Our condo is the closest unit to the street, and there's a pathway from the street to our door, but it's not normally lit. There aren't any little kids to speak of in our complex although there are plenty on the next street over. Last year I was terribly disappointed to get only two visits, and I decided part of the problem was we didn't look Halloweeny and inviting enough.
This year, to encourage the neighborhood Trick-or-Treaters, we set up luminarias along the walk with ghost and pumpkin bags. We also hung paper skeletons on the wall that can be seen from the street, legs tastefully arranged to indicate dancing. The lamp on the wall was already strewn with real cobwebs so I pulled a couple down across the skeletons and added to the general ghoulishness. John carved a nice, fat pumpkin with a menacing face (if pig noses and buck teeth menace you), and put it out on a table.
It worked! We had five visits for a total of nineteen children. A very small child was dressed as a bee. We squealed with delight. We saw Chinese princesses, Batman, and a couple of San Jose Sharks fans. A trio of scary little monsters ran up and shouted, "Trick or Treat!" in high, excited voices, the classic sight and sound of Halloween. We laughed and distributed the goods. A crowd of five young boys arrived with Darth Maul masks and light sabers, and waved them around somewhat recklessly as they crowded in to get their candy.
"Ooh!" I heard a Darth Maul say as they trudged away, light sabers aglow. "Reeses, my favorite kind!" I think they'll be back next year.
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