A three-year-old girl due to have open heart surgery at Halloween was treated to the ‘best holiday ever’ when her entire community pretended it was October 31 so she could go trick or treating.

Little Cheyenne Welch was born with a rare heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and is set to be in Boston Children's Hospital from October 24, meaning she will miss the celebrations.

Her aunt, Tracy Lafleur, 27, decided to organize an early Halloween surprise for her niece, taking bags of candy to neighbors in Sanford, Maine and asking them to join in by handing them out to the youngster a few weeks early.

She told DailyMail.com the family were left in tears when many of those asked went above and beyond what was asked of them, giving Cheyenne teddy bears and toys.

Tracy said nearly 30 homes took part after she asked them to place an orange balloon on their door so the family would know where to knock.

She posted about the incident on Facebook where she said neighbors gave her niece 'the best Halloween ever', adding: 'To those of you that took part, we don't know your names, but my family and myself cannot thank you enough.

Cheyenne Welch was treated to ‘best holiday ever’ when her entire community pretended it was October 31 so she could go trick or treating before her open heart surgery

Cheyenne was born with a rare heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome and will be in Boston Children's Hospital from October 24, meaning she will miss the celebrations

Tracy posted about the incident on Facebook where she said neighbors gave her niece 'the best Halloween ever', adding: 'To those of you that took part, we don't know your names, but my family and myself cannot thank you enough'

She added: 'The joy you brought to my niece was more than you know.'

Heartwarming images show Cheyenne, who dressed as Frozen's Elsa, at the doors or neighbors being handed the treats.

What is hypoplastic left heart syndrome? Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a rare congenital heart defect. It means the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. The condition may affect the left ventricle, aorta, aortic valve, or mitral valve Cheyenne's aunt Tracy told DailyMail.com: 'They knew she would be born with the condition. At one-month-old she had surgery with donor parts to help repair her heart. But she still has multiple issues.' Advertisement

Orange balloons can be seen on the front doors of those who participated.

Tracy told DailyMail.com: 'We thought she would be good for surgery until she was at least six. So it came as a shock when we were told she would need to have it again so soon. She had her first open heart surgery when she was a month old.

'On Saturday morning me and my mom bought multiple bags of candy and went round door to door asking neighbors if they would help us.

'We explained the situation and asked if they could join in and give Cheyenne one of the bags we had prepared.'

Tracy said the upcoming holiday would be the first Cheyenne would have missed.

She added: 'This would be the first holiday that she had missed since she was born.

'People in the neighborhood were more than willing to help.'

She added: 'In fact when we got to many doors they had prepared treats of their own including stuffed animals and toys. They joined in more than we could have imagined and got her more than we ever asked for.

'We had a party in the day and then took Cheyenne out in the evening. We told those willing to help to place an orange balloon outside their door so we would know to knock there.

'We told Cheyenne to find the houses with the balloons. She was so excited.'

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a rare congenital heart defect. It means the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. Cheyenne's aunt Tracy told DailyMail.com: 'They knew she would be born with the condition. At one-month-old she had surgery with donor parts to help repair her heart. But she still has multiple issues'

Cheyenne's aunt, Tracy Lafleur, decided to organize an early Halloween surprise for her niece, taking bags of candy to neighbors in Sanford, Maine and asking them to join in

Tracy told DailyMail.com the family were left in tears when many of those asked went above and beyond what was asked of them, giving Cheyenne teddy bears and toys

Tracy said nearly 30 homes took part after she asked them to place an orange balloon on their door so the family would know where to knock. Orange balloons can be seen on the front doors of those who participated

Heartwarming images show Cheyenne, who dressed as Frozen's Elsa, at the doors or neighbors being handed the treats

The toddler's mother Stacy, 25, said 'no parent ever wants to tell their child they cannot participate in something'.

She added: 'We had some of her classmates over for a party. She absolutely loved it.

'I was just expecting people to give back the pre made bags but they had their own.'