Trick-Or-Treat On My Street.

Source: From Old Books

A group of my neighbors got together and got a permit to close off the street where I live for Halloween. Of course Halloween has to fall on a Monday, the one day of the week when I go into the office—the one day of the week when I actually drive to work. But the closure is only from 6:00PM to 8:00PM and I plan to be home long before that. Besides I think it’s a really good idea to close off some streets for trick-or-treaters. There are no sidewalks in my neighborhood and I like that there will be a time when kids and even whole families can safely walk up and down the street.

It looks like we’re also repeating what we did last year. Instead of kids going up and knocking on doors everyone who wants to hand out candy will sit at the end of their driveways. Last year my neighbor and I set up a little table with candy and we just let kids reach in and grab whatever they wanted—and we let a few parents, and even some adults without kids, do that too. Halloween is for everybody which is why some people handed out plastic glasses of wine to their fellow adults.

It’s a much better system than the usual trick-or-treating. If I run out of candy—although I think I’ve bought more than enough—I can just take my bowl and go back inside and I won’t have to worry about any kids knocking on my door and being disappointed that I’m all out. And if neighbors are getting together and putting this much effort into making it a safe event that’ll take place at a specified time that means there will be trick-or-treaters. There were years when we didn’t have any, and, to make it worse, I’d always buy a big bag of candy and turn on the porch light—the traditional sign of a Halloween-friendly house—only to have the whole night go by without a single ghost or goblin.

Then there was the year I decided not to buy any candy and didn’t even turn on the porch light only to have a witch, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Spider-Man all show up at the same time. In a panic I rummaged through the junk drawer so they got a three-year old package of Life Savers, a couple of books of matches, a handful of twist ties, and a screwdriver.

The next year I had candy and turned the porch light on and saw a few groups of trick-or-treaters going up and down the street but they avoided our house. I still feel bad about that even though it’s now been long enough that those same kids, if they’re still around, are now old enough that they could have one of those glasses of wine.

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4 Comments

  1. Allison

    We grinched out this year and kept the lights off – I got home after dark and it was raining. I didn’t see or hear any kids, so I feel justified. Grinchy, but justified. Your way sounds more fun!

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      My neighbor and I ended up joining the people across the street and we combined all our candy and gave it away. It rained here, too–starting at about six o’clock, and I even said, “Couldn’t it have held off for just a couple of hours?” But then it stopped and we had quite the crowd.
      It was definitely fun, but I guess some neighborhoods are just Grinchy.

      Reply
  2. ANN J KOPLOW

    I missed the Trick or Treaters this year because Monday is the one day I work in-person. I put out a pumpkin on the stairs for the first time ever and even though our porch lights need replacement (which I discovered when I was leaving for work in the morning), kids did ring our bell. (Last year, nobody did.) Michael handed out candy and we had bought enough that I just finished the last of it yesterday. I am now officially and belatedly declaring this a success, but I like your method better.
    ANN J KOPLOW recently posted…Day 3604: Celebrate!My Profile

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      I’m glad Michael got to hand out candy, and can report that my neighborhood Halloween was a success too in spite of some rain. The one thing I forgot was a pumpkin. And also we had just enough leftover candy to enjoy some the next day.

      Reply

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