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

The rule is put out decorations / pumpkins and people knock. If none then no one will bother you. When your out of sweets put a sign up if you don't want any more knockers. I live I working class area,loads of kids go trick or treating with parents. My son sees lots of school friends. They love it. Get the odd teen but they are fine too. Never had any trouble. I suppose we probably don't get many 'outsiders' as no one would be holidaying here but I wouldn't mind, kids are having fun that's the main thing. I think your being a grinch.

Really? You never heard of Halloween as a child, what age are you? I'm in my 50s and it was definitely a thing. My parens also celebrated Halloween when they were children and schools used to have parties, discos and crafts relating to Halloween.

Ah fuck it, as usual historical ignorance rules on Mumsnet.

No. Why? I mean I don't even know how many children live in my street. Some of the ones that do will come round, but then god knows where the rest of them are from.

I'm not exactly going to start discriminating on postcode or ask for their address.

For me it's whoever knocks in costume and looks under 18, they'll get a treat.

Going back at least 200 years in Scotland, guising often included going to houses of people who had the better quality of goods. Also not new.

I’m on a new build estate. I like the children calling. We have a decorations/pumpkin out please knock approach. Have just put ours up.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. For me it’s an etiquette thing, of the 100 callers in the first hour at least half didn’t even say thank you! If I brought my child to an estate to trick or treat on the basis that the houses give out the best treats they would at the very least be told to say thank you! And I certainly wouldn’t let them bang relentlessly on doors and ring the bell again and again when all the lights are off and the pumpkins are in. A lot of the issues raised relate mostly to poor parenting and a sense of entitlement.

Penny for the guy is guy fawkes night not Halloween. It wasn't imported from America. We took it there.

vile? 😂

bit much no?

I get your point but I don't think it's about the sweets themselves. We've had the sweets for the trick or treaters out for weeks on the kitchen counter and my kids have only helped themselves to one here and there.
They would be more excited about their haul, which will be exactly the same types of sweets.

I'm 50. We didn't do much for Halloween but we went nuts for Bonfire Night - took 'Guys' (creepy stuffed effigies) around in wheelbarrows knocking on doors, singing 'Bonfire Night, stars are bright...' songs and scrounging 'pennies for the Guy', before going and burning him atop extremely hazardous bonfires in the back field, with loads of dangerous firework action to boot. Today's mostly supervised and sweetie-based trick or treating is super tame by comparison!

You never heard of Halloween? Really?

I always taught my kids not to knock on anyone’s house who didn’t have a light on/a pumpkin on display etc in case that person was elderly. I did it with them until they went on their own - about 11/12 ish. But; I was left being the only one in the household opening that bloody front door, every year, for years. so now I hide with the dogs in the back of the house with just the log burner lit - no guilt here-I’ve done my bit 😜

That sounds horrible!

Unreasonable I’m afraid- unless there is a problem in your area with kids being anti social. By and large you only get knocked on if you have pumpkins or decorations out.
Lots of people get sweets in and actively want trick or treaters- doesn’t matter where from.
We have pumpkins out and enough sweets for dozens of trick or treaters - it’s the same with at least 1/2 of my residential estate.
i would ask why are you only going to your own street?
Don’t other streets have decorations? How old are your kids? If very young one street is plenty. But when in the juniors surely they want to go around the area a bit more?

The thread isn't about whether Trick or Treating is good or bad, it's about whether any etiquette applies regarding where you do it.

My road has always been very enthusiastic about these things and has become known as a good street. I always felt quite proud of being part of it, and made an effort with decorations and lots of sweets to give out.

This year, with prices rising, I've really noticed the more expensive sweets and, with an out of work husband and Xmas round the corner, I've possibly got fewer than usual.

A school parents WhatsApp group I'm on is organising for a group to meet at my road to trick or treat here this evening. All very lovely and excited. We're the only family actually living on this road, and I want to suggest on the group that they each bring a bag of sweets to contribute! I won't, but I thought it.

Really? I'm 53 and went trick or treating and my mum and dad used to tell me stories of going guising in Scotland when they were young. It was definitely a well established thing when I was a child.

I went Trick or Treating as a child in the 80s, it's not an American import. It's annoying that people seem to think it is just because it's more publicised/commercialised now. I also had Halloween themed birthday parties (being born 2 days before) with apple bobbing etc. Love Halloween but I live in a flat now so don't get any trick or treaters (just the annoying cars and Halloween tourists), we used to decorate our old house, go the whole hog.

Penny for the guy is for Guy Fawkes night, the guy would be made and then put on the bonfire. Sadly we seem to have stopped the bonfire and guy bit and now just do loud fireworks displays.

Hate Halloween with a passion.No idea when it became a thing.Never heard of it when I was a child.

This year my street only has one house decorated.Hot much interest it seems.

That is very upsetting but that is an anti social behaviour problem not a trick or treaters problem. Some kids are vile and use Halloween as an excuse to be vile but that shouldn't stop the children who aren't vile from having fun.

I have. More than that, I’ve seen an elderly couples front door and porch covered in eggs thrown by kids when they didn’t answer. And I’ve also seen the fear that some experience at Halloween. It’s vile.

My eldest is now thirty (youngest is 19) so our days of T or T are over. We never went out long and only ever knocked at decorated homes. Their grandparents weren't close by and there were no immediate neighbours back then who had pumpkins out.
We still live in the same house and gets lots of DC on Halloween now. I also have two dogs, one is a rescue who barks like mad when anyone knocks and gets anxious. I still decorate and leave a tub of sweets with a sign in the open porch. No hassle.

I agree - I think one of the underlying reasons to be available to trick or treaters is to build community bonds, a sense of place and belonging etc. Local kids who walk past a house every day and remember getting treats, and feel good about it.

Not any old brat poppet.

Bloody hell OP you sound fun. Who cares where they arrive from? Give out all your sweets then lights out and a sign saying all gone sorry.

My daughter loves to get as many sweets as she can carry. She loves it, absolutely buzzes from it. She shares them with her friends and with us. She also loves to give out loads and helps us to make bags up every year as she prefers that than just standing with a tub of Heroes. She loves the buzz of it. She loves when people have decorations up. She loves when the doorbell rings and it's someone from school and she loves telling us that people like coming to our door. It's the one time of year she gets to go properly nuts on sweets and other people's generosity. But she's generous herself.