FAQs

• The main part of trick or treat is that the kids should be wearing a costume.  (parents, this is optional for you)

• You can go in a big group or a small group, that is up to you and your kids, but it's generally a good idea to have one adult join per family (or just ensure that there is an adult who can keep an eye on your children).

• For those of you who signed up to give out candy, that means that one adult should stay home with the candy to hand it out. (bonus points if you decorate, but that is not required!)

• Please purchase only individually wrapped candy, please don't give out homemade treats.

• The kids go from house to house, ring the bell and say "trick or treat."  Then the adult gives them each a candy.

This event is being organized by Jackie - an American mom living in Amsterdam for the past 9 years with two Dutch kids.  I started organizing trick or treat when my kids reached school age, because I really wanted them to experience this holiday in the way that I did growing up in America.  The event has grown organically over the past four years and I'm just thrilled to see the enthusiasm for this holiday!  But, I'm just one person doing this, so I'm doing my best to reply to messages and ensure everyone has the information they need to have fun.  

Last year we had around 70 houses signed up to give out candy and 300 kids signed up to trick or treat.  It really felt like a full on holiday!

As sign ups come in this year, I will try to keep this section up to date.

If you did not sign up to give out candy, but are able to, it would be GREATLY appreciated if you could let me know so we can help distribute kids throughout the neighborhood.  

I'm considering if there is a way to distribute candy or decorations to the participating houses without making the coordination and logistics of this go out of control. If you're interested in either donating candy/decorations or in helping to coordinate the logistics around it, please let me know when you sign up.

YES! This year we're organizing the Spooky Village which is a great way for folks outside of the Rivierenbuurt to participate and contribute to Trick or Treat. If you would like to join you can indicate your interest in the sign up form.

I'm also working to find a way for those from outside of the Rivierenbuurt who want to donate candy to be matched with a house in the Rivierenbuurt who could use some extra supply.  You can indicate your interest in participating in the sign up form as well.

Please also understand, the people giving out the candy are truly opening up their own homes! Please do help me out by being considerate about sharing this link with others.

I am asking which neighborhood you come from this year and tracking the replies. If we get enough houses in other neighborhoods, maybe someone from that neighborhood would want to start their own version in the future? I'm happy to share my templates and advice!

If they live in the Rivierenbuurt, please share! I'd love to get more families in the area participating.

If they live in other neighborhoods, I won't force you not to share it, but this is only going to work if it doesn't get out of control.  The families who are giving out candy buy it with their own money and it isn't really fair to ask them to buy candy for kids from all over the city.  If you or your friends live in a neighborhood outside of the Rivierenbuurt and want to start a trick or treat there, send me an email and I'd be happy to talk through what I've done to get it going!

Please email me before to ask before you share this link on social media (facebook groups, reddit, blogs etc.) - I'm doing my best to keep this event neighborhood focused and it's hard to manage once it's out there on the internet.

This year is really tricky because the Herfstvakantie is the same week as Halloween.  Before settling on a date I polled the Rivierenbuurt neighbors and more had availability for 26 October than the 31st.  I want to have enough houses to hand out candy, so I felt we should go with the majority rules this year!

If you can't join this year, hopefully next year will be better, Halloween will be on a Friday, so it will make the decision on date much easier 🎃

Sorry no.  Once we start taking money for this then there is a chance that we could get shut down (for operating without a business license).  All the families giving out candy are doing it from their own money.  So please be considerate with who you invite to join and help us to keep this neighborhood focused.  If you live in a neighborhood outside of the Rivierenbuurt and want to start your own trick or treat, send me an email and I'd be happy to talk you through what I've done to get it going!

I will leave the sign up open until October 25 at 17:00.  At that point I will update the map and list and won't be taking sign ups any more.

I've had luck with H&M, Action and Amazon.

Action usually has some good ones in late September, also I've found some at Hema and at the Tuincentrum Osdorp.

Also there is now a list of locations that we found on this website: https://www.zuid.nl/halloween-maak-je-klaar-voor-een-griezelig-amsterdam-zuid/. Maybe worth checking out!

Please only buy individually wrapped candy to give out.  No homemade treats please!  Try to be mindful of food allergies - I suggest having at least some haribo or other treats like that instead of exclusively candy that has nuts or could be cross contaminated with them.

When we get closer to Halloween I will put a list and map together.  This map and list will only be shared with people who have signed up in advance.

Please do not share the link or the map with anyone.  Trick or treat will only work as long as we all work together to keep it from getting out of control.  I will do my best to keep the map and list up to date. Thank you very much for working together to keep this event going!

Can you please check your spam filter? Some of my emails seem to be landing there.  If you signed up, I definitely have sent you an email.

Yes! Once you sign up, I will send you the link to join.

I think everyone wants to be able to go trick or treat with their kids but let me share a couple of thoughts here:

• If everyone went out with their kids, then there wouldn't be houses to trick or treat at

• Staying home and handing out candy is actually extremely fun! I love looking at the kids' costumes. It's extremely cute.

• If you really both want to go out, you can always still sign up and leave a bowl of candy outside to add to the various houses to visit.

From time to time I hear about other cool things taking place in the city and since so many parents are in the group, I thought I'd share them here.  This isn't an endorsement, just other things I hear about! Send me an email if you want me to add anything you're working on to the list.

• ARTivism in A’dam Centrum: https://www.projectfearless.org/our-programs/ams-artivism