Trick-or-Treat

Tonight (Sunday) was trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. 

Last week I had asked our next door neighbors what to expect so that I could plan accordingly.  They said to plan for 150-200 trick-or-treaters.  Oh my!  Buying candy for 150-200 trick-or-treaters ain't cheap.  Here is what it looks like.

That's about $50.00 worth of candy right there and I had already given out about $20.00 worth of candy before I took this picture.  Dag.  Breaking the bank. 

Our neighbors also said that most of the people who live on our court put fire pits out in their driveways and sit out by the fire to hand out candy.  I love the concept, but I don't have a fire pit.  Well, that's not exactly true.  We have one on our deck.  It's just too heavy for me to move.  So I had to hand out candy from the front door of the house.  It worked out fine though.  Maybe next year Scott and I can have a fire pit and join the neighbors outside for Beggar's Night.

Here is a shot around the court, taken from the front door of our house tonight.

 
Not a great picture, but you can see our next door neighbors sitting out by their fire pit.  Even though it doesn't show up clearly, all three of the driveways in this picture have fire pits set up.  Our next door neighbors also had music playing outside; Ghost Busters, Monster Mash, etc.  It made for a fun atmosphere. 

I like that trick-or-treat here is actually on Halloween.  And it's from 6-8 PM, so it's dark outside.  Now that's how trick-or-treat should be.

I was really impressed with how mannerable all the kids were.  I think with the exception of a group of 3 pre-teen boys, every trick-or-treater that came to the house said "thank you" after getting candy.  Perhaps a sign of living in a small town.

There was an array of costumes.  Here is a photo of three girls in a school bus.

So, that's a summary of our first trick-or-treat here in Stoughton.  I wish Scott had been here with me.  He would have had fun.   

As I reminisce, I'm remembering that last year on trick-or-treat we were still living in Columbus and I had a gum graft earlier in the day.  Wow.  It's hard to believe a year has passed.  In some ways it seems to have gone by so quickly.  In other ways, it seems an eternity. 

We probably ended up with 150 trick-or-treaters tonight.  It was a constant stream of kids.  Kids in costumes, saying thank you.  Parents out on the street watching their kids.  Neighbors out by fire pits.  Music playing.  It was a festive atmosphere.  It felt small town and I enjoyed being a part of it.  I would have enjoyed it more if Scott was here.  Maybe next year.