31 Oct Katya’s First Trick or Treating

Happy Halloween! Katya just turned 3, and it was finally time for her very first trick-or-treating experience! I never grew up trick-or-treating myself, so I was extra excited to experience it for the first time through her. We’re not super involved in our neighborhood and mostly only chat with our next-door neighbors, so I didn’t really know what trick-or-treating would be like around here.

Last year, we sort of participated by leaving a candy bowl outside because Katya got sick and needed to rest. From our Ring doorbell, we could see tons of kids stopping by, and the candy disappeared quickly—so at least I knew our neighborhood had a pretty active trick-or-treating scene.

For her costume, I went with a classic Halloween look—a black cat—playing on her name “Kat”-ya (and because she loves kitty cats). The headpiece and fuzzy outfit kept her warm while walking outside, which was a bonus. We set a candy bowl out for the neighborhood kids and headed out for our own candy-hunting adventure.

As a former seasoned trick-or-treater, Erik naturally took the lead. At first, Katya was too scared to ring the doorbell, so Erik had to do it for her. She kept saying “scared” and hid behind him. After some encouragement, she finally worked up the courage to ring the bell herself—then immediately ran back to us like a timid little kitten lol.

Once the door opened, she started saying “trick or treat” and “thank you.” At first, her voice was barely audible, but after a few houses, she said it more confidently. Even though ringing the doorbell scared her, she wasn’t afraid of neighbors wearing bloody or monster-looking costumes at all. I guess in a kid’s mind, if you’re handing out candy, you can’t be a bad person! Funny how that works.

So many neighbors participated—some left candy baskets out, others decorated their houses, and some even handed out candy in full costume. We quickly learned that if the porch light was on or decorations were up, the house was participating. Every time we stopped at a house where no one answered, Katya would say, “Nobody here…” in the most disappointed little voice. It wasn’t that deep, but it was so cute to see her understanding how trick-or-treating works.

She had just as much fun looking at the decorations as collecting candy—especially the ones with blinking lights, sounds, and movement. Maybe it’s because she’s a Scorpio, but she seemed to love all the spooky stuff… including spiders haha. Which made me wonder why she was so scared to ring the doorbell in the first place.

It was incredibly heartwarming to see how many people participated in trick-or-treating just to make kids they don’t even know happy. There’s something really special about the whole community coming together to create magical moments for children. Katya received so many compliments and had sweet interactions with our neighbors—it was adorable watching her talk to them.

She might not remember this day, but I truly believe this kind of core childhood experience helps build confidence and joy. I’m so thankful to everyone who interacted with Katya and made her first trick-or-treating experience so special. Her candy basket filled up fast and became too heavy for her to carry, so we headed home. We were out for about an hour, and I’d say her first trick-or-treating was a huge success!

As for her candy basket, I originally wanted a personalized one from Pottery Barn Kids, but it wouldn’t have arrived in time. Instead, I ordered one from Amazon and customized it myself with iron-on letters. I love how it turned out—and I saved some money too. I really wanted to document her first trick-or-treating in her black cat costume, but taking photos of a fast-moving 3-year-old is no joke. She wouldn’t stay still for a second, but I did my best!

How was your Halloween? I hope you had lots of fun!

Happy Meowloween,

Fatima