Halloween In The Midwest-Not So Scary After Allby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 28 Oct 2006 06:54 AM Halloween is three days away, but for many kids in our area trick-or-treating starts tonight. That's right TONIGHT! What am I saying? Our mini ghosts and goblins won't actually be going door-to-door at night; rather they will be knocking from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. I'm not sure where you live, but here in the Midwest portion of the United States kids will be gathering treats in broad daylight on a day that's not even Halloween. What has happened to our world? I can't speak for all midwestern states, but I will for Wisconsin and Minnesota. Several cities in those states mandate that children trick-or-treat on Saturday or Sunday prior to Halloween during daylight hours (most have a 7 p.m. cut off time). I absolutely agree that safety comes first (after all I have a 2-year-old who will be making the rounds as well), but I also think it is a sad commentary about the world we live in. Trick or treating when the sun's still up? Is there anything scary about that? Or is that the point? Do you remember Halloween growing up? No matter what day of the week the holiday fell you would eat dinner and put on your hobo or gypsy costume (I was Mr. Doobie three years in a row, a hobo two years in a row) and head out in the dark with your flashlight (if your brothers hadn't taken them all) and wander from house to house. We would trick-or-treat until we hit every last house in our neighborhood (and the two adjacent ones) then return home and dump our candy out while our parents watched the 10 p.m. news. They never checked any of our loot (how could they when we downed half of it before getting home) or asked if strangers approached us on the street. Nowadays, some children don't go trick-or-treating they go trunk-or-treating in church parking lots. It's considered a "safe" alternative to the original door-to-door candy gathering. Don't get me wrong. I love the idea that children can still dress up and receive candy from safe sources and not be subject to child abductors while doing so. In fact, I just took my own daughter to "Sweet Street" yesterday. It's an event put on by a number of local businesses, which offers "safe" trick-or-treating, games, rides, inflatable obstacle courses, live bands, and a host of other kid-friendly activities. My daughter had a great time pumpkin bowling, watching a dog show and trick-or-treating at various booths. I also loved the fact that she had another activity to wear her costume to (I like her to use the costume as much as possible to justify the money I spent on it). Like I said, it was a great time, but it certainly does not compare to the Halloweens I experienced growing up. What about you? When will your kids be trick-or-treating? Do you miss the Halloween's of years past or are you happy with the way it is now? Related Articles: Try Trunk or Treating This Year Fun Fall Family Travel Destinations-Part 5: Farms and Festivals Five Safe Alternatives for Halloween Activities Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantparenting tags User Comments Sherry Holetzky (11404) 28 Oct 2006 07:41 AMI mentioned trunk or treating in kids' crafts too, and I think it and things like sweet street are terrific. I do think it's a shame that my kids will never know the joys of the "free for all" Halloween times we had as kids, but like you said, at least they still get to have a good time and be safe. My youngest really doesn't even know she's missing anything, although my older girls occassionally wax nostalgic about the huge bags of candy they used to bring home (still, I went with them and it wasn't like when we were little).  Michele Cheplic (37339) 28 Oct 2006 08:54 AMThanks Sherry I added the link!! Sorry I missed it--I typed in trunk or treat at 4am and only got Teresa's and a bunch of forum stuff. Thanks for the comment and happy trick or treating! Sherry Holetzky (11404) 28 Oct 2006 10:12 AMYou didn't have to do that, Michelle, but thanks. I was just agreeing how much things have changed. Thanks for the stroll down Memory Lane though, those were fun times! Michele Cheplic (37339) 30 Oct 2006 02:46 PMI agree Sherry and my daughter will be back out again tomorrow night! Community Tags candy, halloween, safe alternaitve, safety, trick or treat Discuss this article
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