Aibu to completely bypass halloween

[crazyhatlady]

Just back from supermarket shop with ds and it was full of halloween tat, literally every corner we turned.
Now he's harassing me for said tat and tbh I just feel like it's a big marketing ploy to encourage people to spend money on crap they don't need

A lot of my neighbours seem to go ott decorating the houses. I just don't get it. I'm a single parent and trying to put cash away for Christmas, also got 3 kids birthdays to buy for next week. Ds is 4.

So am I justified or just a big meanie?

[LynetteScavo]

I am refusing to buy DD anymore plastic tat.

We will have a pumpkin, maybe some pumpkin soup and that's it. If other people want to go all out, that's up to them.

[PersonalClown]

I try to ignore it.
Ds (10 ASD) hates the costumes and frights when you answer the door, the dogs go berserk everytime there's a knock and most years I'm the only one in the house as DP's at work and DS is away with my mother.

No lights and decorations plus a note saying don't knock would work, right??
Hell no. I still get about 10+ knocks a night.

[LonelyCloud]

YANBU.

It's getting ridiculously commercialised. DS's nursery are having Halloween parties, with fancy dress specified, on every day next week.

One of my work colleagues told me that in his area, people put pumpkins outside the front door if they're happy to see trick or treaters, but as I've never heard of this before, I'm not convinced I can rely on a lack of pumpkin to stop the doorbell ringing.

[Northernlurkerisbehindyouboo]

YANBU. We will have a pumpkin and the local farm shop/play park goes all out for halloween and does all sorts of (not very) scary stuff. So I will take dds at 1/2 term and buy pumpkin and that's it! I don't mind buying halloween stuff such as choc lollies beforehand when I'd be buying them that anyway but I'm not buying extra iyswim.

[SilverCharm]

You;re a big meanie. i don't buy the tat...we make tat...and have Halloween cakes etc and buy sweets for the DC who call after my DC have done their trick or treating. My DC LOVE halloween!

[StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes]

I am feeling a bit grumpy about it this year. DS2 and DH will be away, DS1 hates it and is probably going to either be out or up in his room. most years I buy tat and open the door but I am feeling like just going upstairs myself this year and not bothering. am I mean? I did have a bit of fun last year as I had a bowl with a hand that was motion activated and said 'happy halloween' 'trick or treat' and grabbed as it was triggered by the little darlings reaching for the goodies, ha.

[StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes]

thats cos mine are all growed up now, had lots of fun when they were little. one of Ds's parties is still talked about lol.

[KenandDeirdre]

YADNBU - I detest Halloween. What's the point of it? I had no problem with small, organised parties when my DS was young but seriously - walking around the streets, knocking on doors and asking total strangers for sweets - what's that all about? I have/had no interest in decorating the house either - maybe the odd pumpkin carving but like to save my decorating skills for Christmas!

[crazyhatlady]

Glad to see i'm not alone in my meanness. Way back when i was a kid we did homemade costumes, dooked for apples and monkey nuts and ate loads of sweets. I could possibly get on board with orange wrapped chocolate but i think i'm sticking to my guns as far as tat goes.

btw is trick or treat not an american term? we call it guising round here!

[HerBigChance]

Not at all. It's utter crap and nonsense, IMO.

[hiddenhome]

We don't celebrate halloween. I lock the front gate so nobody can get down our front path and the back gates are locked and bolted

[Ummofumbridge]

Yadnbu!!
Hate it. Too expensive when I'm trying to save up for a second hand Christmas :(
When I have money I don't mind so much but it's kind of pointless really? Dd2 is invited to a party so I'll fish an outfit out of the loft and enjoy the fact that someone else is doing the work this year!

[GreenEyesAndHam]

I definitely won't be buying any Halloween tat this year.

Because I've still got loads of Halloween tat left from last year

I love it, it's 'bigger' now than when I was a kid, but we still did all the stuff when I was little. In fact nowadays round here, the kids only knock at the houses that are decorated- when I was a young un we knocked at them all. Wearing a bin bag. Hell yeah.

[GreenEyesAndHam]

In fact, wearing a bin bag and carrying a hollowed out swede.

My mum must've had muscles like Arnie.

[RedHelenB]

You do see penny for the guy where i live, Also the pumpkins in the window/doorstep. I just buy an extra bit of tat each year lol but the secret is to get the stuff after Halloween ready for nxst year.

[crazyhatlady]

yeah green eyes my homemade costumes were bin bags too, don't think that'd cut it these days though!

[Sirzy]

This is my grinch time of year. I don't like Halloween or bonfire night and will happily avoid both.

[Silverlace]

YADNBU. I hate it. I hate all those gory costumes in the supermarket. I won't be taking the DC trick or treating and as we live on a farm no-one comes to us. I just don't see the point of decorating the house, what a waste of time.

I just don't understand people's urge to waste money on tat and encourage their children to knock on strangers doors. Just ignore it all.

[QueenofLouisiana]

YANBU, I am fed up too. This year I have reported to going away for a few days starting on Halloween, just to avoid arguing with DS over trick or treating (I think he is too young, all his friends go). Going fossil hunting instead, have promised to call it a Louisiana-asaurus if we discover a new species!

[Bunbaker]

DD (12)has been invited to a Halloween party by her best friend. They are both organising the tat, the menus and the games. They will go trick or treating around the village afterwards.

Round here it is an unwritten rule that you don't knock at houses that don't have lighted pumpkins or Halloween decorations so everyone is happy. DD is 12 and says she loves Halloween as much as Christmas. And why not?