Nextdoor releases ‘Treat Map’ to help users find sweets at Halloween 

With Halloween just around the corner now, you may be planning to head out in search of spooky treats. 

Knowing which neighbours have sweets at the ready can be tricky, but thankfully help is here this year. 

Social networking site Nextdoor has launched a ‘Treat Map’ to let neighbours know where to find sweets this Halloween.

Users can mark their house with a pumpkin pin to let neighbours know they will be celebrating by handing out sweets.

They can also mark their home with a house icon to let others know that their home has been kitted out in spooky décor for people to admire. 

HOW TO USE TREAT MAP 

From left, sweet icon, house icon and allergy-free icon

If you’re already a Nextdoor member, simply sign into your account. If you are not yet a member, sign up and verify your address. 

Tap the ‘Discover’ tab to bring up the Treat Map. Once on the map, you will be given the choice to mark your home with a sweet icon, house icon or allergy-free icon.

For those heading out on Halloween, use the Treat Map to make your way through the neighborhood to score the best ‘sweets, treats and scares’. 

Nextdoor is a San Francisco-based social networking company that’s focused on connecting neighbourhoods. 

Treat Map, which is available on Nextdoor’s app and website, will help local communities ‘get into the Halloween spirit’ on Monday night, the firm says. 

‘Whether you’re dressing up or greeting trick-or-treaters, Halloween is a great time to get to know your local community,’ said Roisin O’Neill, Head of Community UK at Nextdoor. 

‘To help people plan the best route and find out who will be celebrating the occasion locally, we’ve created the Nextdoor Treat Map so people can easily identify who is welcoming trick-or-treaters in advance of setting out.’ 

When new users set up an account on the Nextdoor app, they must hand over their full name, email address, home address and mobile number. 

The app also asks to access a new user’s location to confirm their neighbourhood and make sure Nextdoor users ‘are real people with real addresses’. 

Once the set-up process is done, people can add one of three Halloween-themed pins to mark out their house on the map, which is accessible on the app’s ‘Discover’ tab. 

A sweet icon indicates that a home has treats so trick-or-treaters know to stop by, while a house icon lets others known a home is decked out in Halloween decorations.

Lastly, an ‘allergy-free icon’ – which looks like a bulging treat bag – indicates a household is giving out alternative sweets and goodies that cater for allergies. 

Nextdoor admitted that houses on the Treat Map that aren’t marked with a pin could be people who don’t use Nextdoor, but they could also be people who do use Nextdoor but don’t want to be bothered by trick-or-treaters. 

The firm therefore advises looking out for a pumpkin outside as a more ‘traditional’ sign that trick-or-treaters are welcome.  

Treat Map, which is available Nextdoor’s app and website, marks out local homes that are offering treats, as well as homes kitted out in spooky décor

In the US, Nextdoor has also released a version of Treat Map that marks out homes that are giving out goodies for pets. This pet-feature is not available for UK Treat Map users, however.

Nextdoor said: ‘Once your home is marked as a pet-friendly destination, get ready to see precious pets in costumes on your doorstep.’

But official advice from the British Vet Association (BVA) says dogs and other pets should not be dressed up in costumes at Halloween.

The BVA has said that pets are ‘not fashion accessories’ and that they should not be dressed up because it can cause them harm and spark anxiety. 

HOW TO KEEP YOUR PUMPKIN FRESH FOR HALLOWEEN, ACCORDING TO SCIENCE 

Halloween is just around the corner, and many of us will be carving our pumpkin to welcome trick-or-treaters on Monday. 

Pumpkin decorations are getting more and more artistic and creative, requiring hours of painstaking handiwork.  

But too often can all that painstaking labour go to waste when, just hours before night falls on October 31, the fruit collapses into mush.

Professional pumpkin sculptor Szimonetta Zombori has revealed how to keep your pumpkin looking its best for Halloween

To prevent this terrifying fate, professional pumpkin sculptor Szimonetta Zombori has revealed how to keep your pumpkin looking its best for Halloween. 

This includes giving it a bath in bleach to kill any bacteria that could speed up decomposition, and rubbing Vaseline into its surface. 

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