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 and Eefje, two Rivierenbuurt moms.

Jackie: I am an American living in Amsterdam for the past 10 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 the states.  The event has grown organically over the past five years and I'm just thrilled to see everyone's enthusiasm!  Please do keep in mind that I have a full-time job and just want to spread some spooky cheer so, I'm doing my best to reply to messages and ensure everyone has the information they need to have fun, but I appreciate your understanding when my replies might take a bit.  

Eefje: I am a Dutch mam, living in the Rivierenbuurt since 2012 and I LOVE Halloween! Didn't grow up with it, but embraced it completely. Since 2024 I am co-organizing the Rivierenbuurt Halloween with Jackie, focusing on the Spooky Village - an initiative I suggested to have a central get-together and make sure anyone can contribute when they cannot open up their houses (because we get a lot of visitors from outside the Rivierenbuurt). I am still thankful Jackie was open to the idea and "let me in".  It is such a fun thing to work on and it gives me a lot of energy!

We currently have 57 houses signed up (in the Rivierenbuurt) and 3 in De Pijp to hand out candy and 251 kids signed up to trick or treat!

If you live in the Rivierenbuurt and 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.  

YES! Please indicate on the form that you would like to donate candy or decorations (which many households could really use this year too!) and I will match you with a house that could use some help.

YES! There are a few ways to participate if you are not from the Rivierenbuurt:

1. Sign up to participate in 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.

2. If you live in de Pijp, I'm going to pilot an expansion there. If we can get enough houses in an area (10 or so) then I will open up another zone for trick or treat. I will keep a map going with the popular zones.

3. Donate candy or decorations, if you can't offer your house for trick or treat, you are welcome to contribute candy or decorations to one of the houses in the Rivierenbuurt. Simply let me know on the sign up form and I will match you up with a house!

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.

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. 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 (whatsapp groups, 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.

You can donate candy or decorations to families that are giving out candy! If you would like to help out, you can indicate so on the sign up form and I will match you with another house. 

As for donating money, 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 30 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.

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 very 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. This is a good backup, but does lead to the possibility that kids empty your bowl and that is not the most gezellig vibe.