Good Bye Trick-or-Treating

Steve and I took Will trick-or-treating tonight in our neighborhood. I've noticed each year we've lived here that the amount of trick-or-treaters and those handing out candy have declined. Each year.

The fashionable thing to do is take your children to carnivals held by schools, churches, or cities. They are safer; children aren't on the street, property isn't vandalized, strangers aren't allowed up to your house, you don't have to worry about infected candy.



Hey, I want to protect my child as much as the next person. But I see what is happening to old fashioned trick-or-treating as just another step in isolating ourselves from others. Instead of going out and meeting your neighbors, running into other children in the neighborhood, building relationships, we are 'fast fooding' the gathering of candy.

A perfect example was that a group held a "trunk treat" tonight at the parking lot of our local Cabelas. Everyone drove up in a vehicle, flipped open their trunk and handed out candy. A child could literally walk down one side and back up the other in under five minutes and have a bag filled with candy. There were so many kids no one talked, no one commented on costumes, no one was any closer.



Steve and I walked a mile loop around our neighborhood. It took over an hour. We looked at the stars, pointed out two planes, and visited with neighbors. Every single house we went to tried to guess Will's costume -- 50% truck/50% Optimus. Neighbors took photos of Will's costume. Several times we'd end up walking with another group and chatting. The kids interacted.

I miss the good old days. When everyone made their costumes. When the treats were baked brownies, home-made popcorn balls, and rice crispy treats -- that didn't come prewrapped. I miss 8 out of 9 houses having the lights on and entire families gathering to EW and AH over each child.

Based upon the lack of children out tonight and the lack of houses handing out candy, this very well could be our last true night of trick-or-treating.