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Original poster

Do people not understand Halloween etiquette re trick or treating?

365 replies

Notcontent · 31/10/2021 17:44

I thought the rule was you only knock on doors where there are obvious decorations or lit pumpkins - basically an invitation to come?

We usually do it and have lots of sweets but I just didn’t feel up to it this year. Teen dd has gone out and it’s just me at home. No decorations at all. And some kids have just come knocking. Have now had to turn lights off at the font to make it look like no one is home!

OP posts:
Marmelace · 31/10/2021 23:07

@Aardvarkitsabloodyaardvark

For those of us celebrating Samhain, blessed be. Its not just a reason for the little ones to dress up, get sweets and then take the piss out of us that believe the rest of the year.
Blessed Be xxxx
Waitwhat23 · 31/10/2021 23:08

Howeved, the kids don't tend to get invited inside now (it seems a bit bizarre looking back that you'd just go into stranger's houses!), it's all done on the doorstep.

TrashyPanda · 31/10/2021 23:14

@DDMAC

Where we live in Ireland it was the ‘wren boys’ would dress up and sing a song on NY day I believe I’ve never heard of it being tradition for Halloween. Children around here now don’t do a trick unless asked.
We used to have the town band go round early on the morning on NY Day. Playing VERY LOUDLY indeed.

I don’t know if they were teetotallers, or if they’d just stayed up drinking all night so didn’t yet have a hangover.

This was the era that kids allowed to go first footing round the houses were also expected to “do a turn” for the adults. No excuses were accepted.

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Mamanyt · 31/10/2021 23:16

Here in the US, it is "porch light on, fair game." I'll be turning my own off around 9 PM. After that, it's mostly cheeky teens, not even in costume. They're old enough to buy their own candy.

TidyOmlette · 31/10/2021 23:25

It’s also a rule that if your child is out accepting treats you really should have treats for other kids.

NameChangeNameShange · 31/10/2021 23:29

We live in a TorT tourist place, probably had 150+ kids come round. It's one night, a few streets in the village go all out, I buy a ridiculous amount of candy and it all goes in about 2.5 hours. So I do understand why people travel here and normally I don't care, but a couple of things can be annoying. I noticed this year a fair amount of teens with no costume, maybe a cowboy hat or mask in their bag coming round. My teens were told full on costume or you don't go out, one did (13 probably her last year) and the older one wasn't bothered as helped me do the treats.
And there is one family been coming for the last 5 years, started with babies and toddlers now obviously older, no costumes, and it's the adults that grab handfuls, the kids just hang back. But meh, it's one family out of the crowds so it happens, DS and I laugh about it and then life moves on.

JedEye · 31/10/2021 23:31

The decorations and pumpkins rule is followed here. They say ‘truck or treat?’ You give them a sweet. They thank you and wish you a Happy Halloween.

Much better than when I was growing up. Kids knocked on every door and if you didn’t answer they threw a stink bomb through the letterbox or squirted shaving foam on the car or some other nasty thing. My parents used to freak out and I hated it because it was the boys from school. Hmm

I much prefer it how it is now!!

MissMaple82 · 31/10/2021 23:33

Stop moaning... kids don't actually think of etiquette, they just try their luck with each house

SkiingIsHeaven · 31/10/2021 23:35

Give them apples. They will never ever come back and they tell people so it deters other potential trick or treaters. Plus it is more healthy.

Whitefire · 31/10/2021 23:42

@MissMaple82

Stop moaning... kids don't actually think of etiquette, they just try their luck with each house
No but their parents should. We have a lot of elderly people in my immediate area, they shouldn't have to put up with a massive group of children hammering on their door.
Whitefire · 31/10/2021 23:43

@SkiingIsHeaven

Give them apples. They will never ever come back and they tell people so it deters other potential trick or treaters. Plus it is more healthy.
Not hardcore enough, chocolate covered Brussel sprouts is the way to do it.
JohnStonesMissus · 31/10/2021 23:43

I thought it was just us but it seems most places are quiet this evening, I live in the centre of a village but there's hardly been any trick or treaters, a couple of years ago my door was knocking non stop right up until 9pm, I would be able to stand at the end of my drive and see loads of groups of children dressed up walking through the village, the door has only knocked 4 times tonight and no one knocked after 7.30..

SatsumaPumpkinFace · 31/10/2021 23:52

*I'm not legally obliged to spend my money on other people’s ill-mannered, and already vastly over-nourished children.

SatsumaPumpkinFace · 31/10/2021 23:52

I'm not legally obliged to spend my money on other people’s ill-mannered, and already vastly over-nourished children.

Oh dear.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 31/10/2021 23:54

We’ve no pumpkin or decorations, mainly because the cat is already so upset by fireworks and tends to get startled by the doorbell anyway. No trick or treaters, so plenty of sweeties for us!

SkiingIsHeaven · 31/10/2021 23:55

@Whitefire Apples was all I had in the house to give. I wasn't trying to get rid of them but afterwards I realised the genius of, it if that was someone's intention.

GiBlues · 01/11/2021 00:04

We’ve had over 200 kids here tonight, parent driving from the local towns to come here to trick or treat and they have trampled over gardens, bashed and kicked doors of residents that are quite obviously not partaking in Halloween. Even overheard one parent phone their mates to tell them to come to our estate as “they’re loaded up here”.
We have our whole garden, house and driveway decorated since we’ve lived here and both me and hubby have said we’re not doing it next year.

People just take the piss.

Biffatcrafts · 01/11/2021 00:10

In Spain here and in our village the kids were great. They only knock at decorated houses, or ones with a sign up saying please knock.

They don't tell jokes though, but will sing a song or give you a sweet from their bags (I think the idea is they give a sweet and then hopefully get 3 or 4 in return).

We had around 40 children come to our door and without fail every child said thank you when they got their sweets. As a foreigner living here it was so nice to be included by everyone, and a lot of the kids even tried practicing their English with us, which was so cute. It was also lovely that loads of the parents took the time to say thank you as well.

Have to admit I loved every second of it Smile

LouScot · 01/11/2021 00:13

I've been working tonight so wasn't home, but if I had been I'd have really been tempted to put up a "guisers only" sign.. As per pps, if I had been home any one just saying trick or treat without "a turn" would be given short shrift Grin

DappyApple · 01/11/2021 01:13

The decorated/pumpkin houses are definitely a recent thing. My dd last went out Halloween-ing 6 years ago (too old after that) and the kids just knocked, regardless whether you were decorated or not. I stopped handing out sweeties after that as my cat is absolutely petrified of anyone coming to the front door.

This is only the third year of following “Decorated Houses only” round here, which I’m glad about to be honest saves me trying to make my house look like we’re in the middle of a blackout!

Also Trick or Treating is a relatively newish term, we went out Halloween-ing. Actually we still use this term personally. As do most people I know, that were raised here.
Also we used to have to sing a rhyme, nobody ever said Trick or Treat, again that was originally taught to dcs I’m not sure when, but it gradually morphed into Trick or Treat over the years.

MimiDaisy11 · 01/11/2021 02:17

@LouScot

I've been working tonight so wasn't home, but if I had been I'd have really been tempted to put up a "guisers only" sign.. As per pps, if I had been home any one just saying trick or treat without "a turn" would be given short shrift Grin
It’s a shame all signs and decorations you get in shops in Scotland just have the American terms ‘trick or treat’, nothing about guisers. It’d be good to see some Scottish stuff.

To answer OP, where I grew up you had to pretend you weren’t in to avoid children ringing. Most houses didn’t have decorations but did give out sweets.

Chickenkatsu · 01/11/2021 10:26

@Divebar2021 I've heard about mischief night, where was that? New England somewhere?

Divebar2021 · 01/11/2021 10:50

@Chickenkatsu

We had Mischief night growing up in the East Midlands and I know there are places around Yorkshire and other parts of the north that it occurred. I imagine we exported it to the US…. It’s not new it dates back to the 1700s.

Chickenkatsu · 01/11/2021 11:01

Yes, I know its not new, @Divebar2021 I thought that it died out in the UK and just continued in the NE US. Does it still continue now? I'd be a bit scared if it was still on

Divebar2021 · 01/11/2021 11:09

@Chickenkatsu

I live in the south now and no-ones heard of it. I’ve instigated a conversation on a FB page for my home town and there’s lots of memories of it but I think it’s probably not done now.