Halloween arrives Tuesday night this year, a midweek treat for the young, and a fun-filled reminder of years of trick or treating for those of us well past the days of going door to door for candy with a pillowcase.
Because for many of us, regardless of age, Halloween is our holiday favorite, a day we look forward to for weeks. For children, there’s something that can’t be beat about dressing up, heading out after dark and walking up to neighbors’ homes, and filling a bag with free candy and other treats. The day is not about horror, it’s about fun.
We can expect police to be out in force on that night, as the little ghosts and goblins, witches and princesses, devils and lots of zombies let’s not forget all the super heroes parading along local streets. It means that our usual midweek activities like shopping or heading home from a tiring day at work can put children at risk as they go about their rounds.
We want take this opportunity to remind everyone to drive especially carefully on Halloween, both during the day and night, and to pay close attention to pedestrians. We also want to remind parents that children’s costumes should feature light colors or reflective tape so they can be seen in the early darkness that the season brings, and to make sure young children travel in groups, under adult supervision, with everyone carrying flashlights or glow sticks.
The New Hampshire State Police offer the following tips to make Halloween safe as well as spooky: Keep costumes short to prevent trips and falls. Use make-up instead of a mask, so as not to obscure vision. Instruct children to stop only at familiar homes where the outside lights are on. Tell children not to enter the homes or cars of strangers. Remind children not to eat any of their treats until they return home.
Keeping safety and common sense in the forefront, and focusing on having FUN on what we hope will be a crisp and clear fall night is after all, the stuff of good memories.
There’s something special and very New England about the sight of a lighted pumpkin on the porch in the Halloween dark. Go a head, put on a mask or a witches hat as you prepare to answer the door when it rings. If you want to get especially spooked, just remember what happened a few years ago, when trick-or-treating was postponed while we shoveled out from an early and damaging snowstorm.