Five Reasons Why You Need to Trick or Treat in Your Own Neighbourhood

Are you thinking about going elsewhere than your neighbourhood this year? We’ve got a few reasons why you should consider sticking to your own neighbourhood when it comes to trick or treating this year.

You’re not going to find community at the Mall. I am a firm believer that you should stay out of the mall when it comes to trick or treating. Get out in your own neighbourhood, you’re going to help with that sense of community that so many communities are lacking nowadays. Getting out there, putting homes to the faces of kids you see around the neighbourhood (and their parents) is going to help build that.

Meet the ‘over there neighbours’. Trick or treating, you’re going to get to know not only your close-by neighbours, if you don’t know them already – but you’re going to be able to get out and meet people six doors down, the next street over. These neighbours might just have children, and it’s likely that your children are going to school together, so get out there and meet them and you just might find yourself (or your children) with some new friends.

To teach community. You need to get out there and trick or treat in your own neighbourhood to show your children the importance of getting out and enjoying the community, in addition to teaching the kids that it’s good to get to know people in the neighbourhood. What if they’re down the block or a street over and need help – do you want them to have a bit of familiarity to ask for help if you’re not immediately around.

There’s better candy. Think about it – how much candy are you going to get if you skip the trick or treating and head out to the mall or to another event on Halloween night? Last year, trick or treating only a fraction of the houses in our neighbourhood Olivia had a haul of almost twenty full size chocolate bars. Sure, we donated a lot of the candy after Halloween – but that thrill of a full size chocolate bar? You’re not going to get that at the mall.

You can plan your attack. If you trick or treat in your own neighbourhood, you can not only run home and dump your candy when it gets too heavy, but you know which house is going to give the best treats, which houses you want to stop by and say ‘Hello’ and which houses you want to stop by to see your own friends.

What about you? What’s your plan to tackle trick or treating this year?