You're missing ... well, nothing that cannot be had many other ways. A sense of your neighborhood being awesome instead of just, "a neighborhood" is cool. Though the weird need to go to every door and and expect candy or a trick is ... weird as hell, IMO.

So many other ways that can be more often than annual to create that cool sense of actual community.

The candy is awesome as hell as a kid, but as an adult it's an obnoxious obligation that only serves to line the pockets of shithole "candy" peddlers like Hershey's and Mars, here. Would love to see that replaced with anything more cultural than, "SuGaR tAsTe GOoD".