Halloween is a full month away, but my wife and I have begun thinking about it; specifically, about the youngsters who come trick-or-treating.

It’s not too early to plan for Halloween. We’ve been in stores that already have Christmas items on sale. Virtually every major department store is touting Halloween candy as well as costumes, skeletons and decorations.

For many years, we haven’t handed out candy on Halloween night. That’s because we always went to another relative’s house, in another town, and helped them with their handouts while they took their children trick-or-treating.

Last year, on Halloween night, it was heartbreaking when I noticed how few porch lights were turned on. It’s become customary that porch lights lit on trick-or-treat night indicate willingness to greet the costumed children.

On one block in town, I saw just one porch light lit. Not only did children have further to trek for handouts, but often they walked in darker-than-normal areas. Sure, streetlights provide illumination, but porch lights help where there are trees blocking the light or where streetlights are far apart.

Halloween came to the United States in the 1840s with the mass arrival of immigrants from Ireland and Scotland.

The actual idiom — trick-or-treat — started appearing in the United States in the 1920s, when children began pulling pranks on residents who wouldn’t give candy; a sort of blackmail, if you will.

Just talking about trick-or-treating brought back memories from when I was a youngster in Weissport. It’s a small town and everybody knew everybody. Trick-or-treating was a big thing. Of course, that was generations ago, and today neighbors often don’t even know each other.

But kids are still kids. I’m sure today’s youngsters who go trick-or-treating look forward to the goodies just as much as we did in Weissport.

There’s another difference today from when I was a kid. In the olden days, people doled out full-size Hershey bars or Three Musketeer bars. Candy bars back then were only a few cents apiece. I’ve seen candy bars this week that cost as much as $2 each, which if you do the math, makes it unaffordable to even accommodate 100 visiting costumed kiddies.

However, no child is disappointed by the smaller, individual size bars purchased in bulk bags.

Another thing that was big when I was little was the giving of apples. That was ruined after year-after-year, you heard reports about sickos planting razor blades in the fruit.

While on the subject, if you’re going to welcome trick-or-treaters on your porch, here’s some things to consider:

• Hand them the candy on the porch. It’s safer for the children and for you to not invite them into your home, unless you know them personally.

• Don’t give pieces of fruit. They’ll likely be tossed into the garbage for safety reasons.

• Don’t fill sandwich bags with loose candy. Again, that is a safety and sanitary issue.

• Give the children brand-name candy that is wrapped. Otherwise, what you hand out could get wasted.

If your children go trick-or-treating, don’t let them go alone, and only visit neighborhoods with which you’re familiar.

Halloween can be fun. But with fewer households participating, it’s become more heartbreaking for the kids.