Ask anyone over 40 about Halloween in Melbourne and you’ll probably hear the same thing. It was something you saw on American TV. Knock on a door back then and you’d get a puzzled look, maybe a muesli bar if the neighbours felt sorry for you.

Try that now and you’ll come home with a bag full of lollies.

Whole streets are getting into it

Somewhere around the late 2010s, Melbourne decided it was in. Now there are plastic skeletons propped against letterboxes and inflatable pumpkins on front lawns, plus that stretchy fake cobweb stuff draped over hedges until they look a bit sad. You’ll spot Halloween stock in some supermarkets before September’s even over. And a few neighbourhoods take it seriously enough to plan the whole street together (one house does the graveyard, the next does the witch’s kitchen), so walking the block on the night feels like wandering through a haunted house.

People still grumble that it’s an import. Fair enough. But a night where neighbours actually open their doors and say hello to each other’s kids is hard to argue with.

Ask a kid what their favourite day is

For plenty of Melbourne kids, Halloween now sits up there with birthdays and Christmas. They get to be anything they want for a night. Witches and superheroes are still everywhere, but the homemade costumes are often the best ones out there, and parents put real effort in.

Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, so expect bigger crowds than usual.

Most streets run on a simple unwritten rule: decorations or a pumpkin by the door means come and knock, and a dark house means move on. Younger kids should head out with an adult. Check the lollies before anyone tucks in, especially if there are food allergies in the family, and give kids a torch or something reflective for when it starts getting dark (daylight saving keeps it light until nearly 8pm, which helps).

Melbourne’s biggest Halloween is in Docklands this Saturday

For something bigger than a lap of your own block, The District Docklands is hosting Melbourne’s Biggest Halloween: Free Trick or Treat Trail on Saturday 31 October, from 3pm to 5pm. Here’s what’s on:

• Trick or treating at ten stops across the precinct
• Photos with giant inflatables, plus entertainment along the trail
• A best costume prize, with a $100 District Docklands gift voucher
• A Halloween light show on the Melbourne Star, and free rides for kids in costume who register through Eventbrite (T&Cs apply)

It’s free, but places are limited, so register through the event listing before heading in. The trail was created by Docklands Primary School students together with The District Docklands, with support from the local Chamber of Commerce. That’s a lovely detail.

Not the Halloween we grew up with

The adults who once shrugged at Halloween are now the ones carving pumpkins and buying lollies in bulk. Kids have pulled the whole city along with them. Two hours at Docklands won’t feel long once they’ve got a costume on and a bag in hand, so get there close to 3pm if you want to finish the trail before little legs give out.