It's only 3pm and the doors already knocking

Love it! Wish we had one like that near us!

Started knocking 4.15 here,I bought double the amount j normally do and I'm already down to dregs.

I used to sit in darkness and never answer the door haha- now DS loves answering the door (we don't go out trick or treating though) and have a pumpkin outside so people know we're happy to have a knock. Wouldn't mind what time as long as not too late, although I wouldn't have been home at 3!

If you don't like Hallowe'en that's fine. Nobody is obliged to like Hallowe'en (or anything else for that matter). But get your facts right. I'm a child of the '70s and I grew up in Ireland and we always knocked on doors on the night of Hallowe'en. We didn't say, "Trick or Treat", but we said, "Help the Hallowe'en party". We'd be given nuts or maybe a small apple or a small bunch of grapes. Our local shopkeeper would give us a free tenpenny bag of sweets as a token of his appreciation for our custom during the year. Then we'd go home and eat our goodies the sweets went first. We'd eat colcannon for dinner and Mam would put some coins in it, so we'd spend our money on sweets in the shop. There were always sweets but they weren't handed out at the doors.

It doesn't, all should be welcome, happy Halloween 👻.

We have a display of lit carved pumpkins out but apparently our house is too spooky
We have a big classic victorian House down longish driveway lined with trees, it is lit but only subtly , I just glimpsed a group of about 15, 10-12yo in costume get half way down the drive and then run back to the pavement shrieking 🤣🤣

Where are all the kids? We’re in suburban London/Surrey and last year we had loads knocking.

I’ve carved pumpkins, they’re lit on the doorstep. I can see neighbours have decorations out too and no trick or treaters!

I have freddos, come get free treats!

This! 5-8pm! (Although we were ready at 4.30 as it was dark!)

Is that it??

Yes whilst I understand the point I'm not just going to get up and leave my computer. My boss wouldn't be pleased. Next year I'll plan to go out after 5.

15 kids by 6.15pm! 😂

It got to 5.45pm and I wondered why we'd not had anyone knocking.

Then realised that I hadn't got a pumpkin outside. I went to get my pumpkin out yesterday to find it had liquified. FYI - liquified pumpkin smells putrid 😨

Quickly found a print out of a pumpkin and stuck it in the window, and I've been up and down like a yo-yo ever since 😄

We went just a tad before 5pm because we'd had knockers at 4.30pm at ours.

We only did 4 houses as my DC are very young. I was glad to do it while still light. Those who didn't want knockers just left sweets in a bucket outside - We were thanking the doorbells 😂

I swerved houses that weren't 'lit up'.

Miserable sod

😂

OP has a dog training issue, not a children knocking too early problem.

People need a bit of empathy. Where I live it’s cute primary school kids out with a parent or guardian. Where I used to live it was older teens banging on the door, the window, throwing eggs at the house, screaming through the letterbox regardless of whether you had a pumpkin or not. Halloween is vile in some errors and really scary.

It’s half term where we live, so the timings seem more spread out than when Halloween is on a school day and all the kids come out later. We’ve had a few arrive around 4pm rather than after 5 when it’s dark. There are a lot of families with young kids round here but also a lot of older couples whose kids moved out years ago. The etiquette has been only to trick or treat at the houses with pumpkins and decorations outside, and if there are sweets outside the door to take what you want and not knock. Seems to have worked well for quite a few years.

I’m not saying they have to, but to me it would seem sensible to consider it, if people genuinely find a couple of hours of door knocking and silly costumes traumatic. Especially given that no one is going to stop trick and treating and it seems like kids in @purplebeansprouts area don’t seem to follow the conventions that most kids do (no decorations= don’t knock etc).

I'm still waiting😟
Candles in porch window, Dec's up to welcome them, I'm dressed to scare and have a cauldron full of crap.
I'm usually sold out by this time of day, but nothing this year.
Am sad 😔

Is it half term where you are? Obviously parents taking advantage, but some people may not decorated their homes, sorted out the sweets etc. yet.

I would be worried if kids were doing ToT'ing at that time here as half term was last week here and schools finish 3:15pm.

If trick or treaters start coming at 3pm (thankfully not where I live, but clearly happens where the OP lives) and you WFH, going out for a couple of hours isn't going to be an option.

This is why trick or treating people's house during normal working hours is pretty thoughtless. I don't blame the kids, but it's really thoughtless behaviour by their parents.

(And I also agree with the PP who said nobody should have to go out because other people feel entitled to knock on their door.)

I've already had about 40-50 kids through, all very polite and dressed up for the evening.

I think it's nice. Much prefer seeing and interacting with children enjoying themselves and being sweet then a lot of other poor behaviour that's frequently seen around here.

👍

In our old house, some years ago we were deluged !! Thousands of children came.

Hurrah, just been visited by all sorts of witches demons and goblins 😈