Tim,

We had a great evening.

I told my neighbor, Donna about what we were planning on doing. She wanted to help. I said, “All we need is a fire pit”. She said she had one we could use. Donna also joined us since her husband was out of town.

We brought the nice chairs from the back deck. We circled them around the fire pit. We had a table with hot chocolate and coffee with the favors.

For the kids, we had a duck pond. All the ducks had number on the bottom. The kids told us the number and we gave them there prizes. The prizes were pens, highlighters, sticks, candy and super-superballs. All the kids got glow sticks and candy and a spider ring as well. The kids had fun.

Conversations were flowing with the neighbors. Even if they didn’t want coffee or hot chocolate, they still stopped to talk. Some stayed for a long time and we talked and laughed. It wasn’t long until the neighbor on the other side of us joined us as well for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning, another neighbor was walking by and started talking about the fun and hot chocolate that she heard we had at our house.

We were tired when if was all over, but it was worth it all.

In Christ,
Dianne and Mark

We went for the tripple whammy this Halloween – Chili, Curb-site Hot Chocolate, and Outdoor Theatre. Since the weather was outrageously unseasonable, we cashed in on as many strategies as we could imagine.

First of all we did the killer Chili for our neighbors – three pots of chile, chips and a crock pot of nacho cheese! About 20 of our neighbors swung by, checked out the fire pit and were amazed at my orange extension cord running out to the street!

A handful of International students came over for chili – they stuck around and helped us hand out candy to kids on our front porch so we could talk with adults over hot chocolate at the end of our sidewalk.

On a whim we decided to set up a back-yard theatre on our garage wall. Our teens hosted some of their friends for a movie night starting after the trick or treating wrapped up. Kids from school. Kids from youth group. Kids from the neighborhood. The back patio was knee deep in bodies. What a mess. We loved it!

Send me your e-mails on how Halloween shook out at your place and I’ll post them right here on the blog.

Halloween falls on a Friday this year. Hmmm… What’s that mean? Parents can let their kids eat their candy when they get back from Trick or Treating! That’s what I think that means. Can’t do that on a school night, now, can you? Here’s how to get in front of this one, friends.

Throw a neighborhood party with other families who have trick or treating kids. Make a huge pot of killer chili and have others bring sides and drinks. Host it in your garage, your basement or even your back-yard if it’s warm enough. Get kids together to play games, carve pumpkins and take pictures before it gets too dark.

Once it’s dark, team up with these families and have the dads walk the kids from house to house while the mom’s stay back at home to greet trick or treaters. Dads can enjoy talking while you walk with your kids. See ideas in previous posts – If you’re real ambitious you can work your curb-side, fire-ring, hot chocolate strategy at the same time as long as you have enough help at your house.

After everyone is back from the big candy grab, let the trade show begin! Kids love to show off and trade their candy. Parents can play cards or a fun board game while the kids eat themselves into a sugar fix. I’m certain this is the part where I’ll catch flak from thousands of engaged readers…but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Kid’s I’m pullin for ya!

Parents, enjoy your neighbors as you build a reputation for being one of those cool houses on the block people love to hang around.

So you don’t know a Brazilian Guitarist? Can you still make your front yard a really fun place for kids and adults? Just ask yourself a few questions like these and your plan will emerge:

1- What do kids want when they come to your home? In a word. Candy. But they’re also looking for a good time and welcome some creativity in the process. Consider how you can use your front porch or your garage to make the candy grab more fun. Play a simple game like a ring toss or bean bags. Keep it short and simple.

2- What do parents do while kids are retrieving candy? Usually they wait out at the end of the sidewalk. If you want to get to know parents, think about hanging out at the end of your driveway near the side-walk so you can meet people you don’t know and greet those you do.

3- What is Halloween weather typically like? Cold. Those same parents you’re talking with would love a hot drink while their kids are on your front porch. Get a couple of thermoses each of hot chocolate and coffee out there with you at the end of your sidewalk.

4- What do I do if I can’t be on my front porch and at the end of my sidewalk at the same time? Get help! Team up with people in your neighborhood or someone from your small group who doesn’t live in a kid-popular neighborhood.
Stay tuned for more ideas…

Last year in our neighborhood we decided we’d try something different for Halloween. Usually we turn off all the lights in our house, hide in the basement and watch TV pretending we’re not home! This time we thought we’d get out of the rut and make Halloween a part of our outreach to our neighbors. We made hot chocolate and coffee and stood out at the side walk talking to adults who came by with their kids. Our kids served up the candy while we got to chat and meet new people. And just to push the envelope a little more, we brought our fire-ring around to the front and had a fire going.

The pinnacle of our strategy (which we didn’t actually plan) was Leo. Leo was a friend we’d met through the International Ministry. Leo wanted to see what Halloween looks like, so we’d invited him to join us. After finding out that Leo knew how to play the guitar… you can see where this is headed… I gave him my guitar and he joined our front yard Halloween venue providing live music! It was awesome. People stopped, talked for a few minutes and even make comments like “You must not be from around here… this is the coolest house we’ve stopped at all night.”

Watch this blog in the next couple of days as we post practical suggestions for redeeming Halloween in your part of the city.