I wasn’t aware of this until right before I came up with the idea for tonight’s post. But somehow I have written a post about Halloween for each of the past five years.
Well, now it is six years in a row.
As I have written in past years, we live in the perfect neighborhood for trick or treating. There are lots of houses close together, and there are A LOT of young kids.
We regularly get more than one hundred trick or treaters, and tonight was no exception.
It was another wonderful night to celebrate Halloween.
But I did notice one thing that was different this year, or at least as I recall it was different.
It seemed all of our neighbors set up tables at the end of their driveways, and placed their bowl of treats on the table. And many of the adults would sit next to the table, enjoying an adult beverage.
Now don’t get me wrong, it was a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday. It was an easy way for kids to just walk down the street and grab candy off of each table, while barely stepping foot on the property.
I have to admit that I missed the kids walking up to the door, knocking on it, and then opening to hear them shout trick or treat. I mean that’s the way I did it as a kid, so that makes it the best way…
I’m not sure if it was a COVID thing, or if this is the way our neighborhood will celebrate Halloween moving forward. If it is, I’ll adapt; and stock up on adult beverages for next year…
And one final note.
I always enjoy watching kids’ behavior when they stick their hands in the bowl of snacks. Some kids just politely take one, some grab as many as they can, some ask how many they are allowed, and my favorite – a couple of kids reached in and accidentally grabbed a couple of pieces of candy, and put everything back except one.
But the best observation was watching the house across the street. The owners are a young couple who were out trick or treating with their daughter, and left their bowl of candy on a table, unattended, at the end of their driveway. It seemed as if most kids just took one piece of candy, but I did notice one small group of kids go back to the table three times, and each time they grabbed a handful of candy.
I’m not sure what it all means, but I’m sure Dan Ariely would have a field day with it. Maybe I should invite him to my neighborhood for next Halloween…
*image from Domestic Fashionista
Kids are the best. I like Halloween because there actually are quite a few kids in my neighborhood, but you don’t always realize it until you see them traipsing around the neighborhood begging for candy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s the same thing here; I wonder where all these kids are the rest of the year…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow on 100 kids! You must get to see all sorts of costumes! Fun that your whole neighborhood joins in and makes it a memorable night!
LikeLiked by 4 people
there were lots of great outfits; when I told one kid I liked his grim reaper outfit he said “Finally, somebody recognized it!” It was a fun night…
LikeLiked by 2 people
LOL! Poor kid. Glad you spoke up. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
how could people not know the grim reaper!
LikeLike
Exactly!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you had a good time! We really enjoyed this year too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
it’s nice to see things getting back to near normal…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Halloween is a lot of fun. We don’t trust kids, so we just hand them the candy (three pieces per kid). And we also give each adult a piece of candy. I’ll bet Dan Ariely could make something of that, also, observing the varied behavior of how adults dispense candy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You give the adults candy too, how nice! We should have came to your neighborhood 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
You should have. If I knew it was you, I’d give you two whole pieces.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Wow! Yeah, 2 whole pisces would have definitely made the trip worthwhile! LOL!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I would even let you choose the biggest pieces.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are too kind!
LikeLiked by 2 people
that is quite generous…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know, so she has nothing to complain about.
LikeLiked by 1 person
is this a reference to some type of zodiac candy?
LikeLike
in our neighborhoods many of the adults are walking around with a beer…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Obviously they are walking around with the wrong drink. LOL!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Personally, my wife and I were drinking sangria…
LikeLike
Well now that is smarter. LOL!
LikeLiked by 1 person
it was quite tasty… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
that seems like a good way to hand out the candy; is it the same three pieces for each kid? and how do you decide what tye of candy each adult gets? Random, or does it depend on their outfit?
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s all random. I don’t like to take the time to be selective. And kids don’t even have to be wearing a costume. I’m a pushover.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you mix up the bowl so that kids aren’t getting three of the same thing. although some kids might like that…
LikeLiked by 1 person
My wife stirs the bowl up with a big witches’ spoon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that should do the trick for those treats…
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve never experienced trick or treating but I think it should be about knocking on the door, and getting add much candy as possible 🎃😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
when I was a kid, that’s all it was about – who got the most candy 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We live at the end of a private drive up a steep hill and rarely get any trick-or-treaters. When someone makes the trek, we reward them thoroughly.
I’m with you about watching the behavior of kids at Halloween. It makes for some interesting experiments and observations.
LikeLiked by 2 people
did you choose such a house just so that you could avoid trick-or-treaters? 🙂
and it is fun to observe the kids, even things like which ones say thank you…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Buuut… one itty bitty kid (maybe 2 yrs old) grabbed a strip of Reeses and lit up with an awesome & adorable smile!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh… I had another comment before this (thus why I started with buuut). I guess it became a ghost of halloween
LikeLiked by 1 person
WordPress is tricking us again…
LikeLike
Yep!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would let him keep all of them 🙂
LikeLike
Around 8pm I decided I’d give people multiple. At 8:30 I decided I’d give ALL the remaining candy to whoever showed up. Sadly, my last trick or treaters were at 7:45.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it does seem like they are finished earlier and earlier; often before dark…
LikeLike
if you consider that kids are just mini adults, their candy behaviors are not totally surprising. some will politely take just one, and others, well…. i always find it funny too, and when they come to my door, i always offer them more than one, due to being 1/2 italian i suppose and just thinking everyone is always hungry and because i just love to celebrate everything. the end of the driveway set up seems to be a covid thing and wonder if it will stick around. when i was a kid the dads took us out and had a beer some of the houses along the way. i love that you have so many kids, i love seeing kids of all ages, out having fun –
LikeLiked by 3 people
we had a mix of both the large size hershey bars, and then a mix of fun size bars. Those hershey bars went pretty quickly. We told kids they could have a Hershey bar or two of the fun size, but we gave up saying anything after the first few…
but is is fun seeing all the kids dressed up and having fun…
LikeLike
You had a great Halloween — more like Halloween when I was a kid in terms of numbers. I didn’t like candy and gave it away. Halloween is a fun time for kids and adults. Though it is a little surprising the tradition has survived form a health and fitness standpoint.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it is a strange tradition if you think about it, but I am glad it has survived over all these years…
LikeLike
As long as the weather cooperates, this sounds like a fun way of handing out candy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
everyone seemed to enjoy it, but I still think I prefer when kids knocked on the door…
LikeLiked by 1 person
100? Sounds like my idea of hell! And it’s 100 more than I had, thankfully. Here’s a tip for next year: before you give them any sweets ask them if they know what Halloween is really about. Only correct answers get a treat.
LikeLiked by 2 people
that’s a good way to get my house toilet-papered next year on Mischief Night 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just think how much it will save you. No need to buy sweets, and all the toilet paper you could ever need. Win-win 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
if there is a shortage of TP next year, maybe I will consider it… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Worth bearing in mind, I’d have thought 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
always apprecaite you thinking of my best interests 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s what friends are for 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like a Halloween buffet. Also looks like it’s still light out. It might be just me but wandering the streets and knocking on doors in the dark is a big park of Halloween for kids. Or it was when I was a kid. Guess I am getting old.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I kinda miss Halloween, and it sounds like you do have the perfect neighbourhood for it. After living on a farm for 22 years, we moved to the city and thought we’ll get lots of kids. We had one kid come by last night…lots of candy left…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well I hope I didn’t mislead everyone because I didn’t get that many kids. Even with giving four bars per kid, I still have too much candy left over. I always buy too much. Years ago the street was full of kids but theses days it’s full of retirees.
LikeLiked by 2 people
that’s not a bad outcome – having too much candy left over 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oops that last comment went to the wrong place.
LikeLiked by 2 people
No such thing as ‘too much candy left’.
LikeLiked by 2 people
😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍👍
LikeLike
I liked wandering around in the dark as a kid as well. It seems these days everyone is finished while it is still light out. Takes away part of the spookiness…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I kinda miss Halloween, and it sounds like you do have the perfect neighbourhood for it. After living on a farm for 22 years, we moved to the city and thought we’ll get lots of kids. We had one kid come by last night…lots of candy left…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Halloween too, yours sounds great. I have to admit I find it hard to resist telling them to only take one each!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find it hard to do as well; especially the younger kids…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sadly, no trick or treaters this year at our home. I guess we get the leftover candy?
LikeLiked by 1 person
do you usually get trick or treaters? that’s too bad that none stopped by, but it’s nice to have all that candy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We tried to be modest in our preparation to avoid a large inventory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
while it’s nice to have some leftover candy, too much can be a problem 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. A large candy inventory can result in a larger calorie count.
LikeLiked by 1 person
as I have learned the hard way…
LikeLiked by 1 person
My M.O. was always to sit on the front porch on our glider with a glass of red wine and pass out candy. We always decorate with burning pumpkins and flashing lights. When I quit drinking, I was shocked to learn that Halloween was my hardest sobriety night of the year. I had really ritualized my routine. Now I’ve mostly passed the duty to my son. Last night, he torched the pumpkins and passed out the candy. When the last group showed up for candy, I heard him say “Hey, haven’t you already been here once?” He’s getting the curmudgeon vibe established early.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it is funny how rituals get established, and how hard they are to break from. I’m glad you were able to successfully transition the job to your son, including that curmudgeon vibe…
LikeLike
I’m in Clive’s camp…100 kids! although Halloween is the stuff nightmares so they say!
LikeLiked by 1 person
the weather was so nice, it made it quite enjoyable!
LikeLike
I’m sure it was Jim and I am happy you enjoyed… 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍
LikeLike
Last night was Charlotte’s first experience with Halloween (the year before we were in major lockdown paranoia and the year before that she broke her foot ON Halloween poor thing and the year before that she was too young to care and we didn’t care to make the effort of going out with a 12month old lol).. She had great fun! We went to my sister’s cul-de-sac and I, too, noticed the tables at the end of the driveways with adults attending it with a beverage in hand. I’m not gonna lie, it felt a bit intimidating if there were a lot of adults standing by chatting and laughing (intimidating for an adult like me, much less a little girl who’s never experienced Halloween) but it did save us from having to go up and down the long driveway and I guess people also didn’t want a bunch of kids mucking up their lawns.
LikeLiked by 1 person
good point, I didn’t think how seeing a bunch of adults outside could be a bit intimidating. another reason to go back tot eh way it used to be 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s good to see kids being thoughtful of others with their candy.
I hope the adult beverage that you are planning to stock up on is for yourself, and not for the trick-or-treaters next year… hahaha…
LikeLiked by 1 person
it is nice to see kids with good manners; and the adult beverages – for anyone over 21 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It sounds like a fun time, Jim. No Halloween in this neck of the woods, except for my Halloween display, of course. .
LikeLiked by 1 person
is there no Halloween in just your neighborhood, or in South Africa in general?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pretty much in South Africa as a whole. There is the odd party, but it isn’t a thing here at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always enjoy learning these tidbits about other countries; thanks…
LikeLike
Hilarious Jim. And it seems you are quite the observer. Perhaps you should be the mayor of your street, lol. Our old neighbor always knew what was going on in the neighborhood and would report to me and my husband. We’d laugh and dubbed him the Mayor of our street. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I already have the title of “the Old Guy” on the street… 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Lol, why am I not surprised? 🙂 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
neither am I; but young at heart 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s what counts! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
👍
LikeLiked by 1 person
And just like that it’s been six years. And in another six years you’ll be writing your twelfth Halloween post, and you’ll be thinking about me mentioning this six years prior. Time’s scary like this. Dang, I almost dread your next year’s Halloween post now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
time marches on – that is a bit scary…
LikeLike
Without children, Halloween would seem empty of joy. I salute poor ol’ Charlie Brown. Every Halloween he checks his bag and finds a tasty “rock.” Talk about a huge “jawbreaker.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, Richard. I would miss kids going around at Halloween, that’s my favorite part of the occasion. and you gotta admire Charlie Brown’s perseverance…
LikeLiked by 1 person
See, most people are really good at heart, and it starts in childhood. I like the idea of congregating at the end of the driveway with the neighbors. Nice!
LikeLiked by 1 person
there are tradeoffs with the end of the driveway thing. it is nice to be out and chatting with the neighbors, but I miss the experience of kids coming up to your door and saying trick or treat…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I get it!
LikeLiked by 1 person