What time does trick-or-treating start and end on Halloween 2024?

Trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition for millions of children in the United States. Whether you plan to hit up houses in the neighborhood or provide candy to those who knock on your door, knowing when the activity typically begins can be helpful.

To get in the spooky mood of the night, it is ideal to go out when the sun has set. However, given that 31 October rarely falls on a weekend, some communities put in place curfews or set times when revelers can go out to visit houses seeking to fill their pillowcases with sweets.

Likewise, to accommodate younger children and create a safer way of trick-or-treating, some communities and organizations have set up alternative Halloween events where costumed kids can load up on free candy.

What time will trick-or-treating begin on Halloween 2024?

This year, 31 October falls on a Thursday, which means it is a school night for kids and a workday for parents. This may alter your plans for when to go out with the kids or when to keep them home.

It’s generally accepted that trick-or-treating should begin around sunset, though the exact time can vary depending on location. However, the majority of respondents to a FiveThirtyEight survey in 2015 felt that the best time to start trick-or-treating was around 5 or 6 p.m., which coincides with when the sun is setting for most places in the fall.

For those of us who were on a mission to create a Mount Everest of candy on the living room floor as kids, getting an early start was key. Lest all the good candy be taken by the time you get started. Keeping tabs from year to year on which houses to hit first is recommended.

Once you can carry no more, you can always drop off the goods at a safe location and head out to scour the neighborhood for lingering sweets and a little mischief.

What time will trick-or-treating end on Halloween 2024?

Different communities have varying rules on when it comes to calling it quits for the night. Again, children will have to be up bright and early the next day to go to school, and swap candies of course. So that and the age of the trick-or-treaters will be a deciding factor for many parents on how late the little ones can stay out.

Most people agree that trick-or-treating should end between 8 pm and 9 pm. But nearly a fifth of respondents to the before-mentioned survey would like to keep going until 10 pm, a fair number far later. However, there are many places that want the hunt for sweet treats to stop at 7 pm.

You will want to check with your local news outlet to find out if there are any strict curfews or a set timetable. While its fun for the kids, Mr and Mrs Jones down the street might not want young ones ringing their doorbell after a certain hour. You can also check social media forums to find out what times trick-or-treaters will be welcome in any given area. Some houses avoid this question all together by placing a bowl of candy outside their home.

Alternatives and measures to make Halloween safer

More pedestrians are hit on Halloween night than any other day of the year. To ensure that the roaming hordes of dressed-up trick-or-treaters can beg for candy safely cities around the nation have begun to close off certain streets to traffic during designated times. New York City did so for the first time in 2022, with the Department of Transportation closing nearly 100 streets and plazas between 4 pm and 8 pm on Halloween.

Other communities around the country move up trick-or-treating to the Sunday or Saturday before Halloween. There has been a national push by the Halloween & Costume Association to make the last Saturday in October National Trick or Treat Day.

Another effort to increase safety for little ones to gather their sweet treasure that began in the 1990s has gained traction over the years called Trunk and Treat. These are organized in parking lots where kids go from trunk to trunk of cars parked in a designated parking lot so they aren’t wandering out on the street with traffic.