Halloween Hospitality
Practice
Give good candy. Be a house known by generosity.
Light up your lawn. Make your house the brightest place on the block.
Wear a costume. Explaining costumes is a great way to begin a conversation.
Become the Hotdog House. Create a place where people want to gather.
“There are three things I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”
“Halloween is a boo-tiful day to get to know your neighbors.” says Kristin Schell, founder of The Turquoise Table. There is no other day of the year when more neighbors knock on each other’s door. Halloween is a unique opportunity to show hospitality to your neighbors and neighborhood.
Halloween is layered with a multiplicity of history. The origins include an ancient Celtic festival where bonfires are built, and costumes are worn to ward off evil. The English word “Halloween” comes from "All Hallows' Eve," the eve before the celebration of the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Halloween became a major holiday in the United States of America with the Irish and Scottish migration in the 19th century. What makes Halloween a unique holiday is how it invites neighbors to not only meet but generously share treats.
With a few small shifts in intentionality, this autumn holiday can be a memorable way to cultivate a deeper love of people and place. One of the best practices for hospitality on Halloween begins with being outdoors. Instead of waiting inside for neighbors to knock on your door, move outside. Enjoy the experience of children walking by your home. Create an environment that welcomes both children and adults. String lights over the driveway, offer a firepit to warm cold hands, set out camp chairs for a short rest, supply water bottles or hot cider to help neighbors rehydrate.
An inspiring expression of Halloween hospitality is the Hotdog House. Children and parents in the Virginia Village neighborhood have one house that has quickly become a required visit every Halloween. It is the Hotdog House. In 2020, Dananne Solomon and her husband moved to Virginia Village after living in Greenwood Village for 20 years, raising their 3 children. Dananne knew a friend in Boston who gave out hot dogs at Halloween. She thought it would be a great way to meet neighbors in their new neighborhood. The first year they gave 200 hot dogs away. For the last three Halloweens, they have handed out over 300 hot dogs and seen their diverse neighborhood come together.
Their home has become the central gathering for neighbors with and without children on Halloween. “People want to meet their neighbors,” shared Dananne. “One of my neighbors who has lived in the neighborhood 45 years said she has never seen anything like it!” This year they received a permit from the city to close the road in front of their house. Hundreds of neighbors will gather to celebrate the creativity of children’s costumes, strategically plan trick-or-treat routes, and enjoy the hospitality of the Hot Dog House.
There are endless ways to leverage the Halloween holiday to know our neighbors. Whatever our perspective on Halloween, it is an annual opportunity to demonstrate hospitality to those who live within walking distance of our homes. It is a way to make our neighborhood a place where people feel connected and are invited to be known. Halloween hospitality is a “boo-tiful” way to practice being a good neighbor.
