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Throw A 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 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. A couple of months ahead you should start
thinking about dates, activities, and supplies. You should start enlisting the help of
neighbors, give each one a particular thing to do. Plan
food, organize games, check with your City Hall about
permits, insurance and zoning. Organize a meeting with
neighbors to find out how they can help, and what they can supply.
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.
If you close the street, you may have to take out
liability insurance and obtain the approval of affected neighbors if
they 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.
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.
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.
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