As a child in Michigan I don’t remember either going out trick-or-treating or witnessing any damage around the neighborhood. However, I do remember that there was always a Halloween parade at school, and it was a given that all the kids dressed up for that.

Our two oldest, Ellen and Tim, probably first went out trick-or-treating when we were living in New Jersey. I remember it as being extremely cold — the costumes were not warm enough by themselves, and the kids had to put on jackets or coats, which sort of ruined the effect.

Costumes were big in our family both at Halloween and also at other times of the year. We have always had a big box of dress-up costumes, which have been popular with both the kids and the grandkids. When we lived in El Dorado Hills, California, Matthew and Miranda always dragged out the costume box when they came to visit so they could put on various capes and run around the house posing as “Superkids.” Archer and Helena continued that tradition.