Nick or Treat

Nick or Treat was a popular Halloween-themed block on Nickelodeon that aired annually from 1985 to 2002. The program had a variety of methods for giving away prizes and was enjoyed by many viewers. Sadly, Nick or Treat was cancelled in 2002 due to allegations of inappropriate language being used on the show Despite its unfortunate end, many fans still remember the excitement and fun of watching Nick or Treat every Halloween season.

1985

For the 1st event, the winners could spend Halloween Weekend in Hollywood, CA, stay at a special hotel, be driven in a limousine, and earn $500. One of the biggest parts about the giveaway, was going to the Burman Studio to make a costume of his/her own. Plus, they would earn bags of M&M's, along with Viewmaster's Gremlin reel set.

1988

All that is currently known about the 1988 event is that 1,000 winners would get a Count Duckula comic, and one of the toys from Playskool's Definitely Dinosaurs toyline.

The sponsor for this year was Dolly Surprise by Playskool.

1989

For 1989, 2,001 winners could stay in Arizona and ride in the 1990 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl Parade.

1991

For 1991, 1,000 winners could receive:

• A glow-in-the-dark Nickelodeon slumber bag from Coleman.
• $10 worth of Pizza Hut gift cards.
• And a few other prizes that weren't specifically stated in this promo.

1992

For a whole week during the O-Zone and on Halloween morning, 2,500 winners could get:

• A glow-in-the-dark Nickelodeon t-shirt
• $5 in McDonald's gift certificates
• A package of Amazin' Fruit Gummy Bears

During that week, if someone visited McDonald's, he/she could say "Nick sent me!" and would earn a free Amazin' Fruit Gummy Bears package.

The sponsors for this year were McDonald's and Amazin' Fruit Gummy Bears.

1993

For 1993, the winners won:

• A glow-in-the-dark Nickelodeon t-shirt
• $10 in McDonald's gift certificates

They were called by Alfred and Seymour from Roundhouse on October 30th.

1994 & 1995

Nick or Treat for 1994 and 1995 are considered the biggest years for Nick or Treat. The event was done in the form of a game show, filmed live at Nickelodeon Studios.

Hosts

The hosts for the show were Radar the Bat, Joey the Werewolf, a hunchback person, Pumpky the Jack-o'-Lantern, Pizza Dude, an old lady, Invisible Guy, and Fred Newman himself during the blocks. All of the Halloween characters were performed by Newman.

Summary

The contestant would be a kid on the phone who had to collect prizes from six houses. He/she has 40 seconds to go to each house to find the prizes. The contestant had to say which house they wanted to go and press a number on the phone to open the door. Whenever the contestant was running to each house, obstacles, such as ghosts or witches, are in the way. Inside one of the houses would be 4 of the Aaahh!!! Real Monsters saying that they don't have any prizes for the contestant, if the house does not have prizes. However, the other houses would have prizes in them, such as video games, video gaming systems, television sets, the Nickelodeon Pack (an assortment of gifts from different shows which was the biggest prize on the show), and CD games. The object of the game was to get the most prizes before the 40 seconds were up. The prizes were:

1994

• A Nickelodeon grab-bag with an Are You Afraid of the Dark? CD-ROM
• A ride in a haunted limousine.
• An IBM Aptiva Multimedia PC.
• 1000 runner ups could receive:
  • An Aaahh!!! Real Monsters t-shirt.
  • A "Nickelodeon Frightfest" VHS by Sony Wonder.
  • A McDonald's McWorld hat.

1995

• Sony Wonder's Aaahh!!! Real Monsters VHS tapes
• Knuckles' Chaotix for the Sega Genesis with a 32X add-on
• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters video game for the SEGA Genesis (Strangely being presented separately from the other SEGA Genesis prize)
• Playskool's Cool Tools set
• One lucky winner could receive a new TV.

The contest was revived as part of TeenNick's The Splat block in 2015. However, it was not used again in subsequent years.

The sponsors for these years were McDonald's (1994 and 1995) and Playskool (1995).

1997

For 1997, on October 25th, the game show concept was reused, but with differences in the background music, the prizes, and the hosts (currently the only footage of the game show from this year features someone in a ghost costume hosting).

• The live action set from '94 and '95 was brought back, but it had been seemingly decorated with more Halloween flair than before (ex. more cobwebs had been added to the set, compared to the previous years).

For the game show, the known prizes were:

• A Nickelodeon denim jacket.
• A Sabrina doll and Max Force.

If a winner didn't end up playing, they could instead win an Aaahh!!! Real Monsters prize package.

1999

For 1999, the event was used with the short-lived block 101% Whizbang! With Henry and June .

Summary

During some of the shows on the block, spooky images would be hidden in the episode. These included a bat, a ghost, a skull, a spider, and a witch's head. The viewer could write down the image that he/she saw in a postcard, and could win a ride with his/her friends in a haunted limousine, with a trunk full of 3 Musketeers candy bars. 100 first prize winners could get one of the toys from Beast Wars Transformers's Transmetal set.

2002

In 2002, winners could spend Halloween with some of the cast members of All That, and a vault of 7,800 Hershey's chocolate bars. 500 winners could also win 78 more bars when called on October 26th.

The sponsor for this year was Hershey.