Halloween is always a spooktacular and special event at the People's House.

Most children have a Halloween strategy: find the houses with the best decorations, avoid the porch with the terrifying skeleton, and remember who gives out full-size candy bars.

Then there are the children whose evening includes this sentence: “The president gave me chocolate.”

That is a pretty hard Halloween to beat.

On October 29, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed costumed children and their families to the White House for an evening of pumpkins, music, candy, and extraordinary memories. 

For a few hours, one of the most recognizable addresses in the world became the neighborhood’s most spectacular trick-or-treat stop.

The South Portico supplied a backdrop worthy of a storybook. An enormous harvest moon glowed above the festivities, with bat silhouettes drifting across its face. Autumn vines framed gold “HALLOWEEN” lettering, while pumpkins filled the scene below.

Imagine approaching all that with a candy bag in your hand.

For children accustomed to seeing the White House on television, walking onto its grounds must feel a little like stepping through the screen. There are the famous columns. There are the uniformed service members. And there, waiting with candy, are the president and first lady.

The costumes supplied their own entertainment. A young Founding Father brought a parchment-style document for the president to sign. Two miniature race-car drivers collected autographs on their uniforms. Princesses, superheroes, and other costumed visitors made their way through the receiving line, turning a presidential appearance into a parade of childhood imagination.

Melania carried commemorative chocolate bars in a woven basket. Trump paused for greetings, signatures, and photographs, even offering a brief dance when the “Ghostbusters” theme played.

The U.S. Air Force Strolling Strings provided live music from the portico staircases. Then something considerably louder arrived: a presidential aircraft passing overhead. Trump pointed it out to the children as the plane added an aerial flourish to an already unusual evening.

Even the best-decorated house back home probably could not arrange that.

Around the lawn, the attractions offered more discoveries. The Postal Service provided toy mail trucks and a BE BEST postcard station. Children could pose beside a giant pumpkin, collect miniature pumpkins and Michigan apples, and receive science-experiment kits.

The guests included military and law enforcement families, foster and adoptive families, and administration families. For parents, the photographs preserve a remarkable family outing. For children, the details that linger may be wonderfully specific: the giant moon, the chocolate bar, the sound of the airplane, or the moment someone important leaned down to admire a costume.

White House Halloween celebrations have evolved over decades, but their charm remains simple. Children bring the make-believe; the setting supplies the wonder.

This year, as last year, the Trump White House did not disappoint.

(Contributing writer, Brooke Bell)