We haven't gotten any kids coming to our door at all for the last few years; the local mall offers "safe" trick-or-treating and they all go there now.
DH did the Halloween candy shopping. There were 3 stages of candy purchasing.
Stage 1= candy that was definitely being given away (meaning he didn't like it or was allergic)
Stage 2= Candy that was given out ONLY if all the candy from stage 1 was gone (meaning he liked it but was OK with giving it out)
Stage 3= Candy that was not to be given out under any circumstances (meaning if all candy from stages 1 and 2 were gone, the porch light was turned off and the NO ONE was to go anywhere near the front door for any reason until all trick or treating ceased). Stage 3 candy was never given out because it was ALL of his favorites.
One year, I dressed the dog in her chicken costume and took her for a walk around the neighborhood because she liked seeing all of the kids. I knocked on our door as a joke and to see what he would do. I got stage 1 candy which I put right back in the bowl.
However, when we did get trick-or-treaters our house was the most popular in the neighborhood because we handed out quarters instead of candy. The parents loved it because it's hard to poison quarters {Note: Poisoned Halloween candy is an urban myth}, and the kids liked it because they could buy whatever they wanted with our treat. And we liked it because there was no temptation involved, and we paid only for the treats we actually handed out.
Margret