Today is Halloween.

The night when all things spooky go out and show up.

With this whole Covid crap going on - are you expecting more, less or about the same of tricker or treaters showing up at your door?

I'll be helping out at the local Trunk N Treat event in a small town near by

I'm looking out for you Ray.

We live in a COVID red zone and also usually get about 300 of them a year, I think its crazy to have door to door trick or treaters under the circumstances. Several of the towns around us have said to not do it,..but OUR Mayor is very wishy washy and won't do it,..

So we are not participating this year, Yeah I love seeing most kids dressed up,.but I don't want these little carriers bring back viruses to parents and grandparents.

Not sure they really need all that candy and dyes besides. Also I know grade school teachers that say their students are a bit crazy for days after Halloween.They are convinced that its because of all the sugar and dyes in the candy.

If parents are worried their children are missing out, I suppose they can buy them candy and do alternative thing THIS year.

Haven't had kids come to our door in 30 years, and that's at two different houses! Both at the end of a dead end street with few other houses, black as night, no lights on...maybe there's a reason LOL!

I haven't done the Trick or Treat Candy give out for a million years since some rowdy teens decided to get aggressive about the candy. Made it not so fun. But every year our street has a convoy of SUV's which pull up, let off anywhere between 10-15 people who hit nearby houses, and then pile back in to be transported to the next block. Usually it's around 300 people or so. All very cute and respectful. This year I don't expect anyone to come by, given our Covid conditions. Some neighbors are putting out a bowl of candy in front of their houses, but nobody has decorated or done the usual fun stuff this year.

One Halloween my friend Greg and I went to our local movie house to see the Halloween scary movie, well I had seen other so called scary movies in those days (Late 50s) and they were mainly VERY slow monsters that chased a young lady who IF walked slowly backward,..would have easily out ran it,..but no,..she would scream and scream,..apparently frozen in fear and couldn't move,..you saw the monster slowly getting to her,..you would never see the monster actually get her,. it would cut away,..but you knew that he did and she was done for.

So this time they were showing a different movie,..it was called "The Horror of Dracula" Christopher Lee was Dracula

Now neither of us ever heard of Dracula,.people find that incredible now, as his being has exploded,.(Count Chocolate and all).but in those days there was only Bela Lugosi back in the 30s,..if you ever did see that it was only on the late.late show on TV which we would not be allowed to stay up for,.

Well at age 10,..I realize I should have never watched that movie,..it effected me for about 2 years! I would for at least one year to NOT be out by myself after sundown,..I made sure there was a crucifix, over my bed,..I left the light on all night with something under my door so my parents wouldn't see that.

After about a year,..Greg confessed about the same,.

So a few years ago after telling this to my secretary said that her husband collected campy old horror movies,..the next day she brought in the DVD of it,..so that Halloween night,..with a bit of trepidation,..I watched it,..as an adult, and probably with all the jadedness of what is on these days,..it wasn't scary at all,..I was surprised how much detail was lasered in my mind,..incredible detail,..If I could draw I could have reproduced the tapestries in the castle, the carvings on the bed frame etc. but also how MUCH I got wrong!,.probably from dreaming about it over and over,.and changing it.

Oh here is the trailer if anyone is interested,..

So no one else on my street did Halloween for several years, lights off, and I sat outside with stuff and no one came. So I won't do it again. There are no kids on the street, just weird old men and people from way out of town. The last time I did it with results it was a lot of fun and I met all the kids. All moved since then.

There was a trunk-or-treat in the park today, but I took the kids to see a magician/illusionist show in the town nearby. We got back to the house around 6:30 to pass out candy. Around here, trick-or-treat starts around 4:00-5:00 and usually wraps up around 8 pm. The kids trick-or-treated around a few blocks with their dad, while I stayed home to give out candy. Then they got back and took over the candy distribution.

I'll usually set aside a few pieces of the good stuff for DH and myself... he likes the Snickers the best. I have a weakness for York Peppermint Patties, and deliberately didn't buy any. But I never buy anything that I'd mind if we got left with a pile of it. :P

Well its past time,...instead of getting the usual 300+ ,..not ONE person came to the door,..I thought maybe because the porch light was off but I kept looking out the window and we usually see bands of kids and parents walking up and down the sidewalks,..cars dropping the off etc,..I didn't see ONE person. I did see a few more cars go by,..don't know if they had a destination or they were scoping out the neighborhood (this is THE neighborhood around here) and decided that in not seeing roving bands and few lights on, just kept going..

I don't know if its like this in your area,..but more and more adults have been showing up in the group with a bag. and then the women with a small baby and holding out a bag for that one,..(yeah sure) Oh yeah,..then there are the kids with 2 bags,..one for his brother at home,.for whatever reason.

Usually 98 kids.

Prepped only 32 bags expecting few takers. All were gone with an hour left. I set a small table toward the street. Inflatable Snoopy and Minion guarding the table for fun.

National Front Porch Evangelism Night My house is known for giving lots of chocolate and playing the 10 Commandment Game - for each commandment your GROUP can name EVERYONE gets a piece of candy. Car loads come to play the game. Some kids practice. One had all 10 in a song! We have a lot of fun.

Each child gets a bag with Kid appropriate gospel tracts with jokes, brain teasers, puppies, 10 Commandment coin, and Million Dollar Bill. The kids love it. They run back to the parents saying "Look! I got a million dollars!"

About half don't know what a commandment is, even with prodding like "Thou shall not...lie?" Or have a clue who Jesus is.

Even the parents don't know.

One does not need to be religious to understand the importance of the 10.

Nicole - you crack me up.

Weather was great last night and the turn out was awesome.

It is strange how we have allowed Halloween to build fear on meeting strangers.

I have never read about anyone actually poisoning any kids candy - so I am rather sure it my parents attempt to raid my peanut butter cups.

Brad, I'll play.

1)You shall have no other gods before Me.

2)You shall make no idols. But build all the houses you want.

3)You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. What does that mean exactly?

4)Keep the Sabbath day holy. What day is that? Saturday or Sunday?

5)Honor your father and your mother. And they should honor there kids.

6)You shall not murder. Animals

7)You shall not commit adultery.

8)You shall not steal. And if you do commandment 6 will be ruled out and you shall die.

9)You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. But truthful gossip is okay?

10)You shall not covet. Except houses. Or vehicles.

This is in fun.

"Very calm Halloween except for the stabbing death up the street"

We were pleasantly surprised to have 12 kids come. One pack of 9 arrived all together. I opened our inner door and stood holding the all glass storm door closed, while motioning to the crowd to back up so that I could prop open the storm door.

Mask on, I displayed my barbeque tongs, and explained that I would have them walk up one at a time as I picked up a bag of candy and put it into their container, "hands free". The oldest kid in the group took it upon himself to make sure that the h

gang all cooperated.

They did, and I made sure to compliment something about each child's costume and wish them a Happy Halloween. Everyone wore a mask, and they were super polite and thanked me.

A mom of two said that her kids had been worrying that no one would be giving out candy, thanked me, and said that every house in the development had participated.

No one came to my house. I had the lights all on and candy ready. No one ever comes to my house. In 30 years, I have had two groups of neighbors, one time each, to show me their costumes.

I judge by the leftover half price holiday stuff at Walmart. There was an absolute ton of candy and all sorts of decorations. Usually, I am lucky to get a couple of bags of candy bars.

6man,

Yes! THIS is the type discussion some of the older kids would bring up. LOVE IT!

You get 10 pieces of candy!

2)You shall make no idols. But build all the houses you want.

---I grew up in a church where we prayed to the plaster statues and kept one on our dashboard to keep us safe.

3)You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. What does that mean exactly?

---Can't say God told me to ___ . Just like *I* cannot sign YOUR name.

4)Keep the Sabbath day holy. What day is that? Saturday or Sunday?

---each 7th day. Our "modern" calendar was designed by Cesar Augustus in 750 BC about 1,000 years AFTER God gave Moses these commandments.

5)Honor your father and your mother. And they should honor their kids.

---this is the only commandment that comes with a blessing

"...that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you."

6)You shall not murder. Animals

---people murder for hate and animal slaughter for food are different. In Genesis God said we can eat animals.

7)You shall not commit adultery.

---Try explaining THAT one to my 1st grade Sunday Schoolers! We say "Mom and Dad together forever."

8)You shall not steal. And if you do commandment 6 will be ruled out and you shall die.

---The govt is in deep trouble!

9)You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. But truthful gossip is okay?

---When this was written a person could be executed based on the WITNESS/testimony of 2 people.

10)You shall not covet. Except houses. Or vehicles.

Yes, I charge a SERVICE FEE of Reese cups and Snickers.

To help keep their sugar intake lower I would remove some candy each night from their little pumpkins.

Had a great discussion with my 30 something children, telling them of Halloweens past.

-Apples, oranges, popcorn balls (unwrapped), candy necklaces without wrappers, pencils, fun erasers...

Then taking our loot to the police station to be x-rayed for razor blades.

And explaining THAT is why the candy companies now supply FUN SIZE in sealed wrappers.

Now THEIR new normal is distancing and treats in ziplock baggies from a basket on a table, no doorbells and yelling TRICK OR TREAT! and politically sensitive costumes.

BRAD

When I was a teenager thought it would be fun to trick or treat as a box, so friend and I did it. Easy costume, but we couldn't bend to pick up any dropped candy.

The scary: we went to a house where a nasty man gave out the candy. Very weird. Took note of what he gave out. Large gumdrops. Got home and the gumdrops looked tampered with, so took to the police. It was xrayed and gumdrops had been split in half, glued badck together with a pin in each one. We knew the house and told the police. Never heard what happened.

Never really understood the why of the razors and pins. If you don’t want to participate just turn off the lights.

In lieu of trick or treating my husband hid 24 total candy bars for our two granddaughters to find with flashlights. I think they had fun. We did have the usual “I have more than you, haha” and s”she has more than me” crud, but we worked through it. They are 5 and 7.

I am with you Nellie,

If you don't want to part take, then keep the light off.

If you want to part take and have limited funds - put a bunch of quarters on a cookie tray and warm them up in the oven at 425 degrees. Tell the kids to take as many as they would like.

Then wonder why your house got egged the next morning.

(SO I AM TOLD)