Most of us simply adore Halloween, the festive spirit, joyous trick-or-treaters, costumes, holiday decor, and so on.
It’s official that Halloween is now a major celebration with children enjoying ‘trick or treat’ and visiting their neighbours for sweets and treats on the 31st of October. It is a fun family evening, and kids excitedly dress up in costumes with many choosing to be mini zombies, witches, ghosts and ghouls. The anticipation of obtaining a large bag of candy is more than enough for a child to be overwhelmed with happiness. Since the entire celebration is centred around children, few would realize that for some, this evening can be lonely or dull. A retirement home is not the first place trick-or-treaters think of when they go on their hunt. On the other hand, the elderly can’t wait to have kids at their place and ask for candy. Just recently, one nursing home in Webster, Texas, asked people to donate candy, so that they can give out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. The Facebook post read:“We need trick or treaters! Please bring your children, grandchildren, and their friends to Heartis Clear Lake at 14520 Hwy 3, Webster, TX 77598 on October 31st between 6-8 pm for a night of fun! We will have a moonwalk, hayride, games, food and lots of candy! Come on! Come all!”.Not only did people donate candy, but thousands of them came to celebrate All Hallows Eve together with the elderly!. The residents of the retirement home were missing the true Halloween spirit. A few weeks before the celebration, the residents of the home asked for candy donations. The staff of the nursing home took photos of the elderly, holding up the signs that said: “We miss giving candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Please help us reach our goal of collecting enough candy to invite the community to our home for a safe and fun place to trick-or-treat. Thank you!”.Over the next few weeks, confectionary began to be delivered in their droves. The elders received tons of candy.
Heartis Senior Living posted on their Facebook page: “Thank you to all of our neighbours for taking a moment to donate candy to our residents! Just look at all of the candy! Our residents are excited and we can’t wait to host a community trick or treat event for our neighbourhood kids!” .The centre was extremely thankful for the generosity, claiming that “ It was the most unbelievable selfless act of kindness from complete strangers.”The celebration was a great success, and the centre had over 5,000 visitors including kids and parents. When kids arrived in their creepiest and funniest costumes, the elderly just couldn’t get enough. They shared stories, laughed, and with one another. The residents had such a ball, that staff at the retirement realized they would like to make it an annual event. Facebook users backed the idea as well, saying: ‘This is awesome for the residents. It’s sad how some come to stay and family never visit them.’ According to the staff at the retirement home, this was the first celebration of this kind in the community, but they hope to make it an annual event.The residents were waiting for Halloween to hand them out
