Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Thursday marks the return of Halloween, as several kids and families across Western New York get ready to dress up and head door-to-door to take part in trick-or-treating activities.
While trick-or-treat times vary, depending on the municipality, many people are looking to get their kids out earlier to have fun with family and friends.
"I definitely always enjoy taking the kids out trick-or-treating," said Amanda from Akron with WBEN. "One of them is starting to get a little old that he doesn't want to walk around with mom and dad this year, so it might be a little bit different. But definitely always a fun time."
In Akron, trick-or-treating hours will take place between 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET, where Amanda says she and her family will be out for the entirety of the two hours before wrapping their night at a relatives house.
Meanwhile, others are gearing up to welcome trick-or-treaters at their homes well in advance.
"I usually start around 6 o'clock, right when it starts getting dark," said Vanette from Lancaster in an interview with WBEN. "My street, I only have kids that are on my street, so it's short. But I never turn off my lights, and they know that my house is a place to go to."
"They usually come in pretty early. I want to say I see them starting around like 5:30, as soon as it starts to get a little dark out there," added Al from Sloan. "This year, though, we didn't move the clocks back, so it's going to be lighter a little later, so probably around 6 p.m."
As for those like Tom from West Seneca, he says sometimes kids start approaching his doorstep as soon as 15 minutes before trick-or-treating opens at 6 p.m. ET. He usually gives out candy until curfew at 8 p.m. ET, or they run out of the sweet goods.
"We probably get between 40 and 50 kids. The numbers have gone significantly down. Pre-pandemic, it was a lot. Since the pandemic, they've gone down a lot," Tom noted with WBEN.
For Vanette, she knows she's usually a popular stop for kids on her street come Halloween every year, with about 15-to-20 trick-or-treaters making that special trip to her doorstep.
"It depends, but each one gets a bag with candy and gifts, so they know to line up at my house," Vanette said.
As for Al, his house gets plenty of activity every Halloween with an estimated 200 kids stopping by to trick-or-treat. While kids in his neighborhood usually head home right as curfew approaches, he admits there are some late stragglers that come by, hoping to grab some delectable goods.
"I want to say the latest is about 9:30 p.m., but they're usually pretty good. As soon as I turn the light off, they usually stop," Al said with WBEN. But one year, I left the light on a little late, and we were still getting them after 9 p.m."
So what is the popular candy of choice every Halloween for kids, parents and residents alike?
"Definitely Reese's cups, those are my favorite," Vanette said. "I don't hand those out, I keep those separate for me to eat because they're protein, because it's peanut butter. But everyone likes candy bars."
"We always buy a couple bags that we put aside for ourselves, but whatever the kids pick. We put out four or five different bars, whatever they want," Tom added.
For Amanda, she's thankful her kids are able to have their own favorites they can pick and trade off with.
"One loves Tootsie Rolls, so everybody gives him everything they don't want. And then the other one's all sour gummies, sweet gummies, things like that," she said.
As for Al, it's a classic candy that people seem to love over anything else.
"Seems like those little packs of M&M's, those seem to go a lot," he said. "We get the little candy bars, but they're so small these days, nobody wants those. They want the bags of M&M's."
Here is a list of trick-or-treat times for several communities across Western New York:
- Amherst: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Buffalo: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Cheektowaga: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Clarence: 5 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- East Aurora: 5 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Hamburg: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Lancaster: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Niagara Falls: 4 p.m.-to-7 p.m. ET
- North Tonawanda: 5 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Orchard Park: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Springville: 9 p.m. ET curfew
- City of Tonawanda: 5:30 p.m.-to-8:30 p.m. ET
- Town of Tonawanda: 5:30 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- West Seneca: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET
- Williamsville: 6 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET