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Crabtree Valley Mall has been a great find. Stickers,
candy and even fresh apples in the food court.
Last year many families were all in costume. I loved
the Mom dressed as Cruella Deville with the kids
as dalmation puppies.
Well let me clarify what I was getting at. I didn't realize I had to be so specific. All I was wondering is where would be a good neighborhood to take 3 young kids trick or treating so they aren't getting wore out walking blocks with sparse houses that hand out candy. I didn't imply anything about "looking for the biggest cache". But its good to see segregation is alive and well in the south. Thanks for all the ridiculous comments!
Well let me clarify what I was getting at. I didn't realize I had to be so specific. All I was wondering is where would be a good neighborhood to take 3 young kids trick or treating so they aren't getting wore out walking blocks with sparse houses that hand out candy. I didn't imply anything about "looking for the biggest cache". But its good to see segregation is alive and well in the south. Thanks for all the ridiculous comments!
This has nothing to do with segregation. This has to do with an economic burden on a lot of families that are struggling to buy gas, groceries, and hold onto their houses under constant fear of layoffs. In large neighborhoods with lots of kids, FYI, a family can spend $50 or more on candy just to have enough to give out to the kids that live there. When more start coming in from other areas, we must spend more. It doesn't matter where the kids are coming from. I know parents that have moved from here to wealthier neighborhoods with fewer houses and more land that come back here every year to trick or treat and I think that's wrong. Unless you have lived with this year after year, and had a budget so tight you have to cut other things to make up for how much Halloween candy costs, you wouldn't understand. All some of of us are trying to do is to make the impact known. It's not just 3 kids, it's a couple hundred.
And it looks like with the rain we may be headed to Crabtree ourselves
And the segregation comment was WAY out of left field.
Here's an idea. If you don't give out candy at your home, but feel the need to take your kids somewhere besides your own neighborhood to trick or treat, bring along a bag of candy to hand out to kids on the street. I've seen this done several times. You don't HAVE to be home to give your share!
We WANT to give out candy to kids in our neighborhood and love Halloween because it gives us a chance to talk to neighbors. All I was saying was that when kids outside the neighborhood come in, the candy bill can get pretty steep and that can be a burden for some families. It has been for us at times, when our budget was tight.
We do have a good number of houses with lights off on Halloween night, whether it's the candy expense or the hassle of kids at the door, I can't say.
Won't be an issue tonight! Rain playing the spoiler.
My wife used to make up little "goodie bags" of candy. It was more work than I ever would have put into it, but she enjoyed it and it was as easy way to know how many bags you handed out that night. Almost every year we ran out and handed out loose candy. I think we started with 50 bags the 1st year, 75 the 2nd year, etc. There were probably 20-25 kids in our neighborhood, which consisted of about 5 short cul-de-sacs.
Since we don't stay home at our current home for Halloween, my wife leaves a bowl on the front porch. We have two kids next door, that's it. And each night the bowl is emptied!
I think the saddest Halloween is a big bowl of candy and no one ringing your doorbell - so I am just fine with kids coming to the neighborhood! (With the disclaimer that costumes are required and "thank you" appreciated.)
Look for neighborhoods with sidewalks - it seems that friendlier, more neighborhood-oriented people tend to choose to live in these places and a good Halloween seems to follow from that.
This has nothing to do with segregation. This has to do with an economic burden on a lot of families that are struggling to buy gas, groceries, and hold onto their houses under constant fear of layoffs. In large neighborhoods with lots of kids, FYI, a family can spend $50 or more on candy just to have enough to give out to the kids that live there. When more start coming in from other areas, we must spend more. It doesn't matter where the kids are coming from. I know parents that have moved from here to wealthier neighborhoods with fewer houses and more land that come back here every year to trick or treat and I think that's wrong. Unless you have lived with this year after year, and had a budget so tight you have to cut other things to make up for how much Halloween candy costs, you wouldn't understand. All some of of us are trying to do is to make the impact known. It's not just 3 kids, it's a couple hundred.
And it looks like with the rain we may be headed to Crabtree ourselves
Can't rep you again, but this is it....
That, and I thought about this thread a LOT last night. (Plenty of time, not a single trick or treater.) Discussed this a lot with coworkers over lunch, and many felt the same as OP at first, but the more we spoke about it, the more everyone came to a common understanding. They saw my point of view, and I saw theirs. But the one thing that stuck with me then, all through the night, and still sticks with me now, is the thought of putting my kids in a car, pulling over to the side of the road in a strange neighborhood (where would I even park?), and getting out and knocking on doors. I could not even imagine what I would tell my daughter when she asked what we were doing. Not to mention the message it might send, but that's just me.
I do understand the intent of the OP's question, and it was not my intent to make her/him feel bad about themselves, simply to point out the impact, and to ASK how others felt about it. I learned a lot from the discussion.
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