New app Dulce Halloween helps find trick-or-treating spots
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Looking for the best neighborhoods for Halloween trick-or-treating in San Antonio? There's an app for that.
Why it matters: Studies show that fewer Americans are handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night — so you can't just go anywhere these days.
- The percent of adults who planned to pass out candy fell from 42% in 2019 to 33% in 2025, per AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling.
State of play: Dulce Halloween is free to download in the Apple store or on Google Play.
- It launched in Mexico in 2024, co-founder Cesar Briones, who lives in San Antonio, tells Axios. This is Dulce's first Halloween in the U.S.
How it works: Families add their houses to the local map of trick-or-treating spots, creating a crowd-sourced option for people looking for neighborhoods with strong decorations or unique treat options.
- Residents of one house in San Antonio's Los Angeles Heights-Keystone neighborhood wrote that they participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project, meaning they offer non-food treats for kids with allergies.
- They also shared photos of their decorations featuring ghosts and witches.
- Users can vote for the houses with their favorite yard displays or even costumes.
Reality check: Only a few San Antonio houses have registered on Dulce Halloween so far, so it's not representative of the city's trick-or-treating hot spots. Several have registered in Selma.
- Briones says he's working to bring wider awareness to the app in the U.S. and San Antonio.
- Last year, nearly 300,000 houses in Mexico registered on Dulce Halloween, Briones says.
The big picture: Not everyone is partaking in traditional trick-or-treating anymore. A YouGov survey after Halloween last year found that 78% of U.S. adult respondents did not take any kids trick-or-treating.
Yes, but: Halloween still appears to be a popular holiday, with nearly three-quarters of consumers planning to celebrate this year, per the National Retail Federation.
Tell us: How does your family celebrate Halloween?
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