Halloween Trick-or-Treating: Local or Elsewhere

I was never a big fan of Halloween, but with a child, I’m all-in on the holiday. I get such a kick seeing kids in costume. They’re so cute!

My hometown is Halloween central. We have our own pumpkin patch complete with 4-story bouncy houses and a petting zoo. There’s trick-or-treating at all of the commercial areas. The kids involved in the Park & Rec department put together a haunted house. We’ve got back-to-back festivities for the days leading up to the big day.

Something that has been bothering me, however, is where to trick-or-treat on the evening of Halloween. I grew up on the border of my town’s Gold Coast neighborhood, which looks the way it sounds. Homes go decoration-overboard with graveyards, cobwebs, orange lights, and fog machines. Everyone loves it and families drive in from other cities to join in on the celebration. That’s where we headed this year because that’s my family tradition. It’s the only area that comes to my mind when it comes to trick-or-treating.

But then, after an enjoyable few hours, we returned to the neighborhood where we actually live. Our neighbors were still passing out candy and greeted us. I asked them what it’s like in our own neighborhood and they said they see a max of 40 kids, whereas the Gold Coast homes see hundreds. That made me sad.

Should we make an effort to “go local?” Shouldn’t we foster community by trick-or-treating in our own neighborhoods vs driving to the more desirable areas?

What do you think? What do you do?

Here’s the Sesame Street family featuring Cookie Monster.