Hello neighbors! Halloween is CREEPING up on us. 🎃 Here's how to keep every trick-or-treater safe.
First, plan your route. Use the Nextdoor Treat Map to choose your route ahead of time and find the safest, most efficient way to the candy: https://nextdoor.com/treat_map Your mission: see and be seen.
If You're Trick-or-Treating
✅ Light up before you leave the house. Add reflective tape or a glow stick to every costume and candy bag.
✅ Cross with care. Stick to sidewalks. Look left, right, and left again, and make eye contact with drivers before you step off the curb.
✅ Stay together. Younger kids go with a responsible adult. For older kids, agree on a route and a return time before they head out.
If You're Driving
Kids are excited and may dart into the street. Be the driver every parent hopes to see on your street.
🚗 Headlights on early, even before dusk.
🚗 Slow down, especially on residential streets, between [4 and 9 pm].
🚗 Phone away. Give the road your full attention.
🚗 Never pass a stopped car. They may be letting kids out.
Also worth a look: Make sure masks fit well or swap them for non-toxic face paint, and keep costumes off the ground so no one trips. Check treats at home for allergens and choking hazards, and remember: when in doubt, throw it out.
Are you in? Comment "I'm in" if you'll turn your headlights on early and slow down on Halloween night. Then share this with one neighbor who drives through your street. Boo safe out there!
Since the route planning now comes first, the "Stay together" tip works well as the natural next step: the route is the plan, and the return time is the agreement. If you want to strengthen that link, you could change the older-kids line to "agree on your Treat Map route and a return time before they head out."
