Push for neighborhood trick-or-treating

Halloween is less than a week away and one Ballardite is hoping families don’t forget residential streets for trick-or-treating. “The merchant trick-or-treating event is fine,” John emails us, “but I’d love to see families actually going door to door.”


View Ballard Trick-or-Treating 2010 in a larger map

John created this Google map — which you can edit — to add your house or block if it’s a good spot for trick-or-treaters. “I think this might be a good way to rally the neighborhood and focus attention on traditional trick-or-treating, instead of the commercial version we’ve got these days,” he says, “I know there are great streets for trick-or-treating, but I think encouragement is really needed.”

As a reminder, the Market Street trick-or-treating event is from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday and the Halloween on Holman event is from 1 to 4 p.m. That leaves a lot of time in the evening to go door to door.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

20 thoughts to “Push for neighborhood trick-or-treating”

  1. Agreed, this is cool. Two year ago, we must have had 50-60 kids come by. Last year, we had one. Although, since we had so much candy, we told that one kid, “Take as much as you want”, and her face just lit up… it was pretty funny.

  2. To flag your house you need to hit Edit in the Left tool bar. A menu will pop up on the map with the blue flag, drop the flag on your location and type in the address. Voila.

    Love this idea!

  3. Sounds like a great idea! I have such fond memories of going from house to house trick-or-treating as a kid. It seems a shame that it’s no longer of staple of Halloween in the neighborhood. Is it because parents think it’s too dangerous? Or it is mere convenience to go to the merchants?!

  4. Here’s a tip, leave a family member at home to hand out candy along with the rest of your neighbors. The whole family doesn’t need to go. On my block, that is half the problem. Not enought houses lit up, so the only kids we get live no more than 5 houses away.

    What time is a reasonable time to shut down the handouts? I can’t devote an entire evening to your kids.

  5. We like to take the whole family trick-or-treating — so we leave the porchlight on, jack-o-lanterns lit, and a bowl of candy on the porch. The west-Fremont area north of 39th & east of 3rd NW always has lots of kids going around & lots of houses lit up and/or decorated clearly expecting trick-or-treaters. The action doesn’t take place on the steep hills closest to those main drags I listed, but starting a block in where its a little less hilly.

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