Halloween plans?

I was just wondering what people are doing for Halloween this year.

My daughter is looking forward to trick-or-treating this year, but I don't feel 100% about doing that in our neighborhood (apartment complex, not many kids, lots of teens, several young adults in gang style clothes). Maybe it's just that I don't know so many people here. Mom-in-law suggested that I take her to a nice neighborhood for it, so I thought I might take her to our old one. We used to live here two years ago before a stint in CA. I just don't feel really good about that, you know? Not that the people would probably know, but still . . .

Other neighborhoods I've lived in have done away with trick-or-treat altogether. Often the homeowners' association does something at a park. We haven't found a church home yet, but I know lots of churches have parties too. I don't think my kid would go for that though, she really likes the candy!

My husband is taking our kids trick-or-treating this year while I give out candy . Last year it was pouring rain on halloween so they didn't go at all. My five year old son is being Spiderman, and my 2 year old daughter is being a kitty ( I bribed her ). LOL
Oh, and my son has a parade in the morning that day at kindergarten. :-) They are letting all the kindergartners bring their costumes in to school, and they are having a show for all the parents. He is pretty excited.
I am not fond of Halloween, I did not even really like it as a kid. But my kids love it, and I do enjoy giving out candy ( especially to the young kids) and see their costumes.

We don't celebrate holloween for personal and religious reasons....but my son always got the BIGGEST candy bar we could find at the store! He said he didn't mind not celebrating - as long as he got candy!

Might i suggest checking with the local police or fire depts. Many of these up here hold parties for the local youngsters or at least they may know of some other agency.

Also suggest no bedsheet ghosts. you could freak people out who see a bunch of smallish folks in white robes scurrying around the neighborhood with mysterious looking parcels.

At my house no one goes trick or treating anymore. :witch: First I plan to pass out candy to all the little trick or treaters. And then I am going to watch a SCARY movie!

This weekend, we are going to first roof the house in the am and then we are going to either dress up and go out or we are going to have a house warming party for friends that just bought a house!
Either way, I think we will have fun!

My husband and I are taking our nephew (6yr old James) to "Boo at the Zoo" on Saturday morning. It's a really great thing the Denver Zoo does the Saturday before Halloween. The zookeepers dress up in costume and pass out candy. They give all the animals pumpkins to play with. If the kids are in costume, then they get in free. If adults are in costume they get in for $1. It's really great!

Then, on Halloween, my husband and I are just going to give out candy (since I will actually get trick-or-treaters this year since I live in a neighborhood instead of an apartment).



Janice

Our Oregon Zoo, where Mr Cat and I both used to work, also has what they call Zoo Boo...they decorate much of the zoo with animated light sculptures (animals) and the zoo train that runs through the zoo takes passengers through it...its a lot of fun!

Personally, I am working (in costune, a tiger) so my night will be interesting, to say the least. :laughing2: But the weekend (saturday) may be fun, as there are lots of parties in the neighborhood and most of the peeople there are good, honest, non violent folk. (lets hope)

We'll see....

You know, I never did that "Zoo Boo" thing! I think the reason centered on the fact whomever was heading up the volunteer effort for that specific activity was a big pain in the posterior. (I'll not name names, although I think the person in question is long gone from the zoo scene.) I was more the work-with-animals type, not so much a greet-the-people type. When I was working at what was called the Washington Park Zoo (later called the Metro Washington Park Zoo for political reasons) and is now the Oregon Zoo (yet more politics), there were lots of animal-caretaker opportunities for volunteers to work with animal keepers; but under the Sheng administration those opportunities began to dwindle and I decided to dwindle along with them.

Regarding Halloween, I'll not be donning a costume and accosting neighbors this year. Nor do I have the wherewithall to lay in stores of treats for minor solicitors. I like the kids coming around, but were I to greet and thus frighten them without the compensatory benefit of a hand-out I'd not feel good about the situation.



=^..^=

I am not sure what the husband has planned
I guess he will answer the door and hand out apples again LOL
I will be working an afternoon shift at the hospital, so it will be a long one regardless.
I am not allowed to wear a costume , it scares the patients too much.(As if our uniforms are not enough to put the fear of god into them)
As for "Trick or Treating" I am afraid I forbid my kids to go, too many unsafe people out there.
But I will take this opportunity to wish you all a very safe Halloween

:bat Tish :bat

In Alaska we always went way out. Decorated the porch making it into a small haunted house with lots of scary things. Playing a record from the 50's of spooky halloween sounds. Both Mike and I would dress up really scary and spook the kids who were brave enough to come to the door. Each year we would get more intense and all the kids loved to come to our place. But here, there are no trick or treaters as we live right off a busy highway. I kind of enjoy the peace and quiet though, because doing all that stuff was very time-consuming.

For those of you who would like to have your children trick or treat but aren't sure because of safety - many local police & fire stations do candy scanning. There are police officers who "know what to look for" and will look through your children's candy to make sure it will be safe. Sometimes they don't just do it at the police and fire stations. When I was a kid the local McDonald's had the police come there to scan candy. My mom would take me there every year after trick or treating and there was always some candy that the officers would throw away. Just a thought for those who have kids who won't settle for anything else (Fall Fun Festivals, etc.) other than trick or treating. (You can also take your kids to the mall to trick or treat).

Sunlion - Maybe you could go to Boo at the Zoo at the Fort Worth Zoo. I think it runs from Oct 20-28 from 6 to 8 each night. Also, my church, which is really, really close to you is having a Fall Festival on Halloween night. It's from 6 - 8:30, and the kids will be getting tons of candy. There will be 2 bouncy houses, a rock climbing wall, and lots of game booths (like fishing for candy, cake walks, etc.). It's going to be a lot of fun. You don't have to be a member to go, or even Baptist! My neighbors are going with me and they're Disciples of Christ. Our church is doing this as a community service, and it's free.

If you're interested, its the Church on Rush Creek at the corner of Bowen and Green Oaks. It's the one with the new building and the tent looking thing in the back. It's not the Disciples of Christ church, which is right across the street. We're on the south east corner of the intersection.

Dawn,

We did "After Dark at the Park" at River Legacy, because she's in school there.

She actually likes the trick-or-treat stuff, but I'm going to show your thing to hubby. I'd rather have her go to a party and I know she loves those moonwalk things . . .

thanks for the idea!