Trick or Treat - AIBU

Plenty of doors answered tonight where porch lights/outdoor/hall lights were on. If the house is in darkness at the front then don't knock. If you want to deter knockers then make sure your house is in darkness, kids don't waste time knocking at those houses.

People should know not to knock on the door, but perhaps put a sign up saying Not home or gone to bed

YABU and a Killjoy!

Put a bowl of sweets outside with a note "please take 1" or 2 or whatever. Some people do that here if they are out for example

Yep they have drove me mad tonight. We’ve had loads. I turned the porch lights off and they’re still knocking and ringing the bell. It annoys me because they can see I’m in my living room but I should be able to sit in my living room without being harassed. My gran turns all the lights off and pretends she isn’t home but you should be allowed to be in your home FFS, no need to hide.

Don’t get me started on the group of boys all dressed in black shouting down the street and peddling their bikes in the middle of the road with no lights on. Happy Halloween indeed. What’s the equivalent of a Halloween Scrooge? 🤣

It could be annoying if you don't want to get involved. I guess plenty of other homes locally are known to participate. I guess you could put a polite sign saying 'please - no trick or treaters, thank you'. If you have a disability for example that makes it hard to get to the door you could put that on the sign? Not ideal but I can't see any other way of stopping it.
I personally get a lot of joy out of handing out sweets and seeing the different kids and their costumes. Obviously it's not for everyone.

I'm not bothered wasting money on Halloween tat! I don't have much storage and would prefer to save it for my Christmas decorations rather than a few pumpkins! I've always had a supply of sweets in incase we have trick or treaters. We had no callers this evening but there didn't seem to be any passing by either. I think Halloween parties have taken over a bit around here as opposed to house-to-house trick or treating!

Where I used to live it was knock on any door at Halloween.
When I moved I stocked up on sweets and couldn't understand why I had no trick or treaters to give them to, until someone explained the rule about decorated houses or pumpkins around here!
I think it's a great rule and saves older people bieng pestered if they don't want to be.

I ran out of sweets after over 200 visitors. I turned off the lights and blew out the candles in the jack o lantern and only one person has knocked since then.
At my old neighbourhood the local paper supplied 'no trick o treaters' signs to put up. Next year try that.

We used to get a never ending stream of trick or treaters at our old house, even with no decorations. I put up a sign when youngest was a baby to say we had a newborn sleeping, please don't knock, just take a sweet from the tub outside. Still had numerous, loud knocks.
Since we've lived in our current house we've had no trick or treaters - there are plenty around but since we have no external decorations they don't knock - it's only decorated houses that are visited. It's so much less stressful!

I can't be arsed with decs but I had sweets. I only had 6 come to the door. I think people are getting better about leaving homes in peace if they've no decs up and I definitely need to sort a pumpkin out for next year as I've rather a lot of chocolate left.

It always worked well to put a note out when there were no more sweets left so kids wouldn’t bother knocking. Maybe do that every year instead even if you never had any to start with!

It was always the unwritten rule when my kids were young only to knock on decorated houses and that was 15 years ago when they first started trick or treating (they don’t now obviously!) but Halloween was quite a big deal in my village with loads of decorated houses so really no need at all to knock the doors of I decorated houses. Maybe in areas where there a fewer pumpkins and decorations kids take their chances on all the homes?

Decorated houses only. I think in general there is also a “rule” now that once the lights are turned off you give it a break. But that might just be my area.

This was the rule when I was younger and that was 20 years ago.

Early 2000s we knocked on every door. Taking my daughter now, it's decorated houses only.

We have nothing out. One group of children started walking up the drive (ring doorbell found alert) but the parent with them called them back.

if people only visit homes making it clear they are partaking then everyone should be happy!

We had pumpkins outside and got loads of trick or treaters. My toddler really isn't well and I finally got him to sleep so after a while we brought the pumpkins in and put a sign to say our baby is sleeping please do not knock.
We still have had so many bangs on the door.
I'll be fuming if they wake him up.

It has always been the rule here that kids only go to decorated houses, and to my relief, always respected.

Some use their porch light to signal. We live in a very busy estate we only had 1 knock all evening but had curtains shut and lights off in hall as have poorly baby. Very impressed with the kids.

The unwritten rule is no decorations = not interested.

Tbh, if I wasn't on mumsnet, I wouldn't know that you went to decorated houses only. Up until a few years ago, everyone where I loved knocked on every door.

Only go to the houses with a pumpkin outside.

They always knock here decorations or not. We're in Ireland though so maybe it's different. Always have the bags of sweets ready just in case.