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Original poster

Who bothers with Halloween?

158 replies

tigercub50 · 27/09/2018 00:20

I have friends who make a really big deal of Halloween ( big party, loads of decorations etc) but we have never done much apart from trick or treating. I make pumpkin lanterns. I prefer Bonfire Night. Anyone do much?

OP posts:
DappledThings · 27/09/2018 08:37

This is our first time where we currently live. intrigued as to whether it's a big deal (East Kent). Growing up in the Midlands and then moving to London I've had trick or treaters call a grand total of twice ever (I'm 39).

Only ever seen it celebrated widely wjen I lived in NI for university.

Snowymountainsalways · 27/09/2018 08:41

We decorate the house and carve pumpkins and put candles in them. We make crafts and make the house look very lovely weaving autumn leaves into the decorations.
We always have a little party and then tag on some trick or treating. The children make their own outfits, cutting up cheap leggings and tshirts. They cover themselves in a mixture of glitter and face and paint and have a riot1
At this time of year the weather is dark and winter is coming, the children love halloween! We love the fireworks equally!

Then it is full steam ahead to christmas.

Sprinkling magic into your children's lives at every opportunity is not hard or expensive.

Buddyelf · 27/09/2018 08:42

We love Halloween in our house. The houses on our street go all out and we have tonnes of kids around trick or treating. We decorate the house and get dressed up and if we can we have a party. Kids love it!

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Events & celebrations
happymummy12345 · 27/09/2018 08:44

Not me. I hate trick or treating (glorified begging) so no way will my child ever do that. I've dressed up and gone to a few parties in the past but that's it.

Snowymountainsalways · 27/09/2018 08:45

Can anyone on here suggest some games for halloween? What are the best ones? I have several children coming this year for a halloween tea and would like to do something different this year :)

Deadringer · 27/09/2018 08:51

I love Halloween. I get to decorate the house, dress up the DC, and eat lots of shite, but I don't have to buy presents or pretend to like any tat I receive. My favourite holiday! I was away for Halloween last year for the first time ever and I really missed it. I don't usually have a party but I might this year to make up for it.

Willow2017 · 27/09/2018 09:09

Its not begging if people are decorating houses, putying pumpkins out and waiting to give out sweets to kids who come to the door ffs!
You dont invite 'beggers' to your door.

YeOldeTrout · 27/09/2018 09:12

Halloween is a huge event in our town, 10-25% of houses in our local area take part so lots of T+Ting. I don't decorate the house, though, Xmas is enough decorating for one year (& DC do that nowadays).

crochetmonkey74 · 27/09/2018 09:19

I love it and normally decorate etc and have a party but I won't be this year as I am going to be ....

IN SALEM!!!!

I am so excited I cannot wait!!!

Willow2017 · 27/09/2018 09:19

Snowy
Dooking for apples
Treacle scones or pancakes woth syrup hung on string
Fill boxes with various disgusting things like cold rice, chopped carrots and peas (sick) jelly with grapes (eyeballs) etc and hide wrapped sweets in them. Only have a hole for a hand to.go through so.kids cant see whats in them.
Bowling plastic juice bottles with a neep (swede)
Wrapping a mummy. One person stands still the other has to use loo roll to make them a mummy and have pairs racing to be first.
Mars bar game. Roll dice and if its . 6 = you get to try to cut a slice of mars bar but you have to put hat scarf and big adult gloves on first. Time x seconds before they.have tp stop and it goes back to.next person rolling dice.
Picking up puffed rice by sucking on a straw. Time everyone for 2 minutes and the one with most in thier bowl wins.

BarbedBloom · 27/09/2018 09:21

I celebrate it as Samhain. I have decorations and always put a pumpkin in the window so people know it is okay to trick or treat if they want to. I make lots and lots of food. Am looking forward to it

crochetmonkey74 · 27/09/2018 09:22

I'm also sad to miss out as our street is mad for Halloween- most of the houses decorate and loads of families with little kids come trick or treating which is so cute- we gave out 3 buckets full of sweets last year

spinabifidamom · 27/09/2018 09:56

My parents always celebrated Halloween. We used to have Halloween parties when I was a child. One year I appeared on stage wearing a pair of fairy wings. Apple bobbing, spooky storytelling and pumpkin carving were some of the activities. There were decorations on the walls.

Overall it was so much fun.

This year my son and daughter will be in a costume and we will probably also have a pumpkin stuffed full of sweets for people. If we get enough people and time we also want to see a scary movie.

Can’t wait 😊.

BroomstickOfLove · 27/09/2018 10:02

I love Halloween, but have never really done bonfire night.

Dressing up, bobbing for apples, sweets, toffee apples and sparklers, carving pumpkins, playing spooky games...

I'm glad to see it being celebrated more in England. When I first moved here from NI, it was so strange not to have it be a special day.

spiderlight · 27/09/2018 10:14

We celebrate Samhain as well (pagan family). It's always been a big deal for us because it's close to DH's birthday. He used to have a big Hallowe'en themed birthday party every year but we've not done that since DS came along. We decorate the house and do apple bobbing, apples on strings etc., and DS always goes trick-or-treating with friends - it's quite a big deal around here and well over half the houses in our area decorate and give out sweets. There's a house on our road that's owned by a couple who work in film special effects, and they do the most fabulous decorations and costumes, different every year. People come from all over town to see it. Once all the chaos is over, though, we come back to the centre of it all, quietly remembering loved ones who've passed over.

Camomila · 27/09/2018 10:24

I do and I’m a church going Catholic!
I like all festivals that celebrate the seasons. I held a Swedish style midsummer celebration a few years ago.

Maybe in my next life I’ll be a pagan :)

DS loves ‘ghosts! Boooooo’ so we’ll go trick or treating and then maybe do apple or donut bobbing. I might even make macaroni cheese brains inside peppers.

AGHHHH · 27/09/2018 10:24

I wish everyone decorated for Halloween like they (used to, at least) for Christmas! I'd love to see a whole street full of pumpkins and lights etc.

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 27/09/2018 10:25

Loved it as a child and adored going trick or treating but don't really do anything now as an adult.

PhilomenaButterfly · 27/09/2018 10:29

We always trick or treat, the Asda café used to do a party, but they've stopped. Now we go for supper in the Sainsbury's café, then trick or treat until the DC can't walk anymore, then bed.

Andtheresaw · 27/09/2018 10:33

We decorate the front garden as a graveyard with skeletons and monster heads coming out of the ground, and a tunnel from the pavement to the front door with sound-reactive things and hanging 'chains' etc. There are several houses round here who go 'all out' and consequently lots of Trick or Treaters come in from the surrounding villages. We go through tubs and tubs of sweets, and serve pumpkin soup to the accompanying parents. It's all good fun and over by 8.30.
Then on the closest Saturday we have a party for friends and family. More soup, witchy finger hotdogs etc.!

RonniePickering · 27/09/2018 10:39

I do, I love it. Halloween was acknowledged at the primary school I went to, we would sing “Halloween is coming” and make crafts associated with it, so a lot of why I enjoy it is nostalgia

Now I decorate the house and get lots of sweets in for the trick or treaters, and have a party for my children and nieces and nephews.

Boblingoblino31 · 27/09/2018 10:52

I’m nearly 60 and Halloween wasn’t a thing. Don’t know if that was due to where we lived or whether it wasn’t celebrated in the UK then? Bonfire night was huge. There was mischievous night on the 4th and our next door neighbour always had a bonfire party on the 5th with baked potatoes cooked at the bottom of the fire, Parkin, toffee apples etc. We loved it. When DD was young we went trick or treating and one year had a Halloween party for her and her friends but it still wasn’t a huge deal. I absolutely love it though and wished I had people to do the whole decorating the house, pumpkin carving dressing up, T or T and making special food with.

TheClitterati · 27/09/2018 10:56

oooh first "it's glorified begging" sneer of the year - BINGO!!!

My DC aren't too keen on fireworks so Guy Fawkes Night is a bit of a let down here - so I make the toffee apples for Halloween.

TheClitterati · 27/09/2018 10:59

I have no idea what our new town/neighbourhood is like at Halloween.

I was thinking of a gruesome something trapped in the garage door ......

We used to go Trick or treating in Kensington - very posh neighbourhood with lots of Americans. All the house keepers were excellent at pumpkin carving (or they got professionals in). Mine are always a bit more rustic.

Willow2017 · 27/09/2018 11:17

Bob its been celebrated in uk.for centuries😀

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