HALLOWEEN BLOCK PARTY

If you live in a more suburban area a Halloween block party will give you a chance to get closer to or meet your neighbors in a festive setting. In this busy world we live in, the feeling of community and neighborhood friendship isn't what it was 20 or 30  years ago. This is a great way to get back that feeling of being a part of a close knit community.

To pull off a successful Halloween block party you need to do some advance planning. First pass out fliers along your street for people to give back to you, a survey to find out ho wants to get involved and who doesn't. The simple questions: "We would like to organize a Halloween block party long our street. Are you interested in getting involved: Yes or No. Please respond within one week and drop off at Judy Smith's house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane."

Once you have a list of people to help out, set up a meeting at your house for all to attend. Do this at least four months in advance so you'll have plenty of time to get this organized. You can delegate jobs to each person, give each one a particular thing to do such as Sue Jones is in charge of food, Larry Smith, Joe Jones and Bill Black will build the haunted house, Sally Brown will do all the investigating on city, police and insurance problems and info, etc. You should start thinking about dates, activities, and supplies. Plan food, organize games, check with your City Hall about permits, insurance and zoning. You can plan on the block party to be held before Halloween or on Halloween night as an alternative to trick-or-treating.

The first obstacle you'll have to get past is closing off your street for the day or night. If you close the street, you may have to take out liability insurance and obtain the approval of affected neighbors that choose not to be involved with the party. You may also be required to obtain traffic barricades from the city along with a permit.  Check with your local police department for information on blocking off the two ends of the street in your neighborhood. Put one reliable person in charge of collecting this information and making arrangements, it may take some doing.

If there is a fee for the permit, you may want to set up food and drink booths and charge a low price to make back the money. If everyone involved chips in it will cut down on expenses, the more families involved the smaller the cost per family.

You'll want to plan games, a costume contest, food and drink booths and decorations. If all neighbors decide to decorate their own yards for Halloween, you can have a walk down each side of the street to view the yards and award the best Halloween decorations.

It may sound like a big undertaking but with the proper help from neighbors you can make a Halloween block party an annual tradition for your neighborhood that will last for years! It will also set a good example for your children, showing them that friendship and community are not a thing of the past.