Halloween is a spooky good time for giving

A friend of mine says he remembers when he was growing up, on Halloween, there was always that one house. The one that had the best decorations. The one who gave away the full-sized candy bars. Everyone knew the house and looked forward to trick or treating there. It was special. It was memorable. He always wanted to be that house.

He loves Halloween. It’s no wonder since his birthday falls on Oct. 31. He’s proud to be a Halloween baby. He celebrates every year. 

And last year he hosted one of the best Halloween parties imaginable.

Halloween, a milestone birthday and a government shutdown…what could go right?

Halloween fell on a Friday last year. Coincidentally, my friend was celebrating a milestone birthday as well. It was 2025 and the country was in the middle of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. According to estimates from the Partnership for Public Service, 900,000 federal workers were furloughed and another 700,000 were working without pay. As the shutdown dragged on, many people were suffering financially and going without.

A few weeks before Halloween, my friend called and invited us to visit for his birthday. He lives in a beautiful part of Arizona. It’s a place my family enjoys vacationing and we love spending time with our friend. Being a special birthday, how could we say no? My husband and I made plans to go. When we made the arrangements, our friend said he wanted to celebrate his special day by going out to dinner somewhere nice. We settled on a plan: he’d pick a nice restaurant and we’d treat.

A change in plans

A week or so before we arrived, our friend got another idea. Looking at what was happening economically with so many people out of work or working without pay, he decided he wanted to celebrate his birthday in a different way.

When we arrived a few days before Halloween, he told us the plan for celebrating his Halloween birthday had changed. He was going to throw himself a Halloween birthday party – and we were enlisted as his helpers. 

This was his year to be that house

He could have simply purchased full size candy bars. But he didn’t stop there….

We spent the next couple of days running errands and setting up for the party. We assembled decorations (including several spooky animatronic characters). Ordered food for family and friends he was inviting. Created a playlist of Halloween themed songs and videos including Michael Jackons’s Thriller and Ministry’s Every Day is Halloween. We set up tables and chairs outside and hung a large sheet on which to project the videos. During all of this flurry of activity, we managed to throw together a few passable costumes for ourselves.

Not your typical party

Then, he upped the ante. 

He set up a large grill in front of his house and hired a cook. He bought hot dogs, buns, snack-sized bags of chips, bottles of water, cans of soda, juice boxes –  and the full-sized candy bars, of course!

He had decided to offer free food – as well as candy – to all the  trick or treaters.

Our friend is a successful small business owner. Even though his sales were down because many in his local community were affected by the shutdown, he wanted to help those in need. He wanted to spread some joy to the neighborhood that was hard hit economically. He said everyone deserved to enjoy Halloween and no one should be hungry.

The trick or treating families who stopped by were surprised. Frequently, they asked if they had to pay for the food or treats. They were amazed when we said, “No. It’s all free! It’s this guy’s birthday and he’s celebrating with everyone.”

I have no idea how many people came through that night – but there were many. Word spread throughout the community quickly and many trick or treaters arrived. We gave out more than 200 hotdogs. We lost count of the number of snack bags, sodas and water we went through. 

It was over the top. It was a lot of fun! And the next day, our friend had a deep sense of joy and satisfaction. 

Giving feels good

It turns out that psychological and neurological research show giving to others provides deep emotional and physical benefits. According to several studies, spending money on others promotes happiness. Giving to others activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust, creating a “warm glow” effect. 

It ended up being way more fulfilling than our original plan of just going out for a nice celebratory dinner. It turned into an unforgettable evening for many. And it’s made me rethink how to celebrate many things in the future. 

I realize not everyone can throw a party for the whole neighborhood. However, we can be on the lookout for giving opportunities that bring happiness to others. And, we’re likely to boost our own feelings of satisfaction when we do so. Every time I think about my friend’s Halloween birthday party, I remember fondly that it’s better to give than receive.

Engage with us! In the comments, talk about a time you experienced joy unexpectedly when giving.