To consider trick or treating as wrong?

[sunshinemeg]

In my opinion trick or treating is simply demanding rewards from menaces. It is certainly wrong to take a pagan festival and americanise it in such a way.
Am I being unreasonable to be so very against it? I do not open the door to anyone on Halloween, and I certainly will not be letting my daughter go trick or treating when she is old enough.

[FlapJackOLantern]

Ok - it's up to you how you feel. Some of us don't agree with you, but.......meh, it's only one night out of 365

[AngelsLieToKeepControl]

I don't let my dc trick or treat, and I go out to the cinema or bowling to avoid it all, but I'm not against anyone else doing it, nobody forces anyone to take part.

[JaquelineHyde]

YANBU I bloody hate it!

[MurderOfBanshees]

One word - guising.

[LaurieFairyCake]

It's not compulsory

Unlike the 'trick or treating is begging threads" every year

[Daddypigsgusset]

I hate it too but my kids are into all things ghoulish and spooky so I compromise by going to an organized Halloween party. They were banging on earlier again about trick or treating and I'm not having it!

[gwenniebee]

YANBU. I wouldn't mind it if the children "did" something (a song/poem/little dance etc) for their treat, but these days people just think they can turn up and ask, which isn't quite the spirit iyam.

Dreading dd being old enough to want to go as I shall probably become demon mum!

[greenbananas]

This gets done every year. Prepare yourself for a lot of "aww, there's no harm in it" type comments.

OP, I agree with you. We don't do Halloween in our house (although we do carve pumpkins throughout October). I wouldn't mind so much if it was a"religious" pagan festival, because we could talk about that in a meaningful way, like we do about all the other religious festivals or neighbours celebrate. But the rubbish trivial tat is awful, the trick or treating thing has become quite nasty sometimes, and I don't like the ignorant way that children are encouraged to glorify things I see as dark and even demonic given my Christian upbringing.

I think yanbu but I expect lots of people disagree with me.

[SigmundFraude]

It's not a problem if it's organised. I love handing out the sweets, the kids are all in costumes with their parents etc..Youths banging on doors with a box of eggs are a different matter.

[ExitPursuedByABogieMan]

[LadyEdith]

Completely agree. YANBU.

[vestandknickers]

I agree with you and have never let my children do it. I have nothing against Halloween and we have had parties in the past but I'm not having them knocking on neighbours doors expecting to be given something just because they've put on a costume.

[Grittzio]

It's a bit of fun if it's done in a responsible way, lots of houses have Halloween decorations outside inviting trick or treaters! my kids are taught to only go to these, they are not allowed to knock on the door of any non-decorated house.

[StitchingMoss]

Where we go all the neighbours join in and it's just a bit of fun - the kids don't even eat half the sweets they're given, they just like dressing up and the fun of going out with their friends in the dark.

I'm an atheist so can't get worked up about the "demonic" stuff.

We never knock on any door without a pumpkin.

Far more worrying things to get worked up about nowadays IMO.

[sunshinemeg]

I was completely prepared to be flamed with this thread, quite relieved to see I'm not completely on my own with this opinion

[WestieMamma]

Trick or treating terrifies me. I hate having to sit in the dark, jumping at every noise, all night. :(

[adagio]

YANBU

Blackmail : supply sweets or we might egg you (well in fairness does depend on age, littlies just look a bit confused if you say 'trick' instead of proffering a bowl of haribo).

Plus very expensive, as DH tends to eat all the sweets in advance so I have to buy more. He also sits in the dark and pretends to be out in case the door goes

[Stokes]

My mother was born in 1956 in Ireland and I'm pretty sure she went trick or treating. It was certainly the norm there when I was growing up in the 80s. neither American nor new. So long as children are only calling to houses with decorations on display then who cares?

[ApocalypseThen]

Can't understand the obsessive view that its American in the first place (tremendous cultural ignorance), and that it's déclassé on that basis (somewhat bigoted).

[MrsCakesPremonition]

In my neighbourhood the rules are simple and well-observed:
If you don't decorate your house then you won't be visited.
If you want to be visited, put out a pumpkin.
When you run out of sweets/lose interest/want to put the DCs to bed, take the pumpkin in again.

[BlueJess]

It's guising. The children sing/recite a poem/ tell a joke for their sweetie. It's an extremely old tradition in Scotland (and I believe other parts of the country). It's not American.

Don't participate if you don't wish to.

[usualsuspect]

Bloody hell, how many more of these threads do we have to have?

[YoureBeingAnAnyFuckerFan]

up to you what you do/believe really. I like getting (children) trick or treaters and whooping with pretend fear at all their costumes.

oh and I hope you haven't decorated your window or put out pumpkins if you have no intention of opening the door to TorTers?

[TizzyWizzy]

When the kids were little I thought much the same. But the day after Halloween several of our older neighbours, whose kids left home years earlier, expressed disappointment that we hadn't brought the kids around.I know many of my childless neighbours have a bucket of sweets in preparation and costumes ready. I think it depends on your area. Round here its quite a nice community activity. The kids are generally young and accompanied by parents. I've never heard of any tricking. We only knock doors of houses with decorations. The council has issued posters to everyone to put up who does want visitors.