Hosting Good Treats So You Don’t Get Tricked

October 22, 2014 by Grant Goggans 1 Comment

For most of the 2000s, I raised two children by myself, and Halloween was among my favorite holidays, because I loved taking the children trick-or-treating. While we were out ransacking the neighborhood and filling pillowcases with candy – yes, pillowcases, we never did Halloween by half – we turned out the porch light and left behind a bucket of candy just in case somebody came by. It turns out that I just thought that I loved Halloween. When my kids were a little older, I let them go out with a chaperoned group while I stayed home to pass out candy. That’s when things got really fun. I like to confuse my guests. I also like to send them home with something better than candy.

For this, and the previous, generation of children, “Trick or treat!” means simply the request for candy. Kids don’t seem to really notice the “or” in the phrase. Once upon a time, there was a mild, if harmless, threat implied there: Choose to give me a treat or I will play a trick upon you. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, as trick-or-treating became more popular and took hold as a great suburban tradition, this playful exchange seemed to encourage more interaction between householders and their guests, as adults would pretend to be frightened by the pirates and werewolves on their doorstep and give them a treat to avoid any unpleasant tricks.

Over time, this brief exchange eroded, and what we now have are pirates and werewolves who don’t even bring the notion of a trick to the door. That’s probably for the best, but I like to remind my guests of a little history. So when I open the door and see elementary school-aged princesses and superheroes standing there to say “Trick or treat,” I pretend to consider the choice, and then I might say, “Hmmmm. Trick.”

There is inevitably confusion. A chaperone will chuckle.

“My friend, you asked ‘trick or treat’. I have chosen trick. Trick me.”

I don’t push beyond just a few seconds. I understand that these are only children, and that time is of the essence, and they have an entire neighborhood to canvas before bedtime. And certainly don’t do this with the very young children. Many of the smaller kids are probably a little shy, stressed, and maybe even scared on their first outing. To them, I encourage you to speak very quietly, and gently give them their treat.

But the older kids, they can take a little confusion. Another idea is to tell them that their treat is a rock. “Now you can tell all your friends, ‘I got a rock’.” The chaperone, remembering It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, will also get a good chuckle over this, but I do almost immediately give them the treat that they’ve requested. The real treat, and not a rock.

At my house, the treat is not candy, but a comic book. This has always gone over astonishingly well with my guests, and they instantly forgive me for being weird. You can easily find inexpensive, child-friendly, comics before Halloween, although, considering the late notice of this idea, you might want to file it for next year. Many flea markets will have at least one seller with a box of 4-for-$1 comics, and many comic book stores will have some leftover stock from the annual spring Free Comic Book Day that they’ll probably share.

I figure that all the princesses and pirates who visit me are going to have more than enough candy for the next month already, and I don’t need to contribute more unhealthy eating to the pile. I’d much rather see children reading. Who knows, it might spark them to track down some more comics and some more books, and to keep reading.

Plus, of course, every season that I am encouraging a little childhood literacy is a season that I don’t have to worry about the temptation of having all of those blasted “fun-sized” boxes of Good ‘n Plenty in the house, quietly calling my name…

Calling all ghosts, goblins and boo’tiful princesses! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta is hosting our annual Trick–or–Treat event on Saturday, October 25 from 6-9 p.m. Families can look forward to trick-or-treating, play, prizes, crafts, surprises and more! Kids are encouraged to dress up in their best spooky attire. Tickets are $6 for members and $15 for non-members. Advance tickets are required; no tickets will be sold at the door. Don’t miss out on this howlin’ good time! To purchase tickets,please click here.