Last night, like millions of kids across the country, Mazzy and Harlow got all dressed up and went door to door begging for candy. “Why can’t we do this every day?” asked Mazzy. “Because everyone’s teeth would fall out within about one week and then we’d never be able to eat candy again.”

I got Harlow after school and Mike got Mazzy. Then we met back at my office where we changed them into their costumes. As they have been for the past three days, Mazzy was Mal and Harlow was Twilight Sparkle. While Mazzy made it really difficult for me to take pictures, Harlow COULD NOT STOP POSING.

Next we met up with Jack and Neve who walked with us up to 5th ave and 12th Street where the streets are closed to cars for some serious trick or treating. We’ve gone to this same area for the past three years because all the brownstones are all decked out in Halloween decorations and kids line up for candy while it’s still light out.

It’s really hard to capture the magic of the West Village in NYC on Halloween, but I tried my best.

One of the great things about trick or treating in NYC is that you are bound to bump into a few celebrity parents. That guy in the red t-shirt behind Harlow is Alec Baldwin. He was dressed up as the Incredibles with his family.

We also spotted Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, and Sarah Jessica Parker. No, I did not go up to Idina and Taye, despite Mike egging me on saying things like, “Aren’t they your friends??” I chickened out. Plus, celebs live in NYC because we know better than to bother them here.

Cousin Jack had rejected his ghost costume so he was a Paw Patrol character, which consisted of wearing his Paw Patrol winter hat. Neve was a sleeping pumpkin, who did not emerge from her stroller once.

Here’s Harlow… STILL POSING.

This was really Harlow’s first time trick or treating, since last year she insisted on staying in her stroller and having her candy delivered. This year, Harlow realized if she got the candy herself, she could take 3-5 pieces before anybody noticed that she was sticking around a little longer than she should.

I didn’t notice until the fifth or sixth house when I realized Harlow had about seven times as much candy as Mazzy.

This was also about the point that they both started begging me to carry their treat bags. “I’ll carry your treat bags but that means I’m allowed to eat your candy,” was my rule. That put a stop to the laziness real quick.

After we made our way down 12th Street, we continued further into the West Village where we were meeting friends at their apartment. They live in a brownstone in a highly trafficked trick or treating area so they are one of the few lucky people who actually get to sit out on a stoop and hand out candy.

I know this must seem like a small thing for most people, but for Manhattanites, since most of us live in high-rise apartment buildings, this is somewhat of a novelty. I’ve lived in New York City for almost 20 years and this was my first time doling out candy on a decorated stoop.

With everyone assembled, the whole thing looked like a scene from a Wes Anderson movie, complete with Harlow’s deadpan glare. She should probably be Wednesday Adams next year.

We took turns giving out candy and walking around the neighborhood— down Bank Street and Charles where there are tons of kids in costume and lots of decorated brownstones with cobwebs, pumpkins, skeletons, lights and black cats.

The owners are usually in costume, usually drinking something alcoholic and doling out candy on their stoop whether they have kids or not.

One of my favorite costumes all night was this kid with his head in a jar. And there’s someone wearing a terrific Graydon Carter costume behind him!

Oh wait. That is Graydon Carter.

There were so many kids, sometimes I would lose sight of Harlow entirely as she trekked her way up each set of stairs.

In the midst of all the chaos, the girls would take breaks to sit down to assess their candy, giving me and Mike anything with nuts (Yep, I’ll take your Reeses peanutbutter cup, no problem) and keeping the terrible stuff like Laffy Taffy and Chewy Airheads for themselves. Why do kids have such horrible taste in candy?

Mike and Harlow went home when it got dark out to give out candy to any straggling trick or treaters in our building. Mazzy and I stayed to hand out candy at our friend’s house, which is really the best way to see everyone’s costumes. It was impossible to take photos in the dark, but I did get one good one of this girl decked out as a glow-in-the-dark birthday cake.

We even handed out candy to an Elmo who briefly lifted his mask to reveal he was actually Adam Sandler. Didn’t get a photo of that though.

At the end of the night, Mazzy took off her wig, put on her coat and we head home on the subway because you couldn’t cross 6th avenue on foot due to the parade. Before we went in for the night, Mazzy said she was hungry (oops! totally forgot about dinner!) so we stopped for some pizza.

Which was perfect, because every successful night out in NYC ends with a slice.

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Please remember to post your Halloween photos on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page! I’ll be giving out my annual Halloween Costume Awards later this week. For more photos of our lives in NYC, follow @mommyshorts on Instagram. To see our Halloween story, add ilanawiles on Snapchat.