Have a Frightfully Delightful Halloween!

The spooktacular Halloween holiday will be observed on Thursday, Oct. 31. Virginia Beach trick-or-treaters up to the age of 12 years can get their tricks or treats between dusk and 8 p.m.

Creepin’ it real

Trick-or-treating is fun tradition, but safety should always be kept in mind. Children are more than twice as likely to be struck and killed by an automobile than any other day of the year. Poor visibility and low lighting during trick-or-treating times contributes to this unfortunate statistic. Here are a few safety tips for families:

• Join the fun and accompany young children. If you can’t tag along, have them go as a group. NEVER let young children go trick-or-treating alone.
• Only accept wrapped or packaged candy.
• Make sure children know not to ever enter the home or vehicle of a stranger.
• Wear light-colored clothing, wigs and accessories that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant. Costumes should ideally be short enough to prevent tripping.
• Consider adding reflectors, glow-in-the-dark safety stickers or glowsticks to costumes to make yourself move visible to vehicles.
• Costume masks are fun, but make sure your kids can see through them clearly. Face paint is an alternative to consider!
• Bring a flashlight along for when the sun goes down. Be careful not to shine them into moving vehicles to avoid blinding the driver.
• Watch out for traffic! Cross at corners and avoid crossing between parked cars.
• Share your intended route with family members and what time you expect to return home.
• Use sidewalks whenever possible to avoid injury from a vehicle. If sidewalks aren’t available, always walk facing traffic.

No candy for me. I’m trying to keep my ghoulish figure.

Residents who want to pass out candy (and may eat a few pieces when nobody’s looking!) should turn their porch light on if they want to participate in the trick-or-treating festivities. If you decide to opt out, please keep your porch lights off.

• As tempting as it may be to show off your homemade candy-making skills, stick to the pre-packaged goodies instead.
• You can also consider non-food trinkets and treats that are safe for all trick-or-treaters, especially for kids with food allergies.
• Use electric lights or luminary bags to illuminate walkways and make sure there is a safe, clear path for trick-or-treaters to get to your door.
• If you have candlelit jack-o-lanterns, keep them away from areas where costumes may brush against the flames.
• Pets can get a little excited with all the activity (and who can blame them!), so best practice is to keep them away from the door with all of the trick-or-treaters.

Happy haunts – and be safe!