Autumn is upon us and no other holiday can mean more to a neighborhood than Halloween. Trick or treating is a time honored tradition that is loads of fun for the kids, but it’s also a great way to bring an entire neighborhood together. Of course, Halloween can also bring out some of the ghouls and goblins, so here are some tips to consider when planning trick or treating in your neighborhood.
Tips for Halloween
- Of course, trick or treating always works best when planned in advance. Organize your neighborhood a few weeks in advance and let homeowners know that there is a concerted effort.
- Publish planned trick or treating hours, ideally early enough for the very little ones, but running late enough for older kids to have a real Halloween night experience. In general, 5-8 pm works best.
- Encourage homeowners to follow a lights on/lights off policy. If they wish to have trick or treaters visit, they can leave the porch or exterior light on. If they’d prefer to not be disturbed, lights off.
- If you have the time and resources, consider creating a simple welcome sign to distribute. You can cut out orange jack-o-lanterns from construction paper and distribute to neighbors, encouraging to tape them to their door to welcome trick or treaters.
- Depending on how rowdy your neighborhood gets, you may want to ask for adults to volunteer to walk the streets in the later hours of night. This can help prevent the fun from getting out of hand.