Molly Jackson: Time for Treats!

Time for Treats

It’s a fun week in NYC, with everyone getting into the Halloween spirit. At my day job, I was chatting with some of my co-workers about the upcoming festivities. They were talking about taking their kids trick-or-treating. Since this is city living, they were talking about the trick-or-treating event at their local mall.

Growing up in the suburbs, I always had tons of houses to hit up for candy. Going out on Halloween wasn’t a special event, it was serious business. I wasn’t really in it for my costume, it was all about the trick-or-treating. Getting all that candy require planning and dedication. I loved every minute of it. Because, free candy. If it were socially acceptable for a 32 year-old, I would still go trick-or-treating today.

However, different locations mean something different for Halloween. City kids go to events either at stores or a building that sets hours. It all seems so weird to me. As you can probably tell, I have such fond memories of demanding candy from strangers. That sounds wrong but that is exactly what trick-or-treating is: politely demanding candy from strangers.

I did make it a point to let them know about Halloween Comic Fest. This is the fall’s answer to Free Comic Book Day, where stores hand out some free, Halloween-inspired comics to kids of all ages. This event is usually a smaller affair than FCBD but still just as fun. Plus this year is extra-special because it actually lands on Halloween. The majority of the books are usually all-ages, which makes it an even better event for all those trick-or-treating city kids going to stores.

Trick-or-treating has evolved and adapted to fit the needs of every community, so it is interesting to learn about how it has changed. Still, I miss my days of walking for miles and obtaining a gold mine of candy. At least I have Discount Candy Day (a.k.a. Nov. 1st) to look forward to!

Until next week! Enjoy your tricks, treats, and forthcoming cavities.