Halloween kindness: turning those tricks into treats

Our resident kindness expert, Patience Salgado, has a few tips to help make this Halloween stand out, for both kid and adult alike. Patience has been featured in O magazine (you know, Oprah Winfrey!) so this very kind, sweet soul knows what she’s talking about!

October 26, 2011; 9:49 AM • by Patience Salgado

It’s that time of year again: Halloween. The sweetest holiday of candy goodwill–along with the occasional egging of a house. I find it crazy how strangers, doorsteps, and costumes can all come together in a magical way. If you are a member of my family, Halloween ranks up there as one, if not THE greatest holiday of the year.

So let’s take the spooky giving spirit of the 31st one step further. Here are 5 ideas to make your Halloween even more mysteriously kind:

#1 Boo someone

Have you been booed yet? Grab your kids and head to the store to gather various Halloween goodies: candy, art supplies, those awesome spider rings, play dough, all those things kids love. Leave them on the door step in a bag or one of those plastic jack-o-lanterns from our childhood. Ring and run! Don’t forget to leave a note: “We’ve been Booed!” for the recipient to leave in their window. Some folks like to pass on the goodwill, whole entire neighborhoods have been playing this game for over 20 years! Grown up version: leave a six pack of specialty beers! Yes, I know, you want to play now.

#2 Have a Pre-Trick or Treat warm-up dinner

Invite some neighbors, maybe some folks in your community whom you are interested in getting to know better, and have a pre-game dinner. Everyone could use something semi-decent to eat before they eat pounds of chocolate and candy. Have everybody bring a dish so the cooking load is light and fun. Let the kids run around like maniacs because chances are they will be too excited to eat anyway.

#3Go all Ed McMahon on one unsuspecting, yet deserving trick-or-treater.

Buy one extra bag of candy, then pick one kid during the night to pour it all out on. It’s the kid version of winning the Publisher’s Clearing house million! There may be squealing in delight, or even a lack of sounds all together from shock.

#4 Pass the loot on.

If your kids end up with brown bags filled to the top, why not share the love? Operation Gratitude is a nonprofit that mails care packages to troops in hostile regions, to their children left behind, and to wounded warriors. Sounds like the perfect people to share the candy kindness with, doesn’t it?

#5 Leave some after-gourd goodness.

You know all those gourds you bought to decorate? How about writing some encouraging messages on them and leaving them for people to find? Maybe a “You can do it!” one outside the gym, or an “It will be okay” on a bench somewhere. Recycle those little guys and send something positive out into our fine city!

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Do you have any kindness ideas for the shadow side holiday? We would love to hear them in comments. Have an awesome Halloween!

photo by ginnerobot

October 26, 2011 9:49 AM 0