When the sun falls on Halloween night, the ghosts and goblins come out to play.
On Monday night, the streets of Athabasca, Boyle and the surrounding area will no doubt be filled with costumed revelers on the hunt for candy. In the span of one night, you could meet a vampire, a zombie, a superhero, a movie star and a famous athlete, to name just a few possibilities.
Halloween is the rare night when everyone seems to abandon the norm in favor of the unique and the whimsical. As such, it can be as much fun for adults as it is for the kids who haul in the candy.
If you’re going out for Halloween, you should go all out. Why not dress up? If you’re too old to ask for candy at a stranger’s door (though it’s a shame to put an age limit on such a practice) and are instead handing out the candy yourself, you can still wear a costume. And dress up your house while you’re at it. With minimal effort and a little imagination, you can make the walk to your door a memorable experience for trick-or-treaters. A jack-o-lantern is the bare minimum, of course, but why stop there? Throw in a gravestone or two, hang bats from the trees and make the kids step over a fallen scarecrow on their way to the candy reward.
As for the kids themselves, they can enlist their parent’s help in crafting a fun and memorable costume for their annual trick-or-treating. The youngest of trick-or-treaters should, of course, always be accompanied by an adult. And everyone should adhere to basic safety rules; look both ways before crossing the street to get to that next house.
Careful parents will want to take a look at the candy their kids have received before letting them chow down. While 99 per cent of people want to make Halloween fun and safe for everyone, there are always a few bad apples looking to spoil things, so it pays to be careful.
Halloween is a time to let our imaginations run wild. If you’re a child, enjoy it! If you’re an adult, conjure up the memories of your own trick-or-treating, and do your best to create new memories for today’s intrepid candy hunters.
