Halloween in DC: Where to go?

Hi, we are travellling from Australia with our two children aged 7 %26amp; 9 and will be be staying at the Holiday Inn Capitol (near the air %26amp; space museum). Where are the best places nearby that we can take the kids trick or treating? Thks :)

Halloween in DC: Where to go?

Hmmmm...I%26#39;m not sure about this one? Do the have the %26#39;trick or treat'; thing in Australia or will this be a new experience for all of you?

In the lost days of my youth we would think nothing of ranging near and far picking up candy at stranger%26#39;s homes. These days, at least in my area, you would only get the kids from the immediate neighborhood, generally people you would know by sight if not by name drop by...along with a few that you don%26#39;t know but not that many.

It%26#39;s just a sign of the times that a lot of people don%26#39;t let their kids go up to stranger%26#39;s homes any more to get edibles! Maybe it%26#39;s different in other parts of the country?

So, I haven%26#39;t answered your question, have I? There is virtually no residential housing near your hotel. The nearest area that I would recommend would be the Capitol Hill neighborhood, but even that has a few areas here and there where I wouldn%26#39;t send you.

Let%26#39;s see if anyone else weighs in with any ideas. Or I suppose you could wander up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW and ring the bell...:)

Halloween in DC: Where to go?

I agree--unless you%26#39;re able and willing to drive the kids out to the suburbs for trick-or-treating, you%26#39;ll likely come up empty and disappointed in the city.

Sometimes, major shopping malls will have a trick-or-treat event for kids with each merchant passing out candy--you might want to contact the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City to see if they%26#39;re doing that sort of thing.

Another suggestion which doesn%26#39;t involve trick-or-treating, but might be fun is to take the kids to Georgetown, which sort of takes on a Mardi Gras party atmosphere on Halloween night. Lots of folks (mostly adults) in costume out on the street. Go on the early side before it gets too crowded and raucous.

The responses to your post have me depressed! I can%26#39;t believe the kind of world we live in where you can%26#39;t find a safe place for your kids to trick or treat! I live in the Virginia suburbs, so I can suggest a few places there, but I%26#39;ve posed the question to some friends in DC and I%26#39;m hoping to have some good answers for you. I will write again, hopefully later today or tomorrow... keep a look out.

Actually,

When I have worked in DC on Halloween, I have driven through some nice neighborhoods in DC where the kids are Trick or treating.

-Dupont Circle/ Embassy Row. Last Year, the kids were out about 4:30 or 5:00 (just before dark) and there were hundreds of them everywhere. Just walking up and down Embassy Row on Mass. Avenue, I even think most of the Embassies (unless against cultural and religious beliefs) had their doors open with decorations waiting for kids to come over and get candy.

-Also the ';SIDE STREETS'; of Georgetown were crawling with kids and their parents and (nannies) just walking up and down the streets especially around ';R'; Street and 28th -35th Street P, Q,R,S, streets of those numbered streets. I worked there for 5 years and always saw the kids out. The thing is you just have to get out before the ';Hooligans'; come out. October 31 it will be dark around 5:30 or so, so just come out before then and you should be fine.

Don%26#39;t be so depressed. The neighborhoods that take a lot of interest in trick-or-treating are the ones with a lot of kids. Even then, there%26#39;s no trick-or-treating to be had in my old suburban neighborhood which has a lot of kids, but is largely Orthodox Jewish.

Capitol Hill and the ';new'; downtown just don%26#39;t fit the resident kid mold. The other neighborhoods close by that happen to have a lot of kids frankly aren%26#39;t safe for trick-or-treating and most likely the residents rely on parties to keep the kids safe rather than putting them out on the street.

There are definitely safe parts of the city that have trick-or-treat neighborhoods, but for someone visiting and staying downtown, those might as well be in the suburbs. (I%26#39;m thinking about the neighborhoods in the Connecticut and Wisconsin Ave. corrdors.)

It IS depressing...but I answered the original question based on the premise that the OP needed something ';nearby'; to their hotel.

I%26#39;m sure they could go out to Virginia, or Maryland, or over to Georgetown, but I don%26#39;t qualify any of those places as being ';nearby'; to the Holiday Inn Capitol...

The Circulator bus will take you to Georgetown. And Metro can take you to Dupont Circle area.

The Holiday Inn Capitol Hill isn%26#39;t in a ';Residential Area'; so there will be nothing. We are just giving him options to going outside of the hotel area which to get to Georgetown and Dupont only takes minutes. I wouldn%26#39;t recommend going into the ';burbs'; of VA or MD that isn%26#39;t worth the trip.

Hooray - there are some family-friendly places on the Hill!

Hilloween at Halloween at Eastern Market - just 3 metro stops from L%26#39;Enfant Plaza (to Eastern Market metro). From 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, 7th Street, between C%26amp;D Streets, SE. There will be lots of activities (pumpkin carving, hayrides, face painting, etc.) and kids in costumes, of course.

From there, you can head to East Capitol Street (about 3 blocks walk). I hear there%26#39;s good trick or treating between the Capitol Bldg and Lincoln Park.

Have fun!

Hi Mopsydog ( %26amp; everyone else), thanks so much for all your suggestions. We are very excited about our trip from Australia to the US. We are now leaving in a week%26#39;s time and the kids are beside themselves! We wanted to give them a unique Halloween experience in the US as in Australia %26#39;trick or treating%26#39; does not really exist. They%26#39;ve already packed their costumes. We%26#39;ll definitely try out the Embassies, but in particular the Hilloween at Halloween looks like the place to go. Thanks so much for tracking this info down. We%26#39;ve been lucky enough also to get a tour to the White House on this morning, so it will be a fantastic day for all! Thanks Familyfromoz :)

Glad to help - I love Halloween! Have a wonderful trip.