Tips for Keeping Your Home and Family Safe on Halloween Night

Greeting trick-or-treaters from your home can be just as enjoyable as taking your kids trick-or-treating. You never know what creative costumes you're going to see. Plus it's gratifying to many adults (and even some children) to give out treats and watch the faces of trick-or-treaters light up.

Although Halloween can be a fun holiday for many, it's important to always keep safety in mind. No matter what type of community or neighborhood you live in, Halloween presents endless opportunities for crime. Therefore, if you are going to entertain trick-or-treaters from your home, you should always border on caution.

Here are a few basic suggestions for keeping your home and family safe:

Establish specific start and end times for welcoming trick-or-treaters. You may say for example, "I will start greeting trick-or-treaters at 6PM and stop at 7:30PM." Be firm with this. You may be tempted to continue opening your door into the late evening hours, but doing so may put you and your family at risk for danger.

Never open your door without first checking to see who's there. While this sounds like basic common sense, you may let your guard down as a wave of trick-or-treaters graces your doorstep. Never assume that everyone who knocks or rings your doorbell is there for the same reason on Halloween. This would make you an easy target for a home invasion.

Always keep the outside of your house well lit on Halloween night. This will not only let visitors know that you are welcoming trick-or-treaters, but it will also discourage anyone from trying anything shady.

Don't open your door to adults (young or old ones) if they are trick-or-treating without children. Just because someone is standing at your door with a bag and a smile doesn't mean they have good intentions. Unless they are individuals in your neighborhood that you happen to know extremely well, you would be wise to let them move on to the next house or if they look suspicious, call the police. Better to be safe than sorry!