Good Question: What Is The Proper Time To Trick-or-Treat?

It's Halloween, and the kids just got home from school.

First question: "When can we trick-or-treat?" This is actually a very good question that many parents may wonder themselves. 

Do you answer with "When it gets dark" or "After dinner"?

And when is the proper time to end the outing? What's the correct balance to allow maximum candy collecting time on a school night?

I didn't know either. So I took the question to the Maple Grove Patch Facebook page. Although we still don't have a definitive answer, it appears most people are in favor of 6-8 p.m. give or take a half hour.

Here are some of the responses:

• Sasha Martens Cupryna: 6 until 8

• Natalie Kurth Verness: ya I think it really varies, we usually go 5-7, so we can try and stay to close to 730 bedtimes still!

• Kristy Erickson Virginia: I just wish kids would know when the porch light is off, that means it's too late.

• Amber Norquist: 5:30/6-8 or when lights on/off? Kids don't need much more time than that window to me! My kid can score 1/2 a candy store in an hour easy

• Steve Hepokoski: 6:30 - 8:30

• Sarah Maurer Hansen: Please, no earlier than 5:30! 6:00 is preferred. Give people a chance to get home from work, pickup kids, feed them and open the candy bags.

• Melissa Dorr-Steuben: I take my kids out from 5:30 to 7:30 and my lights go out about 8:30 for handing out candy

• Barb Dols: 6pm to 8pm

• Heidi Jo Highet: 6 to 8 here.

• Lisa Sholl Dahl: I prefer after 5:30 but 6 is better. I agree: give everyone a chance to come home from work. It's not even close to dark at 5! Lights out = no candy!

• Traci Anderson: This recent trend of going earlier and earlier is ridiculous. I'm with Amber above--it should be after dark, but at least wait until dusk. Since moving to the burbs I've had kids (with parents) as early as 4:30. Insane to be trick-or-treating when the sun is still brightly shining! This year I'm not answering the door until the sun is setting. (And yes, I have a young child so I get the up late/bedtime thing, but it's once a year and it's tradition.) One more thing--the only thing worse than a kid not saying "thank you" is when the parent is standing right there and says nothing (no reminder of "what do you say?..."). My dad would have hauled my butt home after the first house where I didn't use manners!

• Shelly Villaverde: no earlier than 5:30, no later than 8pm.