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miss_chance and I bought 1075 pieces of candy today. We have no idea how many kids to expect but that should cover any plausible eventuality even if we eat some of it ourselves while giving it out.miss_chance and I bought 1075 pieces of candy today. We have no idea how many kids to expect but that should cover any plausible eventuality even if we eat some of it ourselves while giving it out.
Schedule posted here so I remember to get home a little earlier next year, and so I can see how pacing is going in future years and adjust how generous I am with the candy accordingly.
at 5:45, kid 1 -- I wasn't home yet, so![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miss_chance handled the first few.
at 6:00,cintyber showed up (as did kid 8) and played the "ID the costume" game all evening.
at 6:15, kid 20.
at 6:30, kid 37.
at 6:45, kid 63.
at 6:56, kid 100.
at 7:00, kid 115.
at 7:18, kid 174.
at 7:23, kid 200 is a clone trooper -- lots of Star Wars characters this year.
at 7:30, kid 222. Then a five-minute lull before the next kid, dressed as Pooh Bear.
at 7:45, kid 258.
at 8:00, kid 272.miss_chance has finished the work she needed to do and she and I take a spin around the neighborhood. I have a conversation with someone down the street about why "that house" is taking a break this year, and relay the assurances I'd gotten from the folks who live there that they'd be back in '09. There are a few signs up saying "out of candy".
at 8:15, kid 283.
at 8:30, kid 292. Shortly after this I left to get fetch us dinner, whilemiss_chance and cintyber mind the candy.
at 8:45 or so (while I'm out), kid 299. We're about the only ones still giving out candy at this point.
at 9:00, kid 300, and that's a wrap (and yet another record). About 10% of the candy is left over -- certainly not too much for tomorrow's party.
at 5:45, kid 1 -- I wasn't home yet, so
miss_chance handled the first few.at 6:00,
cintyber showed up (as did kid 8) and played the "ID the costume" game all evening.at 6:15, kid 20.
at 6:30, kid 37.
at 6:45, kid 63.
at 6:56, kid 100.
at 7:00, kid 115.
at 7:18, kid 174.
at 7:23, kid 200 is a clone trooper -- lots of Star Wars characters this year.
at 7:30, kid 222. Then a five-minute lull before the next kid, dressed as Pooh Bear.
at 7:45, kid 258.
at 8:00, kid 272.
miss_chance has finished the work she needed to do and she and I take a spin around the neighborhood. I have a conversation with someone down the street about why "that house" is taking a break this year, and relay the assurances I'd gotten from the folks who live there that they'd be back in '09. There are a few signs up saying "out of candy".at 8:15, kid 283.
at 8:30, kid 292. Shortly after this I left to get fetch us dinner, while
miss_chance and cintyber mind the candy.at 8:45 or so (while I'm out), kid 299. We're about the only ones still giving out candy at this point.
at 9:00, kid 300, and that's a wrap (and yet another record). About 10% of the candy is left over -- certainly not too much for tomorrow's party.
(no subject)
Oct. 31st, 2007 09:00 pmnumber 264 came through at 8:45 -- it looks like the whole schedule is delayed about half an hour from last year, for Daylight Savings. I've seen some of last year's after-dinner kids already; I wonder if we'll get a group through or not. At 9:00, that house has a crew of 7 taking the decorations down so no one makes off with them.
(no subject)
Oct. 31st, 2007 07:43 pm7:23: Natalie, who has been sitting on the front porch for some time, finally gets up the nerve to trick-or-treat me. She is number 156.
7:42: A couple of cops come by on bicycles. Yay, appropriate technology.
7:43: Number 200 is yet another Red Sox player. No one seems to be dressed as any particular player, not even the ones with players' names on their jerseys.
7:42: A couple of cops come by on bicycles. Yay, appropriate technology.
7:43: Number 200 is yet another Red Sox player. No one seems to be dressed as any particular player, not even the ones with players' names on their jerseys.
(no subject)
Oct. 31st, 2007 07:13 pm6:12: first out-of-neighborhood kids.
6:22: I'm starting to get compliments on the house from the kids.
6:30: 18 kids.
6:36: 26 kids. dinner arrives. I'm starting to notice a dent in the first (of three) bowls of candy.
6:40: how come the older kids always have the lamer costumes?
6:55: 89 kids, and the end of the first bowl of candy.
6:59: 100 kids.
7:13: a short lull at 144 kids -- time to hit "post"
6:22: I'm starting to get compliments on the house from the kids.
6:30: 18 kids.
6:36: 26 kids. dinner arrives. I'm starting to notice a dent in the first (of three) bowls of candy.
6:40: how come the older kids always have the lamer costumes?
6:55: 89 kids, and the end of the first bowl of candy.
6:59: 100 kids.
7:13: a short lull at 144 kids -- time to hit "post"
The neighborhood has reacted to the first few kids. People have turned on their music and strobe lights and fog machines and come out onto their porches. The kids who have been gathering in houses are all coming out. Folks are taking pictures of that house. But none of the older kids are here yet, and I haven't seen any carloads being dropped off.
statistics
Nov. 1st, 2006 02:48 amBy the time I got home and ready to give out candy at 5:35 there were already a few kids on the street. Another record year:
28 kids by 6:00
92 kids by 6:30
100 kids by 6:35
147 kids by 7:00
200 kids by 7:11
222 kids by 7:30
240 kids by 8:00
250 kids by 8:15 or so, and then nothing until 9:15
261 kids by 9:30. The after-dinner kids are mostly well costumed 12-15 year olds in a small number of large groups. They're much less shy about ringing doorbells than the little kids are. I think there were still another dozen of them out there who might have come by if we hadn't shut off the porch light in order to go fetch take-out and watch Shaun of the Dead. I wonder if those kids have been out there all along or if this is a new phenomenon.
A bunch of us on the block are thinking that next year it is time to get the city to close the street.
28 kids by 6:00
92 kids by 6:30
100 kids by 6:35
147 kids by 7:00
200 kids by 7:11
222 kids by 7:30
240 kids by 8:00
250 kids by 8:15 or so, and then nothing until 9:15
261 kids by 9:30. The after-dinner kids are mostly well costumed 12-15 year olds in a small number of large groups. They're much less shy about ringing doorbells than the little kids are. I think there were still another dozen of them out there who might have come by if we hadn't shut off the porch light in order to go fetch take-out and watch Shaun of the Dead. I wonder if those kids have been out there all along or if this is a new phenomenon.
A bunch of us on the block are thinking that next year it is time to get the city to close the street.
statistics
Oct. 31st, 2005 09:41 pmhigh temperature: 70 degrees F
first arrival: 5:25 PM
starting size of candy bowl: 600+ pieces
100th arrival: 6:35 PM
last arrival: 8:10 PM
ending size of candy bowl: 1 piece
total number of kids: 205
Around 8:30, after having been closed up for a while, I headed out for a burrito and encountered a group of seven hardy 13-to-14-year-old trick-or-treaters; they went so far as to ring our doorbell after hitting the next door neighbors who were one of two houses still open on the block. They're not included in the statistics. Sorry, kids, but it's not just that we were out. Halloween was over.
first arrival: 5:25 PM
starting size of candy bowl: 600+ pieces
100th arrival: 6:35 PM
last arrival: 8:10 PM
ending size of candy bowl: 1 piece
total number of kids: 205
Around 8:30, after having been closed up for a while, I headed out for a burrito and encountered a group of seven hardy 13-to-14-year-old trick-or-treaters; they went so far as to ring our doorbell after hitting the next door neighbors who were one of two houses still open on the block. They're not included in the statistics. Sorry, kids, but it's not just that we were out. Halloween was over.
a new record
Oct. 31st, 2004 08:03 pm158 kids this year, counting the double-dippers only once and not counting the parent who seemed interested in more candy than his kid. As expected, a fair number of Red Sox-themed costumes, including a recognizable Curse and a very good Johnny Damon. The schedule ran about 20 minutes earlier than usual this year, with a few kids already on the street when I got downstairs at 5:25 and the last kid around 7:45. Maybe that's because we were just after the time change this time. The average age seemed lower; lots of kids who couldn't climb the porch stairs unassisted, and not very many teens. A second wave of small kids appeared around 7, apparently attached to new or new-to-this-neighborhood parents returning from trick-or-treating runs to "better" neighborhoods. I guess they didn't realize how much of a big deal Halloween is around here.
One of the things I learned doing staff den for various SF conventions a decade or more ago is that the basic unit of food is the dollar. Individual types of food have native units but all of them convert to cash, and it avoids the unit ambiguity for things like juice concentrate or bread which have many common sizes. This is most true for Halloween candy -- and yet I have been tracking how much of this to buy based on number of trick-or-treaters, when I should have been tracking it by the dollar cost of candy consumed.
For the record, I spent a bit more than $30 this year, and $20 would probably have sufficed.
For the record, I spent a bit more than $30 this year, and $20 would probably have sufficed.
first kid at 5:45
17th at 6:15
40th at 6:40
100th at 7:06
119th at 7:22
129th at 7:45
130th at 8:07
Generally a more compressed schedule than last year.
One police officer, a girl.
One firefighter, a boy.
Two sailors, one girl and one boy.
One kid who tried to trick-or-treat us twice (I only counted him once, though).
And my favorite trend:
out of 130 kids, plus dozens of costumed parents who I didn't count, I did not see a single soldier.
Now there's a big change from last year...
17th at 6:15
40th at 6:40
100th at 7:06
119th at 7:22
129th at 7:45
130th at 8:07
Generally a more compressed schedule than last year.
One police officer, a girl.
One firefighter, a boy.
Two sailors, one girl and one boy.
One kid who tried to trick-or-treat us twice (I only counted him once, though).
And my favorite trend:
out of 130 kids, plus dozens of costumed parents who I didn't count, I did not see a single soldier.
Now there's a big change from last year...
tomorrow's schedule
Oct. 30th, 2003 07:08 pmmostly for my own reference, but also for those living nearby: last year's first trick-or-treater was at 5:15, and the 140th and last one was at 8:12. We'll see how it goes this year, but I'll be leaving work just a bit before 5.
well, that was surreal
Oct. 31st, 2002 09:01 pmI went over to check out the neighbor's place -- the one that's always decorated to the hilt. There was a TV crew there, conducting an interview... in Catalan.
it's a wrap
Oct. 31st, 2002 08:22 pmafter 140 kids, I'm tired of waiting downstairs for more. It's been 10 minutes since the last one anyway. You wants more candy, you'll just have to wait for me to come down to give it to you.
costume trends
Oct. 31st, 2002 07:37 pm123 kids so far, with half an hour to go before things usually die down to just the surly teenagers with no costumes. I was expecting the profusion of firefighters, but I confess the number of soldiers took me somewhat by surprise.
