To think that trick or treating should be confined to your own street or friends/family

It's one night a year and a couple of bags of sweets from the pound shop won't break most people. I'm older than you, mine are grown up but it really doesn't worry me.

It wasn't done in my area when I was a child - I think watching ET was my first experience! So when it became more popular I resisted it - I didn't allow my children to go as they seemed a bit too old for it and it felt a bit threatening (they have never forgiven me btw). However over the years, although I don't decorate or put pumpkins out, I have had trick or treaters and I have had sweets in for them. However, now that I live alone and am not keen on opening the door after dark - my drive is quite hidden from the street, I draw the curtains just before it gets dark and hope nobody will come - I do have some emergency sweets in case though.

It's not an American thing. It began with the Celts and in Medieval England. Even if it was, it's a great tradition!

My village in Devon goes all out and the kids have a great time! If you don't want to take part, don't leave a pumpkin out, is the general rule. I'd be really sad if no one knocked on our door!

Ive actually spent this morning carving pumpkins and watching scary films (I'm 46🤣)

Yeah this is what I don't like.

If the whole street is decorating and giving each other sweets, it's like everyone's putting effort in and everyone is benefiting.

When you get swarms of people who haven't contributed in any way but have just turned up to take what they can get because they know your street makes an effort, it's not a nice feeling.

YABU. We live in the middle of nowhere. The few houses that are nearby are all occupied by elderly people who don’t do Halloween (completely fine btw)

we go with my family and trick or treat there. 😁

I just turn the lights off and take the pumpkin in when I’ve run out.
I don’t mind where the kids have come from.
I’ll be doing the trick or treating on my mum’s road because I want to call in on her and it’s quieter up there. It’s about 10 minutes away from home.
Trick or treating has been a “thing” here in Ireland for a long time but it has changed in recent years since social media.
Some people go all out decorating, sometimes in aid of charity and obviously that creates a buzz.
I’m not a fan of that shift because I think it brings in a whole competitive/ one-upping sort of effect that has made it all a bit over the top.
I know a few people who get their houses professionally decorated for Halloween and for me this is just too far.

We’ll sit out for the trick or treaters and honestly I can’t say I’ll care where they’ve come from. When the treats run out they run out and we’ll decamp to the pub. That’s it. Have never been aware of any rules around where it’s appropriate to go, if households have decorated and bought treats presumably they’re signalling they want to be a part of the fun.

I am conflicted by this every year. about 10 years ago my street was very into halloween. We all decorated, and there was lots of local kids coming round. However about 5 years ago it got too much, there were people coming from miles, literally minibuses of them. I was giving out hundreds of sweets, (funsize mars bars) and I counted afterwards one year I gave out 180. It was actually unpleasant as there was just a constant queue at the door, and about 50% of people didn't even say thanks, or have a joke or anything. I ended up feeling a bit mugged.

I've given up now. My kids are older, as are a lot of the other kids in the street. However I feel sad for the younger kids in the street as they don't get to experience the fun my kids had. I feel a bit of a grinch, do I really begrudge giving kids sweets? But when it stops being fun, and is just a chore for me, then yes I do. Its lights out at mine tonight.

I do think it's a bit much to start driving to other towns or areas to do it.

Doesn't really feel in the spirit (ha) for others to descend en-masse to "good" streets, meaning the kids that actually live in those streets miss out.

I think it's better to stay in your own area. If your area doesn't do much for Halloween, well, be the change you want to see in the world as the saying goes.

There's 3 houses on my street so I think we'll go further afield 🤣🤣

If a house is decorated then it’s seen as an invite for anyone trick or treating.

If a house is in darkness then leave them alone.

No interest at all in the American nonsense
The only winners are the shops selling rubbish

Nah when mine were little they loved running all over the village/estate seeing as many decorated houses as they could. Not so much in recent years but back then there seemed to be hundreds of kids out with family on the night and there was a real buzz. My youngest always says his favourite memories are Halloween and he’s a hulking teen these days.

we didn’t buy enough sweets for the masses and just popped a sign out when everything was gone. No big deal.

What a load of rubbish. You go as far as you want. What do you want - a law debated in Parliament?
And we were tricked or treating in the 80s so I don’t now what you are on about.
We spent years in America where obviously Halloween is a big thing and the whole thing was fantastic as bringing the community together, meeting neighbours you don’t normally speak to. Quite frankly the polar opposite of the utterly miserable attitude in the UK.

I think YABU, because I live in a middle class rural village with only about 60 children, and they are really well behaved, and it's a joy to see their wonderful outfits.

But when I lived in a cul de sac of private homes (44 in total) some 15 years ago, there was a big estate some 10-12 minutes walk away,) and we got some really dreadful kids coming around. Some as old as 17-20! And they'd kick stuff around in the front garden, and vandalise stuff if someone didn't answer the door!

It depends where you live really.

Well we have no family nearby and my kids didn’t go to the local school so only knew our direct neighbours- and neither were particularly friendly! Now I live within walking distance of three primaries and I had about 200 kids last year. I’m about to carve the pumpkin and I’ve got some light up ghosts to put out. Two hours of constant getting up to answer the door but the delight on these kids, the effort put in to their costumes it’s a small price to pay! I lived it as a child and happy to participate now. I am a bit dismayed with friends who, once their own kids had aged out of trick or treating don’t do it. It’s going to be a damp one tonight though!

Why do you have to buy more?
Buy what you want, when you’ve run out - don’t answer the door. Simple.

If they’re on holiday, where are they supposed to go?

I think as long as people stick to houses with decorations/pumpkins, it’s fine. I wouldn’t decorate my house for trick or treaters but only want children from my street to come.

What do they mean by the best places to go? Roads with lots of decorated houses for the kids to enjoy or houses where people are giving out full sized Mars Bars? 🤔

We live in a small village, our street has 8 houses in it and the nearest family are 50 miles away!

A 10 min drive away is a small town where a high percentage of US Service families live due to a local USAF Base. They go all out with decorating their houses and handing out the US sweets - the kids love going there!

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

But not far from here are streets of seriously deprived children and a lot of poor behaviour in the area. I know, I teach in the primary school. I'd rather they came to neighbourhoods and streets like mine, and many will, where they can be safe and get some treats. Most of them are good kids; it's not their fault they live there.

We are right out in the sticks with no nearby neighbours. Friends invite us over each year to go Trick or Treating in their village (which is pretty into Halloween and operates on the pumpkin light system), and we take sweets to leave on their doorstep as payback to the village.

But people who give out sweets do it because they enjoy it. We live where we get no one sadly as have no neighbours. But when we did, I loved it. It would be sad to have 5 children come and then that’s it. It’s not often actually that people get out and actually speak to their neighbours (or anyone from the next village over).

If you don’t want to take part, you don’t have to, but it’s lovely to have fun and I don’t need anyone to live within a 1 mile radius for that. We drive chocolate out to the end of our drive (live down a muddy farm track) and leave it for anyone driving past. 🤷🏻‍♀️