Trunk-or-Treating

Every kid's favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas. When I was a kid, we got to have parties in school, I got to dress up in a costume made by my grandmother, and we went out and got free candy from neighbors. But, what about for the kids who don't have costumes? What if their parents work or don't have the time to take them out? What happens when nobody's porch lights are on?

Cue the Baldwin Center and Trunk-or-Treating.

Last year, a group of friends and I went to the Baldwin Center to help out with this event. We all dressed up and drove onto the lawn in front of the house, spilling candy all over the trunk of the car after we opened up the trunk hatch of the mini van. Then the kids started coming, all in costumes. I was glad to see a lot of parents had come as well. Though most of the kids were shy and quickly moved from car to car, they talked and giggled with each other, and sometimes graced us with the knowledge of their name. You could tell they had a good time and were just as thrilled as we used to be at the prospect of free candy. And we all had just as much fun giving out candy as the kids did receiving it.

Trunk or treating is an opportunity that requires little commitment, only a few hours once a year and a few bags of candy, and reaps great rewards, not just for the kids, but for everyone.