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Community Corner

Moms Talk: Whatever Happened to "Neighborhood" Trick-or-Treating?

Why do we let our kids bypass our own neighbors and head straight to The Lakes?

C'mon, Mercer Island β€” you can tell me. I know I'm not the only one with a full bowl of candy at 9 p.m. .

Every year I hope it will be different, that the neighbor kids I know will stop by and ring my bell. I would even love to meet the newer kids that have moved into the neighborhood. But maybe they think the only place kids can ?

My own kids loved going to , but first we made the rounds with our own neighbors. For many of these elderly folks, seeing the kids in their costumes was a huge deal. Some invited us inside for a better view and treats. This is a different kind of memory than blasting through house after house in marathon trick-or-treating.

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This year our street was decked out with numerous carved pumpkins, orange lights that flickered in trees, and fake tombstones β€” clearly an open invitation, as if it were a large neon sign to trick-or-treaters, "We're Open for Business!" But alas, I got just three costumed young people at my door (thank you Jordan and company!). At this point, I'd welcome teens, even adults of any age to stop by.

We all know that Mercer Island has funky neighborhoods with narrow streets and . But it'd be great if kids could slow down and hit a few houses in their own neck of the woods on their way to those neighborhoods more conducive to power trick-or-treating.

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Not to mention that the folks that put on that amazing extravaganza in The Lakes could use a bit of a break!

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