Can anyone talk me through Trick or Treat etiquette?

[Mybobowler]

Sorry if this has been done before! I need some guidance.

I wasn't allowed to go Trick or Treating as a child and up until now, I've only ever lived in flats where I could easily ignore the doorbell. I now live in a terraced house in an area full of families, so there's no escaping it this year! Problem is, I have a very light-sleeping 9 month old, and I can't promise not to pelt eggs at anyone who wakes her up.

So - what to do? Can I leave a sign on my door, asking them not to ring the bell? Should I leave a bucket of sweets on the step and accept that the whole lot will disappear immediately? I already feel like this is too much like hard work...

[sleepismysuperpower1]

print out a sign like this and put it up on the door. most people will understand and just not knock, and a lot of them tend to avoid houses with no pumpkins anyway x

[TowerRingInferno]

Where we are children only call on houses that have a lit pumpkin or other Halloween decorations outside.

[Sirzy]

It should be “no pumpkin or decoration don’t knock” but that gets ignored here so I put up a “please don’t knock” which most listen to

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

isnt general rule of thumb you only knock if the house has decorations or at least a pumkin?

Dont leave sweets on the step, some sod will take them all.

If you do it light a candle give out sweets then blow the candle out when done.

[ImportantWater]

Where we are it’s no pumpkin no knock as well.

[Ohyesiam]

In our are only houses with a pumpkin get targeted, but that could be local. In your situation I’d take the batteries out of the doorbell.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

The 'universally accepted' rule these days is don't call on houses showing no decorations. (Might not be universally accepted by everyone though.)

So

1. Don't put up decorations
   
2. Put small sign on door, saying 'sorry no trick or treats, sleeping baby, come back in 3 years'

[ImportantWater]

When we left a bowl outside once someone stole the bowl. It was a nesting bowl as well, its friends miss it.

[Saucery]

We leave a bucket of sweets at the door with a sign saying Please Help Yourself.
With a sleeping baby in the house I’d stick a sign over the doorbell asking them not to ring it.
Etiquette is usually if you have a lit pumpkin in your window/porch then you welcome T or T, if all dark then no thank you, but it doesn’t always work like that in some areas.
I cba to jump up and answer the door every 2 mins but like putting sweets out for the children who carry on the tradition. I just check every hour or so to see if bucket needs a refill.

[Mybobowler]

Ooh well, I'm glad I asked! We would have put a pumpkin in the window - I had no idea.

[Saucery]

We only had the whole bucket taken once and I know exactly which cheeky fucker family did it as it was totally their style. Every other year the amount goes down steadily and everyone plays fair.

[elaeocarpus]

There are signs you can print/ make your own to say "no trick or treaters"

In our area you signal participation by decorations/lit pumpkins outside- but kids still knock on places with lights on and no decorations anyway

I have in the past left a bowl of sweets outside when we've been away doing our own trick or treating; other houses do this too- so kids help themselves without bothering you and then just turn lights iff/ close curtains when you're done.

I have noticed that older kids seem much more prevalent in recent years- having cottoned on to the while free sweets thing, and unfortunately they seem to cone around a lot later- so i lights off/close down as much as possible when I've har enough and want to go to bed!

[squashyhat]

God that sign is so twee . Just put up a note saying 'we are not doing Halloween - go away'.

[AllFourOfThem]

I agree that if you put a pumpkin in the window you are effectively inviting trick or treaters.

We have a Halloween bowl and I’m going to put sweets in it with a sign saying we have sleeping children so please don’t disturb us but feel free to take a sweet. I figure it’s young children who are escorted by parents here so I hope their parents will stop their child taking more than one or two.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

No way would I leave a whole bowl out given how some kids (usually aged around 9-11 in larger groups) try to grab whole handfuls normally!

[starfishmummy]

When DS was younger we used to do trick or treat for the small kids but once DH got home about 6.30 we would make sure the curtains were firmly closed, stop answering the door and scoff the rest if the sweets ourselves.

These days I think people do take notice of the pumpkin on display thing as we havent had any callers for a few years.

[Daisywho]

Last year all the trick-or-treaters round our way had been and gone before about 7pm so it didn’t interfere with my baby’s sleep at all - you could find you’re okay there!

Agree that people don’t knock on doors without loads of decs though; I had to actively recruit families to come and take sweets from DD on her first ever Halloween after dressing HER up but not the house. First time mum errors!

Bonfire night is a different story though.

[NoSquirrels]

One Halloween we went to a house that had a bowl of glow sticks made up into bracelets on the step, along with a ‘No knocking’ sign - I thought that was genius, cheap to buy in bulk from pound shop & no one’s tempted to nick the whole lot like with sweets.

[Mybobowler]

This has been so enlightening! Feeling a bit hard done by that I was never allowed to go out as a child I think I probably will disable the doorbell (excellent advice - just need to work out how to do it!) and put up a sign. I do like the idea of leaving out a bucket of sweets for the little kids, but I know that the gang of lads who terrorise the neighbourhood will make off with the whole lot in an instant.

[Saucery]

I was never allowed out either, OP, as it was ‘begging’, apparently.
Shame about the older kids pinching everything.

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

Never allowed out either- and we actively hid from trick or treaters too. Was more hardcore in the 90s though, kids actually tricked, eggs and silly string!

[Mybobowler]

Same here! I'd forgotten about that - the kids where I grew up (also in the 90s) used to throw eggs and flour at people's houses. Horrible!

[Blobby10]

I never did T or T either Mybobbowler but my 3 did when they were cute and little but stopped at around 7/8 years when they didn't want to dress up. I lived the past 4 years on a housing estate with loads of youngsters who admittedly look very cute in their costumes but I wasn't usually home from work when they came round. To deter the older and not so cute brats, I switch off the outside and hall light, put up a notice on the door 'No Trick or Treat' and haven't heard a peep for the whole 4 years.

[cometothinkofit]

Around here, you put a lit pumpkin outside, and then hand sweets out to whoever knocks.

One year I forgot to buy sweets so I raided our loose change jar and they all got some 2p's.

[Livpool]

I thought you should only knock if someone has a pumpkin or something similar outside. That is what they do near me