but looks silly.