Making your home welcoming for trick-or-treaters

Trick-or-treaters will be ringing doorbells and collecting candy Monday night for Halloween.

Andrea Jang of Duluth Mom offered some tips to make sure it’s a safe, welcoming experience for all.

First, on the safety front:

• Make sure stairs up to the front door are clear.
• Have a well-lit area around your door.
• Be cautious with open flames.

“If you have candles around … maybe have some water nearby so costumes don’t catch on them,” Jang said.

She also highly recommends people secure their pets.

“Even if they’re really friendly or are used to having strangers come over, you never know what’s going to happen, what’s going to set them off,” she said.

Jang said the universal sign that you are accepting trick-or-treaters is to have your porch light on. She suggests turning it on around 4:30 and leaving it on until 8:30 or 9 p.m.

Duluth Mom also wants to make sure people know what a teal pumpkin signals. If a child approaches your door with a teal pumpkin, it means they have food allergies or prefer a non-food treat. If a house has a teal pumpkin set outside the front door, it’s a signal that they have non-food items available for trick-or-treaters.

“So instead of candy, I like glowsticks,” Jang said. “They’re just a couple bucks. You can get any shapes and size at Walmart or the Dollar Store. And they’re fun. They serve a double purpose because then the kids can wear them when they get them, and then they’re safer on the streets.”

And if you don’t want your carving work to go to waste, Jang says you might want to bring the pumpkins inside.

“We don’t want kids playing tricks on you over the night. So if you want your carved pumpkins to be preserved, I would put them away in case kids get a little rowdy at night. It usually doesn’t happen, but you never know,” she said.

Find more tips and other activities at duluth.momcollective.com.