What time does trick-or-treating start on Halloween? How early should children start asking for candy, and when does this end?

Most communities do not have official start and end times for trick-or-treating on Halloween, but generally the most popular hours are from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Parents with younger children usually start around 5:00 PM while it is still daylight, while most trick-or-treaters start around sunset between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM (in Syracuse, sunset is expected on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at 5:57 PM).

People usually hand out candy until the sweet and chocolatey treats run out, but polls show that most younger children stop around 8 p.m. (or earlier) and older children sometimes stay out until 9 a.m., especially when the weather is nice, like expected. to be this year.

Since Halloween 2024 falls on a school night (Thursday), trick-or-treating will likely still end around 8 p.m. in most neighborhoods.

However, some places, such as the city of Syracuse, recommend highly specific times for starting and stopping trick-or-treating. Syracuse Neighborhood Watch Groups and the Syracuse Police Department recommend residents hand out candy on Halloween between 5 and 8 p.m.

Safety tips from Syracuse Neighborhood Watch groups include:

• Bring a flashlight or glow stick
• Adults should accompany young children from house to house
• Don’t go out alone, but use the buddy system
• Walk on the sidewalk, not on the road, and follow the traffic lights
• Stay in well-known neighborhoods
• Only approach houses with the veranda/door lights on
• Although spills are rare, children should bring candy home to be inspected before eating it. This also helps children who may have a food allergy

Indoor trick-or-treating options are also popular, especially for little ones. In Syracuse, Destiny USA welcomes kids in costume for “Spook-A-Thon” fun in the canyon area and trick-or-treating at participating stores from Thursday 3-5 p.m.; For more information, visit destinyusa.com/spookathon.

Some groups have proposed making Halloween a two-day holiday, moving trick-or-treating to the Saturday before Oct. 31 and calling it “National Trick-Or-Treat Day.” Halloween, based on the ancient festival All Hallows’ Eve, would still be celebrated on the last day of October as well, making for two days of spooky fun.

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