Heck, when we lived in Lakewood, all we did was walk down ONE street and my son got 100+ pieces of candy!
Only took a half hour too.
We don’t get many trick-or-treaters, probably because we don’t have children of our own or know our neighbors. I wouldn’t mind a lot of drivers or parkers on the road, because our road doesn’t have sidewalks and the roads are wide enough for cars to park on either side and still allow drivers going both ways.
I miss TnTing on the 31st. At NIGHT.
carimwc I’m with you. Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday. I’d trick or treat now at age 29 if it was still at night and FUN. But, 3pm on a Sunday the week before just kinda kills the whole “scary” feel. I’m kinda sad that if I have kids, and remain in this town, they won’t ever experience the fall night air and smell of leaves and fireplaces and mom’s makeup on your face.
I remember Dad would walk us around and Mom would stay home and hand out candy. We’d use paper grocery bags for our loot, and we’d decorate each one ourselves. Draw pumpkins or ghosts or witches on them. I remember going out at night by myself when I was 12, and then the next year it changed to daylight on Sunday and I decided I was too old for it.
boo, indeed
Compared to them parking all over the narrow subdivision roads? Again, see my previous posts, due to how our neighborhoods are laid out, this is standard practice in Anchorage (Alaska) neighborhoods. There ARE no places to “just find a place to park”.
What would be considered rude, would be to park along the roadways and then walk, creating not one (parked cars and the neighborhood residents having to navigate around them) but two (kids walking along the roads) hazards.
Cars driving along can (and as a matter of practice) DO momentarily pull into a driveway to get out of the residents, or other trick or treaters’ way.
It’s almost always cold up here on Halloween. Kids can, however get pretty tired of wearing costumes that always have to be all puffy and huge so that they can fit snow machine suits and down jackets under them.
In order to get a relatively decent “haul” we used have to hit about 3 or 4 neighborhoods (again, see my previous post, my “modus operendi” was to walk with my kid and have my mom drive the car, thus keeping it out of the way of residents, but not everyone has a partner or helper to do this).
It’s not as if every single house in a neighborhood has candy, many people are out for the night. Sometimes it’s like every 5 or 10 houses, or more in a subdivision like mine. So, (at least in Alaskan neighborhoods), it’s very common (and accepted) practice to drive in and out of the subdivisions in search of the (guesstimate) 10-20% of the houses who are passing out candy.
Our subdivisions are huge sprawling things, with narrow roads and lots of wooded areas (another reason you don’t want to be on foot on the roadway too much, with that much activity, moose can get cranky and unpredictable).
The one I currently live in takes me about a half an hour from one end to the other (not including if I decide to hit the multi-use trails in the wooded areas), that is JUST with me walking the subdivision roads, and I’m a long-legged fairly fit adult (with a rather psychotic energetic aussie).
Why is it such a big deal if people drive? I’m honestly perplexed at why people are getting themselves so judgmental and bossy over this.
If you live in a big neighborhood with parks (and the accompanying parking) and lots of cul-de-sacs (more parking), in a Mayberry type town, I can see it. But not all areas and towns are set up for that. It’s not a question of the parents being “lazy” it’s what works for that particular city or area.
Wow. I never imagined such angst over trick or treating 
“I’d trick or treat now at age 29 if it was still at night”
My porch light stays on until 8.59 pm. Once it’s off, the 3-million-watt security lights go on if anyone steps into my yard and I’m there at the door with the shotgun.
What the fuck are we celebrating on the 31st anyhow?
- PW
Sorry, I missed the Alaska part. I hardly think anyone is talking about huge sprawling wooded Alaskan narrow-roaded moose infested subdivisions where only 20% of the houses are giving candy. We’re talking about a typical sub (I don’t think Mayberry had subs or cul de sacs) where the houses are reasonably close together, parking is available and the people are driving their kids around in the SUV instead of letting them walk.
We live in a neighborhood that has no sidewalks, but it’s perfect for trick or treating because the road goes in a semi-circle (one way in-one way out), it’s about the right size to make a single stop, many of the people decorate, and it has no traffic…except on halloween when the road gets jammed with people creeping along dropping their kids off at every house. Some will keep their van door open so the kids can just hop in and hop out like a trolley. No one’s being judgemental or bossey. We’re just homeowners expressing that putting more cars on the road is not a good idea, plus it takes away a right of passage for your kids.
If you live in an area where the houses are far apart, then that’s obviously not what we’re talking about and chances are not many people are walking there anyway.
I guess this is what is perplexing me. WHERE does everyone park that is going to walk around this neighborhood? Is there a parking area at the beginning or end of it??
I mean, we have to actually drive to a strange neighborhood (or used to, I don’t have to take mine trick or treating anymore).
The “configuration” if you will, of the subdivisions is that you’re driving along the main road, and then you turn into the subdivision. They have a few cul-de-sacs, but there’s no “parking area” so that people coming from other areas of town COULD park and just walk the subdivision roads. The subdivision roads are fairly narrow roads for the most part.
Sorry, not trying to be a pain, I’m just trying to get the picture in my head.
I’m thinking “Mayberry” or that town in Wonder Years where the streets not only had two lanes, but parking along each side of the road, is THAT what you all are talking about?
Anchorage can’t be the only city with no parking along neighborhood/subdivision roadways?
Me too! I hate that. I usually give each child one piece of candy, and if one of them says thank you, i say, “Oh, since you said thank you, you may have another piece” and then give it to him or her. Then I close the door before the bratty kids without manners start to run back and say “Wait, thank you, I wanna nuther piece”