Not trick or treating this year?

[MsMiaWallace]

Anyone else not taking their kids trick or treating this Halloween?

@Mojoj

We don't go "trick or treating" as we're not American. We will however be going guising.

Pedant

@Mojoj

We don't go "trick or treating" as we're not American. We will however be going guising.

Ding ding. The winner of the most predictable answer prize goes to you

We will be going big again this year because it's fun & we love it. We will start decorating the house & yard next weekend 👻

What's the consensus on too old? Y7+? Not cute, could worry people?

Mine are too old now but used to love it. Only a few short years where they are old enough to go and not too old to feel silly… it’s a childhood memory that I wouldn’t deprive my kids of if they were small. Some right miseries on here!

I'm talking mine but just like usual will only go to decorated houses.

Absolutely yes. DD will be having several friends over for a party and they will be going out trick or treating. She and her friends are very much looking forward to it and already planning their outfits and games.

I love appropriating the best bits of other countries’ celebrations. Wouldn’t eat pike for Christmas though.

I’ll have sweets and a pumpkin out as usual. As a granny, I love to see little trick or treaters having fun.

They deserve a bit of fun after the year we have had.

Fed up of trick or treaters. Why anyone would let their children collect gut- rotting confectionery from strangers is beyond me. "Don't take sweets from strangers" is one of the first things you teach a child . I wish the whole thing would go back to America where it came from!

Halloween is not an Americanism, it's a Celtic harvest festival called Samhain. It marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter.

The tradition of dressing up or guising, has it's roots in paganism whereby people believed that on Samhain, ghosts, fairies and other worldly beings roamed the land. In wearing masks people believed they'd be protected from abduction to fairy lands. The offering of fruit, nuts, potato cakes etc was to receive offerings on behalf of the spirits, and also give thanks for a good harvest.

I no longer live in my home country but I wholeheartedly embrace its customs; lighting candles in windows to light the way of the undead and leave fruit and nuts on my doorstep for passing spirits.

I also embrace the modern development of decorating our house and garden with fake tombstones, spiders web etc.

No but not because of covid just because we never go.

@lynntheyresexpeople

Absolutely no one calls it guising, come on ffs 😂😂

Only if you think that Scotland is 'no-one'. Typical English imperialism.

Our estate is doing what we did last year, bagged up sweets.

No, I'm doing the same as what I did last year. Dress living room up and doing a few Halloween games, fun tea. Halloween pjs and movie goosebumps or something not too scary with treats & sweets. My children loved it and didn't miss out.

We'll be going out. Last year some houses left out bags of sweets and we did a that but it'll be nice to do it 'properly'. People do only go to decorated houses around here.

I do love a Mumsnet Halloween thread though. They're always fun to read!

Yes we plan to. We went last year also, neighbours had bowls out the front and kids were asked to select one thing for their bag without rummaging - Im sure they all followed that instruction 🙈

I don’t have kids (yet!) but will decorate, carve some pumpkins etc. I’m a 7 year old trapped in a 47yr old’s body. I hope that we get some trick or treaters but I doubt it as we live down a country lane and not sure the neighbours are into Halloween 🎃

We went on a pumpkin hunt last year and gave the kids sweets every time they saw one. Seemed like a good compromised.

I’d be very happy to go back to trick or treating this year, I’m just not sure how many houses would want to take part

@User5827372728

Blimey, lots of you would have a hearts attack if you walked through a secondary school, 1000 kids touching the same door handles, In an assembly sat side by side with 400 kids, 600 in dining halls together etc

Are you seriously concerned about kids outside touching the same wrapped sweets as others?!!!!!

That's my thinking too. My 3 kids go to school and every second day I'm receiving the standard "a school contact has tested positive..... no need to take any action...." letters emailed.

According to my teacher friend, the new ruling is that your kid pretty much needs to have licked a person with Covid to be classed as a close contact now.

There were 10 confirmed cases in our small school last week and not many people were contacted by contact and trace. Against the new government advice the school told did tell us to test and only re-attend once we had a negative result. No one in the class tested positive so all were able to attend and only missed one day off.

I don't know how it spreads but it doesn't seem to spread as easy to everyone. My kid will be out at halloween - he goes to school but it's also no different to bring at the shop and buying something lots of other people have probably touched 🤷🏻‍♀️

@lynntheyresexpeople

Absolutely no one calls it guising, come on ffs 😂😂

A full country does but sure absolutely no one

Yes!! Our little village did a smashing job last year and I think it will carry on in the same vain. There was no door knocking, but gardens were decorated and pumpkins filled with wrapped sweets or lollies sticking out of them. Kids loved it.

Never heard of guiding until this thread

Yes, I love Halloween and especially trick or treaters. Live seeing their little faces at my door and giving out sweets. I'm not worried about COVID being sat in a bowl of sweets because I'm just not a worrier of things that won't happen.