11/01/2026
Halloween is my favorite holiday for so many reasons. It’s a little spooky, candy is involved, there are lots of decorations and the weather is perfect.
But mostly I am obsessed because there is not another night where so many of us are outside on the sidewalks at the same time. Neighbors you have not seen in months. Kids you watched grow up showing up at your door in a Squid Game costume. Parents standing in the street actually talking to each other.
For a holiday with such eerie origins, it is genuinely the most community-oriented night of the year. Sidewalks are where community happens, and trick-or-treat is sidewalk nirvana.
You can tell so much about a neighborhood by how it handles this night. Are the houses decorated? Are the porch lights on? Do kids feel comfortable walking? Are the houses close enough together to make it worth the trip?
If your block is good for trick-or-treating, it is probably good year round. The things that make it great for Snickers are the same things that make it great for neighbors.
