Remember last week when I was lamenting about urban Halloween and pining for the crunch of leaves under my feet and the ringing of a doorbell on a crisp, fall night? Yeah, let’s forget all about that. 2011 was the one year when New York City kids won the “Who had the better Halloween” contest. Thanks to that ridiculous storm last weekend, many towns in Ct and NJ are still without power and had to actually CANCEL Halloween! And kids who lived in towns that didn’t cancel Trick or Treating had to fight freezing temperatures, icy streets and cranky parents who wanted a blow drier and a working DVR that would tape House.
We ended up having a GREAT Halloween. We trick-or-treated in a friend’s doorman building, hit a Halloween party and did some store-to-store trick-or treating. But I do have some notes for the local businesses that we visited. Maybe they can take it into account for next year.
NEW YORK KID CLUB: Two thumbs up! Not only were you ready with a bowl of lollipops and a fully costumed staff, the festivities started a full week ago. My kids LOVED attending gymnastics in costume and you did a great job building up the pre-Halloween buzz!
I’m also very thankful to all of the terrific mom and pop stores who stayed open and well-lit with a dedicated staff member at the door armed with a smile and a bowl of candy. One hardware store in my neighborhood gave out full goody bags packed with candy. And it was GOOD candy. Not cheap stuff. They put their store’s name, number and address on the bags…smart marketing, guys! My kids LOVED you!
I wish I could be as enthusiastic about a few of the bigger, corporate stores near us. I don’t want to make sweeping accusations…some of the grocery stores and other bigger businesses rose to the occasion. As a local parent and one of their customers, I appreciate this. I mean, I shop in your store all year. I spend my money with you. When you help my city kids celebrate Halloween by giving them a two-cent piece of chocolate and a smile, it makes me want to keep giving you my business. But when you don’t, I get a little miffed.
There was one party pooper in the bunch. I won’t name names. But let’s just say it’s a store that actually SELLS candy. A LOT of candy. And they are a BIG store with about a zillion franchises and they have no problem placing rows of candy on the lower merchandise racks, right by the register, exactly at stroller level. I spend all year shopping there, telling LITTLE GUY that no, Mommy won’t buy him that piece of candy and “put that down, we’re not buying it”. So when I go in at 6:30 PM on Halloween with my costumed cutie who has been so good all night about saying “Please” and “Thank You” and you tell me that you ran out of candy at 4 PM, it makes me not want to shop at your store any more!
OK, maybe I’m being a spoiled brat. I mean, it’s not their JOB to be nice to my kid. It’s their job to sell me stuff at a reasonable price. Maybe I’m being a high-maintenance mom with unreasonable expectations. On the other hand, isn’t passing out candy on Halloween just a nice thing to do and a smart move for a store that sells candy in a kid-heavy neighborhood?
What do YOU think?
Where is the facebook like button ?