It’s Halloween night – where do you go? Stay in the borough or head to one of the neighboring sub-divisions? Location is critical when it comes to a successful Halloween so best to start planning now.
First we must establish some ground rules on which to judge the competition. I do believe that even a completely unscientific and somewhat arbitrary analysis should have at least a few criteria against which it is measured. Here are my Halloween basic requirements.
Criteria for a Good Trick or Treating Neighborhood
- A large percentage of participating houses. There is nothing worse on Halloween night than passing house after house trying to find that one home with a light on. You can just feel those precious minutes ticking away as you hurry down the desolate block. Darkened streets are a definite sign to turn in another direction but to be a place of legends living on in the retelling of Halloween’s past, you will have to move past basic passing out of candy. To really elevate your neighborhood you’ll need elaborate decorations, smoke machines, and eerie music.
- Safe environment, minimal traffic. Basic but key. The best trick and treat areas are well-lit and shielded from heavy traffic. Probably why sub-divisions and cul-de-sacs get slammed on Halloween night.
- Quality candy game. You live on the perfect dead end street, your neighbors’ have staged a reenactment of Nightmare on Elm Street in their front yard. Want to clinch this thing? What are you handing out? I know it’s a catch 22. You meet location requirements one and two and you’re likely to be slammed with kids so unless you’ve started a savings account to support you Halloween activities you may find yourself handing out Tootsie Rolls 20 minutes in after burning through your grade A candy. But I never said winning this game was going to be easy.
So, where is the best place to trick or treat in West Chester?
My completely unscientific winner:
West Dean Street. First the street is quiet, it’s a one way and most of the traffic skips right over on their way to Price Street. Second, the homes are close together. A lot of blocks are made up of twins or row homes so you get two pieces of the candy for the price of one walkway and the participation rate is really high. Plus, home after home is more decorated than the next. Last year, one unforgettable home offered full sized candy bars to any kid brave enough to reach the front porch. These are the streets holiday lore is made of.
Do you agree? Where’s your favorite neighborhood to trick or treat?
Plus, 1, 2, 3 different ways to work off those candy calories.