One of the surprising new experiences of first-time home buyers is having ghosts and goblins appear on their doorstep begging for candy on Halloween. Apartment living, with its darkened hallways and scary stairwells, doesn’t provide the ideal environment for trick-or-treaters, so new home owners are often surprised when they hear the words “Trick or Treat” coming from their front porch.
A few years ago I had new neighbors next door, and they had never experienced Halloween on Landsdowne Drive before. I told them to be prepared for 150 – 200 kids. They were shocked. When I saw them a few days after the holiday, they thanked me for the heads-up. They had no idea so many children came out of the woodwork to collect bags and pillowcases full of candy on that spooky night.
If you’re a new home owner, find out from your neighbors how many candy bars you should buy for Halloween. In case you’re not familiar with trick-or-treating rules, you turn your porch light on when you’re ready for the onslaught of Power Rangers, Transformers, Doras and Strawberry Shortcakes. When you’re out of candy or just plain tired of answering your door every two minutes, turn your porch light off.
By the way, if you live in Norman, Oklahoma, city officials decided to have kids trick-or-treat on Friday, Oct. 30. The reason: there will be too much traffic out on Oct. 31 for OU’s home football game, and it won’t be safe for kids to be dodging all those crazy football fans driving Suburbans and Escalades.
Bah humbug Norman! Let kids be kids, and let the official day of Halloween remain Oct. 31. May the wild rumpus of scary trick-or-treaters begin!
Jan Sperry Astani
Marketing Director
Home Creations
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Jan Sperry Astani
Posted by NeedPlumbing on October 23, 2009 at 9:40 am
Good advice. There’s nothing worse than being understocked on Halloween. You are all lucky to have this lights on/off rule. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.
Posted by Paul on October 28, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I think the city officials have it right, children safety first!
Posted by Jan Sperry Astani on October 29, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Kids at my 4th grader’s school Fall Party today talked about trick-or-treating on both nights. It will be interesting to see how many kids show up at my house on the real Halloween night.
Posted by Jan Sperry Astani on October 29, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Perhaps the lights on / off rule is a Midwest / Southwest thing. Growing up in Kansas City, this was the rule we followed to know when houses were out of candy. The same goes for trick-or-treating in the Oklahoma City area. Thanks for your comment.