Drop-off trick-or-treating
Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Fun & activities, Holidays, Playground bureau, Weird but true
Across the country, kids are gearing up for the one holiday when it is socially acceptable to ask perfect strangers for candy, and some people are scouting out locations that might offer a better selection for their little ghosts and goblins.Residents in some cities and neighborhoods across the country complain that on Halloween eve, minivans full of kids from other locations will show up on their street and expel gaggles of ghouls looking for high-quality treats. Some websites even go so far as to publish the best locations in town.
Just what makes a neighborhood prime trick-or-treating real estate? Thickly settled, well-lit streets with plenty of porch lights glowing, and low automobile traffic, well as a high ratio of homes decked out in Halloween finery. Perception doesn't hurt, either -- neighborhoods with a reputation for wealth are more likely to draw visitors from other areas.
Just how acceptable is it to engage in drive-by trick-or-treating? It depends on which side of the street you're on. Those in popular locations grumble that parents are looking for a way get "better pickings" for their kids, without having to reciprocate, while others claim it is a matter of safety. Imagine what it's like for parents of kids who live in Chicago's notorious public housing, for example.
What do you think? Would you drop your child off in a "better" neighborhood on Halloween, or do you find the practice obnoxious and greedy?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Katty 10-13-2008 @ 2:17PM
I live in a community where there are literally no children, it is about 30 houses and there is one other house with kids, so we have to go to another neighborhood to trick or treat because there isn't even a hint of a ghost decoration on any of our neighbors. We are actually going to a neighborhood that we got invited to go, so I think that's okay. We used to live in neighborhood where we got the caravans of kids coming in and it didn't really bother me, until we saw older kids being dropped off unsupervised and they would take buckets of candy that were left in front of a house with those cute "take one" signs and dump the entire thing into their bag and then I was mad. So I think it all depends on the situation and whether or not you are respectful to the neighborhood that you have dropped into.
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Sarah 10-13-2008 @ 2:23PM
If safety is genuinely the issue, than I can sympathize with parents trying to give their children a safe and happy Halloween.
Barring that issue, I believe that Halloween is one of the few times we get out and talk to our neighbors. The old cost/benefit issue is perfectly illustrated here. When other families descend on a neighborhood for Halloween, they are reaping all of the benefits, and sharing none of the costs. There is little impetus to make connections as you walk around the neighborhood, as you'll more than likely never see those people again. At least until next year...
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Jenni 10-13-2008 @ 2:29PM
You need an "other" vote. I don't think of it as greedy, just a better place to go. Afterall, I drive around to see other neighborhoods Christmas decorations! This holiday really is about sharing with those around. Sure your sharing candy that will most likely be tossed out, but it's a small connection people are making with each other.
It's an enjoyable experience for many people. Stop hording the candy and enjoy everyone. We spend the evening sitting in the driveway of a friends house (not in our neighborhood) just enjoying each other's company. At the root of it all, it's about enjoying other people, watching adorable children, and connecting with those that we wouldn't typically connect with any other day.
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ame s 10-13-2008 @ 4:44PM
I, for one, would not drop my kids off anywhere.
I live in a fairly large neighborhood for our town. The sidewalks stop about half a mile from where I live, so there is aways a lot of automobile traffic on Halloween. My "side" of the nieghborhood (2 story, 2500+ sq feet brick homes) gets many more trick-or-treaters than the area with the one story viny-sided homes. We see many trucks hauling trailors with dozens of children on them. We are mostly a cove nieghborhood, but as long as people are careful it goes pretty well.
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colleen 10-13-2008 @ 6:48PM
MEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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colleen 10-13-2008 @ 6:50PM
cuz that sounded catty!
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c_rousseau05 10-13-2008 @ 9:36PM
I don't drop off my kids, that's for sure, I stay with them. However, growing up we lived on a "bad" side of town, the side of town you just don't want to be out in at night so my parents would often take us to the local mall to trick or treat, even go to the nice neighborhood that my future high school was located in. The area is known for everyone making their porch a special fun-house, where neighbors all stay outside dressed in costumes, a genuinely fun place to be. They know that they get trick-or-treaters from all over the city and are prepared, they make light of it and enjoy giving to the community in this way and putting smiles on childrens faces. This neighborhood is notorious for having fairs and such to give back to the community and our children.
I think if neighborhoods don't want "visitors" on Halloween night then they should block off their streets and hire security because there's absolutely no way they can keep cars out otherwise. I can see why some neighborhoods might be concerned for safety when people drop their kids off and they act like immature hoodlums and only cause problems, but for those parents who walk with their children for the sake of being in a better place, a safer place, I really don't see the harm in it. So many places now have malls and stuff the general community can go to, to provide safer places to walk.
I think it's just as "greedy" to pick and choose what kids you want to give to, you might as well close your door and not give at all in protest of all the drive by trick or treating. My only concern for Halloween is that kids are safe and can walk along well - lit streets or in malls that are heavily guarded with security. I'm not too concerned about where the kids come from, who cares.
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SKL 10-13-2008 @ 10:47PM
What's worse: a greedy kid or a stingy adult?
Lighten up - it's candy!
If you're not feeling festive, keep your light off and go out for dinner.
My niece lives in the boonies. When she was of trick-or-treating age, she was not able to walk to even the nearest neighbor's house, even if they didn't live on a dirt road with no sidewalks. Naturally her parents brought her "into town" so she wouldn't be completely left out.
Little kids are supposed to be greedy on Halloween. There's only so much loot they can score while walking up and down the street. When they get so big that their greed really brings out the scrooge in a lot of people, they are probably too old to trick-or-treat.
Gosh, if people are this stingy about Halloween candy, it's a wonder children's charities don't close up shop.
Karen 10-14-2008 @ 8:43AM
We are a family that is meeting up with three other families, pulling the hay filled trailer and trick or treating in another neighborhood. Why? Our neighborhood is dead, and the fun of Halloween is seeing all the kids in their costumes, talking to the other parents and getting candy. So we go where all the other kids go. It is no fun to go to one house, walk two block to find another house with a light on, repeat.
And as far as handing out candy goes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to see the kids in their costumes.
I wouldn't drop off my kids anywhere though. If they are old enough to be dropped off, they are too old to trick or treat. Trick or treating is an ADULT SUPERVISED activity. Or should be!
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Marylena 10-14-2008 @ 11:29AM
I used to live way out in a rural area. My next door neighbors were 1/2 mile down the road one direction and 3/4 of a mile in the other direction. The nearest small town was several miles away.
If a child were living in that house and wanted to trick-or-treat, just like any other child on Halloween, they would have to be driven from house to house. The distances between houses are just to great to expect a kid to walk to more than two or three house. Also, houses out in the country don't often participate in Trick-or-Treating. They don't realistically expect anyone to show up at their door.
So, it doesn't both me to see minivans full of kids in my rural suburban neighborhood. I just hand them some candy and wish them a fun time. After all, I buy the candy to give it away. I sympathize with parents that live so far out in the country that it really is there only practical option for trick-or-treating
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Jenn 10-14-2008 @ 10:07PM
We go and trick-or-treat with my sister & her family -- about 30 minutes away. So yeah, we go to a different neighborhood, but it's not because we think it's a bigger haul, it's so we can spend time with family.
(And yes, I know, my sister could come out to my house....but it doesn't work that way in my family.)
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CiCi 10-24-2008 @ 10:42PM
We really could never know if all the trick or treaters that come to our home live in our neighborhood -and honestly- it doesn't matter at all to us.
What matters is that we know we are giving someone a moment to continue a tradition that we enjoyed so much as children, show off their costumes (we are big on compliments!), take home a handful of goodies, and just maybe- a sense of what community is all about.
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