Getting Ready for Halloween!! (Phoenix, Fountain Hills: 2015, apartments, sex offender)

[breakingbad]

This will be my first Halloween in AZ in many years, so I hope that the actual trick or treat event is on 10/31. I lived in a neighborhood in TX and we would have a giant hay ride for all the kids. It was a gated community and year after year (I did 4 years there) more and more people came from all around. It was fun to see all the great costumes and I enjoyed the yearly conversation with parents but it was becoming a five hour event because of all the people who drove there to take part in it. The kids enjoyed it though.
I am in Queen Creek and I am taking my son to Schnepf Farms for a Halloween event. Corn maze, rides, petting zoo, etc... I'll also take him trick or treating in the neighborhood...I am going to put lights on outside (like Christmas but orange), freaky macabre decorations and all sorts of harvesty stuff out. We did it big in TX and when I lived in VA we did it really big too!

[phatgal]

Some great replies here, and I love that you have handled the feedback with finesse!

I also have fond memories of traipsing up and down our neighborhood streets with pillowcases, yelling "Trick or Treat." If you didn't yell it, you didn't get candy. I remember being a stupid tiger for a couple of years in a row because the hand-me-down costumes fit. One year I said, "I got a rock," after every house and everyone laughed every time I said it. As we got older we did go out farther to see how much loot we could get. But, as a young bedroom community of Boston, we still knew our neighbors. This was late 60's/early 70's. (Oh...we wore flammable clothing, masks we couldn't see out of, went out after dark, and did not have any reflective items! LOL)

Fast forward to my own children. We always brought them to a few houses known to us, and then joined in a community party. Those are their memories and although they are in their 20's now, they still talk about their homemade costumes and parties. They didn't miss anything...nor do they have cavities or juvenile diabetes ;-)

So have them start thinking of some great costumes they can make...forget those cheap store bought ones that all their friends will be wearing!

MJ

[pbenjamin]

For the last couple of years we went trick or treating with our granddaughter in Maricopa. There were a fair amount of people out doing that, and enough homes with candy to make it worthwhile. Given the high number of unoccupied homes, that seemed pretty reasonable. Based on that evidence, I am thinking that trick or treating in areas with young families is alive and well.

Our neighborhood is another story. First of all, there are not a lot of children here. We used to enjoy seeing the few neighborhood children that there were, but they have grown past the age. What we do get is a lot of families that come and park in the neighborhood. They often have no costumes, ask for candy for adults and babies, and are not particularly polite. The OP mentioned lots of homes with lights off in Maryvale, and another post suggested that the residents were off in another neighborhood. I think that our neighborhood is where some of them come to. There is not much joy in doing this, so we are out of the trick or treat business.

[tulani]

Originally Posted by sunluv

Since you're still "open to more suggestions" aka are still asking for more suggestions so as to maximize your "score" instead of just having fun wandering your neighborhood as it's supposed to be, here's another suggestion...the fun isn't just about getting the biggest return on your investment it's about the fun of wandering around your neighborhood on halloween night. I can understand if it's a bad neighborhood, but I've lived in Maryvale and it's fine for that. Driving to different areas is strange; it's supposed to be a local/neighborhood thing. I have a feeling that this wouldn't have occured to you except for this thread, and it's interesting that this realization doesn't even faze you as you're still asking for more future targets lol

I lived in Maryvale for 30 years. I did my own share of trick or treating (as an older teen who actually dressed up) through those streets and never once had a problem. We roamed far beyond our own neighborhoods, but we could do so because we were without parents.
My son also trick or treated in Maryvale without problems. He only walked his own neighborhoods... he quit going out when he was 12. That was his last year, and he wanted my mom and I to share it with him. All three of us dressed up and walked around the block for the final "Hoorah".
We got lots of candy.

Originally Posted by phatgal

Some great replies here, and I love that you have handled the feedback with finesse!

I also have fond memories of traipsing up and down our neighborhood streets with pillowcases, yelling "Trick or Treat." If you didn't yell it, you didn't get candy. I remember being a stupid tiger for a couple of years in a row because the hand-me-down costumes fit. One year I said, "I got a rock," after every house and everyone laughed every time I said it. As we got older we did go out farther to see how much loot we could get. But, as a young bedroom community of Boston, we still knew our neighbors. This was late 60's/early 70's. (Oh...we wore flammable clothing, masks we couldn't see out of, went out after dark, and did not have any reflective items! LOL)

Fast forward to my own children. We always brought them to a few houses known to us, and then joined in a community party. Those are their memories and although they are in their 20's now, they still talk about their homemade costumes and parties. They didn't miss anything...nor do they have cavities or juvenile diabetes ;-)

So have them start thinking of some great costumes they can make...forget those cheap store bought ones that all their friends will be wearing!

MJ

My earliest years of trick or treating were done in Lowell, MA during the same time period. We hauled pillowcases home and dumped them when they got too heavy. I honestly cannot remember my parents ever going with us beyond 5 years old... we always went out with about 10 friends. We roamed well beyond our neighborhood. Hey, there were many, many, many enclosed apartment buildings to hit. (And we actually did so without fear. )

Here, in my little city, the kids don't trick or treat by going to their neighbors' houses. We have a small downtown and a spread out city. The kids dress up and come into town to trick or treat at any business (and that is most of them!) who wants to hand out candy.
Then they have some deal called "Trunk and treat" where cars all park in a circle around the park and the kids go from car to car. (Personally, I think this is really lame... but, I guess some like it because it keeps happening year after year now.)

[johnp292]

Originally Posted by tulani

Then they have some deal called "Trunk and treat" where cars all park in a circle around the park and the kids go from car to car. (Personally, I think this is really lame... but, I guess some like it because it keeps happening year after year now.)

When I lived in the Poconos (something I wouldn't recommend BTW), the development where I lived held a trunk-or-treat every year in the community center parking lot, in conjunction with an indoor Halloween party. It actually made sense there, as the houses were too spread out, no sidewalks, no street lights, etc, to make door to door trick-or-treating safe.

[military spouse]

Originally Posted by johnp292

When we lived in PA some of the towns designated different days other than Halloween for trick or treating. Stupidest thing I ever heard. Halloween is Oct 31. Period. Confusing as heck. Some towns not only picked the day but limited the hours (no idea how they could have enforced that). Last year it was especially crazy, and to add to it there was a freak snowstorm on Oct 30.

Someone please tell me trick or treating is on Halloween (Oct 31) here?

I think we enjoyed that freak snowstorm in PA last year

[YAZ]

Trick or treating is very much alive and well here in our Phoenix neighboorhood.

We've learned to ration out the goodies as we get MANY kids that we don't know. There are two kids on our street that are still young enough to dress up. The rest are from different neighborhoods.


No big deal. as we spend about 20 bucks on candy....and if we had any left over.....then we'd be the ones loosening our belts and going to the dentist.

My best Halloweens have been here in Phoenix, as my wife and I hang out in the driveway all evening. Not the case in Michigan, as it either rained or snowed on Halloween night.

Evidently, Halloween has lost its luster back in my old home town as door to door T or T is not recommended. It gets dark early and its hard to see the young 'uns, weirdos that put stupid stuff in food, and all of those cool costumes are covered by winter clothes.

The fire dept. puts on one heck of a costume party and lots of folks just have house parties for the kiddies.

If we had young kids at home, then we'd prob'ly host or attend a party. That seems more sensible to me in this day & age.

[phatgal]

Originally Posted by tulani

My earliest years of trick or treating were done in Lowell, MA during the same time period. We hauled pillowcases home and dumped them when they got too heavy. I honestly cannot remember my parents ever going with us beyond 5 years old... we always went out with about 10 friends. We roamed well beyond our neighborhood. Hey, there were many, many, many enclosed apartment buildings to hit. (And we actually did so without fear. )

Shut the front door! I was in West Tewskbury, near the Lowell line!!

[tulani]

Originally Posted by johnp292

When I lived in the Poconos (something I wouldn't recommend BTW), the development where I lived held a trunk-or-treat every year in the community center parking lot, in conjunction with an indoor Halloween party. It actually made sense there, as the houses were too spread out, no sidewalks, no street lights, etc, to make door to door trick-or-treating safe.

I really am glad to hear this because I thought it was something strange. Now I don't feel so bad because I know others do it too.
It actually makes sense here, too. However, I do think there are enough business' that stay open to hand out candy that Trunk or Treat is just overkill.
Then again, I'm not 10 and a major sugar junky anymore.

Originally Posted by phatgal

Shut the front door! I was in West Tewskbury, near the Lowell line!!

I still have family back there. My grandparents lived in either Tewksbury or Tyngsboro (I can never remember which one. They lived right on a lake.)
We left when I was 14, and, although I do have tons of wonderful memories of living in New England, I probably forgot more than I remembered.

[El_Waiboi]

************************************************** ***************************BREIF UPDATE******************************************** ***************************
I took the advice of most people on this board and took my kids trick or treating right here in my neighborhood. We hit up Eastlake Park, Eastside Garfield and 9th St. And we went earlier this year. I think that was what we needed to go, was go earlier. We left the house at 5:30 when it was still light out and there was lot more people out giving out candy. And there were a lot of people into it this year, people with mini-haunted houses and adults dressed up giving out candy and scaring the kids. It was a good time, I think the best trick-or-treating experience we have ever had in Phoenix.