Do people not understand Halloween etiquette re trick or treating?

[Notcontent]

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!

Blimey, after the year many kids have had, lets take it a bit easy on them?? They're kids, chill the f*&^ out.
So they knocked and your house was in darkness, hold the front page!

These kids have had to put up with way more than any of us had to (unless you of course had a really awful childhood, apologies if so) but for goodness sake, its one night, so what if they take more than one, so what if they don't say 'Trick or Treat!' So what if they don't have a costume, who the hell really cares, I repeat, the kids have had life bloody hard, not knowing if they're coming or going, its been a struggle for a lot of them, I know, I work with them, and they struggle, big time.
Be kind eh, let them have their night without whinging like an old bag!

Never heard of it myself I’ve never bought a pumpkin I’d be rubbish at carving plus nowhere to put it so people could see it and say I can knock there

I've never heard of just going to houses with pumpkins. When I used to trick or treat as a child we just went to every single house on the street (although I am 40 so this was many years ago now). Sometimes they answered, sometimes they didn't.

Garlic, when I was little too, and there were teens who wanted money and actually played tricks. A lot of parents and schools were very disapproving of the whole business and people would hide in the back of the house pretending not to be in.

Now school can just say only knock where there are decorations and it's much more family friendly. Almost all our visitors were under 10s. I wonder if consensus has arisen via things like local parenting social media.

Shabs, not a thing where you are then? You don't literally have to carve a pumpkin or have a doorstep to put it on if you want to invite visitors. When our kids get bored of pumpkins I'll probably just stick a paper cutout on the door or one of their old toy spiders or sthg.

It seems to be a recent (and good thing!) that you only go to decorated houses. When I was a kid we went to every house too.
Must admit I don't enjoy it but do it for the kids. We always get about 100 and it's the older ones who spoil it. Grabbing handfuls of sweets, coming back multiple times, one even knocked and walked into our house the other year!! Wtf.
5yo DS wanted to hand the sweets out this year and we had older boys saying to him "give me the sweets then, I don't like them, what else have you got etc!"
Honestly it drives me mad tbh.. will be glad when kids are old enough to give up with it and I can close the curtains and hide!!

I was fascinated on a thread on our local newspaper yesterday. A woman was getting slammed by every single person because she thought it was acceptable to go trick or treating anytime between 30th Oct-2nd Nov, depending on the schedule of the parents! When people pointed out what a cheeky fucker she was being she started calling people cretins!! She’d have been slaughtered on here 😂

Surely she must have noticed no-one gives them chocolate except on 31st BigYellowHat?! That is funny.

We did the curmudgeon thing this year - no lights, no pumpkins. One year, it took £50 worth of sweets as I did not want to get any of the very nasty ones, and I decided I did not want to do that any more. However, at 9pm, a handsome young man (15?), well dressed and not in costume came and said politely "Trick or Treat"' and I replied that I was sorry, I had none and he went away.

Because it was late and dark with no one around, I put the chain on the door before answering. I wondered if this young man was not clued up about the etiquette of Halloween, or (I am sorry to say I thought this) there was something sinister going on.

Nobody on here seems to mention the issue of the age of kids and whether parents should be accompanying them.
I would be quite happy with young kids accompanied by a parent knocking, but groups of older kids or teenagers can be intimidating for people on their own or the elderly.

My mother in law was disappointed nobody knocked on her door. She didn't have a pumpkin out nor was she aware she needed one!

I think it's a relatively new thing.

My eldest goes out with his friends now but only to the "route" that everyone does here every year and only to the decorated houses.

@DebHagland

Nobody on here seems to mention the issue of the age of kids and whether parents should be accompanying them. I would be quite happy with young kids accompanied by a parent knocking, but groups of older kids or teenagers can be intimidating for people on their own or the elderly.

I love making a fuss of the older children. They are still children! It must be horrible getting to teenage hood and everyone eyeing them with suspicion. Talk about self fulfilling prophecy if teenagers decide they might as well give up caring!

@Notcontent

I saw loads of teenagers out this year for some reason… mixed groups of girls and boys. They’d really gone to town with the costumes too.

@garlictwist

I've never heard of just going to houses with pumpkins. When I used to trick or treat as a child we just went to every single house on the street (although I am 40 so this was many years ago now). Sometimes they answered, sometimes they didn't.

I think it's well known now that you only go to houses that are decorated.

But even without the etiquette, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, so why on earth were people going round knocking on strangers' doors generally? Surely common sense says you don't disturb people who may be CEV?

@ColinTheKoala I shouldn't imagine the CEV would open the door to trick or treaters.

@Shabsy86

Omg that’s disgusting behaviour I know some kids are spoilt and expect or only appreciate money but still that’s terrible I’d say sweets or nothing! As far as the parents asking for money what the hell why are they asking for money is it so they can spend it on alcohol and drugs?? Threats of violence or just threats in general is awful where are you??? I live in the north east of England and have lived down south of England and have never experienced any sort of behaviour damn

North West england, council estate - and yes fags/booze/drugs - that's not an assumption, either, I know that from conversations overheard before hand/on the night.

Now I live in the West Midlands (still a council estate), similar things go on but its a bit less aggressive and my end of the estate is pretty quiet.

By all accounts, the nice areas round here had a lovely time, houses pre-agreeing who would take part, set routes for trick or treaters to follow and that all went well.

The less nice areas, some had kids throwing fireworks and eggs if sweets had run out or if a house wasn't participating, lots of houses had decorations smashed up.