Trick or Treat... definitely a treat!

This evening I took my kids’ trick or treating for the first time and we had a ball!

Halloween has been a tricky holiday for our family because my husband completely rejects any celebration of the “dark side or gothic anything,” and until this year we lived in a neighborhood where I didn’t feel comfortable traveling on foot with my kids after dark for any reason, much less for a booty of candy. Our Halloween celebrations have included a few harvest and costume parties. The kids were satisfied with these muted celebrations for the first few years, but as they've gotten older and a bit more sophisticated as to what’s at stake on Halloween, they have become quite vocal about wanting to add the trick or treat component to our Halloween activities.

I’ve had numerous conversations over the years where my friends and I commiserate about how different the world is since we were kids, but tonight, as I watched Olivia in her cheerleader costume and Yannick outfitted as Wolverine, go from house to house announcing “trick or treat,” I vividly remembered my happy romps collecting candy up and down Bonsall Avenue. And, just like my mom, I’ll have to make some of the candy magically disappear, or my husband and I will be paying a hefty price in dental visits.

But, for me, this annual nocturnal tradition, offers neighbors a chance to step out of their doors and reconnect with each other and this is what was sorely lacking in our old neighborhood. It’s what I had growing up and I want no less for my brown babies.