We love to decorate for fall at our house, but we don’t get into Halloween all that much. So, while we used to have fun with our girls thinking up costumes and such, since we entered the empty-nest years we have often planned to be out on Halloween night. I have discovered some tips that help the neighbors celebrate, while we’re out… and have a free halloween printable just for you!
We love our neighborhood, and it’s a very safe place for trick-or-treaters, so we don’t want to be total party-poopers! This was our front door last year, where we set up a chalkboard and left a basket of candy for the little ghouls and goblins.
I just wrote a message on the chalkboard to display above the candy basket (yeah, I know I didn’t follow my own tip below… you live and learn!).
Leaving a little something for the trick-or-treaters to help themselves to is a great way to show hospitality and participate in the tradition of Halloween, while still enjoying your own evening out. Here are a few tips, if that’s what you decide to do:
- Overestimate the candy you will need. handing out the treats when you’re home is one thing, but relying upon young monsters to ration the treats themselves is unrealistic! They will likely go for closer to a handful, rather than one or 2 pieces.
- Leave the porch light on. This has become the universal signal that a home is Halloween-friendly. So, if you plan to leave candy on the porch, make sure the wee ones can safely get to it.
- Don’t leave anything out that you would hate to lose. Our neighborhood is wonderful. We know and love our neighbors and trust them explicitly. But often trick-or-treaters come in from all around. And sometimes they are bigger ‘kids’ than one would think still go out on Halloween. Last year, I left candy in a small apple basket (that I really wanted to keep) and when we returned home, not only was all the candy gone – so was the basket!
- Make your intentions clear. Leave a sign or somehow convey that the candy is there for the taking. You can either write your message on a chalkboard, or you can print out a sign and put it in an inexpensive frame!
To help you with this last tip, I’ve design a cute and free halloween printable for you to use! Just print it out on cardstock, or regular paper and put it in a dollar store frame to display along with your bowl of candy. Or you can keep it simple and just tape it to your front door. Use it however you like… and keep those ghouls and goblins happy!
Free Halloween Printable
Watermark will not be on printable image! Simply click on photo and printable will open in Google docs. Click on the printer symbol, open in Adobe and then print. Easy peasy!
Have a safe and fun Halloween!!
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