We are just nine days away from the second most celebrated holiday of the year in the United States! Whether you go all out with your decorations, host an epic block party, or are known for your crazy witch cackle, Halloween spending across the country is expected to exceed 8 billion dollars!

 That’s a whole lot of decorating and candy buying for our trick or treaters. If you plan on heading out with your family for a night of fun, check out this handy list of the top 20 cities for the best candy haul courtesy of my friends at Zillow. Did your city make the list this year?

There were some major shifts in the top ten city ranking from last year’s trick or treat map folks. Philadelphia came on strong and took the number one spot from San Francisco! My beloved bay area did well in overall standing with San Jose keeping its number two spot of the list and San Francisco coming in a respectable third. Click here to see my map share from last year. 

As you can see from this infographic, Zillow comes up with their lists by using four equally weighted variables: median home value, housing density, population age and crime. 

The Top 20 Cities for trick or treating 2016 are:

I’m proud to see that Nashville moved up one spot in the rankings to 19^th! If you are in the greater metro Nashville area, here are the top five neighborhoods to go trick or treating in for the best candy haul, walkability and safety.

I love that Zillow compiles this yearly list and hope they make this an annual Halloween tradition! I invite you to stop by Zillow today to read their trick or treat post for even more neighborhood rankings, and to learn more about their mission to help you find your way home by helping you find your perfect home in the perfect neighborhood.

From my family to yours, we wish you a happy and safe Halloween!

Please share in comments: Did your city make either list? Are you surprised to see a certain city or region listed? 

With two weeks to go until Halloween arrives, Americans coast to coast are gearing up for this fun filled night in a big way. At our house, we still need to carve our pumpkins and find a few more accessories for our costumes, but we will be ready to celebrate in style! Yes, we do have to drive to celebrate now that we live in a rural area, but there is fun to be found in neighborhoods all around us.  As a matter of fact, Nashville, TN. made the list for top 20 cities for trick-or-treaters compiled by Zillow. 

This map shows the top 10 cities. Zillow says they picked areas with the greatest share of their residents are under 15 and the houses are closest together. That would help explain why San Francisco tops their list for the 5^th year in a row! 

Another way these cities made the cut was by giving out the most candy to all those cute goblins! Speaking of candy, do you know that the average kids gets at least 50 pieces of candy on Halloween? Some kids have reported getting more than 100 pieces! I know we gave out and received a huge amount of candy each year we lived in suburbia, maybe that helped Nashville, TN. make the top 20 list! 

How did your city do? Are there any surprises on the list? I was delighted to see Milwaukee on the list. Can you imagine all those brave parents and kids bundling up against the cold to go trick-or-treating? Way to go! Please stop by Zillow to read all the fun facts on how they came up with their top 20 list and see the in depth neighborhood breakdowns. 

From our home to yours, we wish you a happy, safe, and fun Halloween!

It is so sad but true: Mother Nature is going to wreck another Halloween for some. Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have been affected by Hurricane/Tropical Cyclone Sandy. 

I was thinking about how blessed we are here in middle Tennessee, where the worst thing that will happen is that my daughters will have to wear their winter coats to go trick or treating.  Actually, we go trunk or treating at our church.  

If you have never tried trunk or treating, I highly recommend it. Trunk or treating is a fun, safe alternative to walking or driving in rural neighborhoods like ours.  We just bring our pumpkins, decorate our trunk, (but you don’t have too) bring candy and walk around the parking lot. Our church sets up a big grill so you can B.Y.O.M. (bring your own meat), so it’s a real family affair.  One of the best things about this option for me is it allows teens to stay with families and have fun too.   

Speaking of teens, did you know that about 19% of Americans surveyed by Nextdoor.com  think that 13 is the cut off age for trick or treating? I don’t agree because I know how my 13 year old daughter would feel if she were told she was too old to participate.  She is still having fun being a kid! Why rush her into growing up? 

What do you think is a good cut off age? 

I’m thinking by the time my daughter turns 16; we will have to brainstorm an alternative. Maybe she would rather host a pizza party/candy exchange. Maybe she will volunteer to help out at the trunk or treat event at church. We have time to sort it out. 

 I would love to hear what you do with your older teen!  For now, my family will go out and enjoy ourselves for a few hours. 

Does your family celebrate Halloween? 

Whatever you and your family do this Halloween, please stay safe, watch out for those fast moving kiddies and remember to smile and have fun in the moment. Treasure the memories you are making!