Halloween is typically a fun evening for Oxford, a moment our small-town charm shines.

Houses on North and South Lamar and on popular trick-or-treating streets like North 11th get in the fun with heavy decoration and plenty of candy to hand out to children in costumes, and those streets and many more make the night special here.

With clear skies and warm temperatures in the forecast tonight, we expect thousands in costume trick-or-treating the streets of Oxford.

While many larger cities are forced to move away from the door-to-door activity, we still enjoy mostly fun and good manners of the traditional event that includes thousands of costumed children marching through neighborhoods with bags in hand.

Trick-or-treating will begin for some as early as 5 p.m. this year but usually hits full stride by sunset, at about 6 p.m. Since Halloween falls on a school year, trick-or-treating should end earlier than later, with most off the streets by 9 p.m.

We hope everyone has a safe Halloween and that all courtesies are extended to homeowners. We also hope that all young children are escorted, and that drivers are on high alert for trick-or-treaters.

Happy Halloween.