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!

We put a huge tub of sweets out, with a note on the door to say take a sweet, they literally lasted 20 minutes, clearly someone must have tipped the lot into their bag!
Have taken the pumpkins in now and turned out the lights
I too thought it was etiquette to only go to houses that were decorated

It’s all kicking off on my local Facebook page because kids have been knocking at houses that have no decorations or lights on outside. We’ve been ignoring the ones banging on our door. It sounds like there are hordes of them out there.

When my DCs were small we’d just knock on the near neighbours doors and their DCs would come to us. Now people seem to think they need to visit everyone in the whole estate.

Have now had to turn lights off at the font to make it look like no one is home!

The lights on was your problem.

It's definitely the etiquette around here (SW) to only go to houses that are decorated and/or have pumpkins.
We've decorated our house & got four pumpkins out. Have had trick or treaters since just after 5pm. Have had quite a lot tonight - but has certainly slowed down.
Own DC went out earlier & only went to decorated houses.

When my DCs were small we’d just knock on the near neighbours doors and their DCs would come to us. Now people seem to think they need to visit everyone in the whole estate.

That's what we used to do .

"For those who demand that kids do a "turn" what about children with special needs who might not be able to do that or who'd be stressed out by the demand. It seems rather mean spirited to me."

Obviously you don't know me, but DS2 has high functioning ASD, so I would never demand a party piece. It's traditional though.
As it happens, DS2 has been on the verge of meltdown all day as he needs everything to be perfect. He wrote his jokes down so he didn't have to remember them.

@MimiDaisy11

I think hello/trick or treat and ‘thank you’ is a bit different than expecting kids to sing/tell jokes/perform. Not every child will be able to do that

I think this might be a cultural difference. In Scotland it’s been traditional to do songs/jokes when going around homes and not just come to someone’s door and ask for sweets. I think though England is more influenced by the USA and the whole trick or treaters.

Halloween is, after all, an Irish/Scottish tradition. The Americans ruined it with they’d ‘trick or treating’. As a child, we’d learn things in school to perform at people’s houses. It was fun. I was a very shy child and I managed. It helped that we only knocked on the doors of people we knew.

We have all our lights out too OP. Older DC watching a film and I am in bed. Been up since 5am. No patience for guising tonight 😩

But still, kids came to the door "trick or treat". My older DC answered the door thankfully. Even though we don't have the garden decorated🤷

@ReginaaPhalange

One thing which annoys me is we live on a good sized estate which I'd say has about 30 kids, but we get loads and loads of groups coming from much further afield which I'd rather open my door to the kids on our estate.... obviously not possible though.

Our estate is like that. People drive over here from a distance away as they feel it is a safe and welcoming estate on Halloween. It means we get dozens and dozens of callers some years. I've been known to go through hundreds of sweets in the past. You see cars pulling up and parking on the surrounding roads. We've even had minibuses turn up before!

I've given about 50 gift bags out tonight. My favourite to answer the door to are the embarrassed teenagers in hoodies. I love being over the top thrilled to see them and embarrassing them even more.

@mathanxiety

Have now had to turn lights off at the font to make it look like no one is home!

The lights on was your problem.

I made the fatal error of putting on kitchen light to empty dishwasher before bed😬 I got rumbled😂

Kids/parents do what they want round here. There is a couple of mothers who 'own' (in their own words) the streets Facebook page and think they have full run to do whatever they like in the street (including who parks here/where but that's another story) . Have had lots of banging this evening. One year we had eggs throw at our bedroom window by teenagers. Our street is a long row of small Victorian terraces so my living room is at the front. I don't see why I should go and hide in darkness in my own house to avoid people knocking on my door. I have the light and tv on but no Halloween decorations up. I actually love Halloween, fancy dress, Halloween parties, 'spooky season' etc. But there is something about trick or treating that doesn't sit right with me. I hate people knocking on my door as it is due to my ASD.

I'm Irish and late 30s, we never did a turn. My Grandad used to talk about it, but I never heard of anyone singing a song or telling a joke in my lifetime.

@woodhill

It's a funny night to have it as everyone is preparing to go back to school here after half term plus being a Sunday doesn't sit right with me.

We were out last night but if we had been in we would have opened our door

For me, T&T is only meant to happen in 31 October. It doesn't have to be late. It's dark by 5pm at the moment; often earlier in this weather.

I won't answer the door to T&T on any other day.

No one gets their hand near my bucket of sweets. I tell them to hold out their bags and I dole them out. The sweets last a lot longer that way.

I've had quite a few including a skeleton, an angel of death, some jedis, something I think might have been from Halo and most terrifying of all...a cow. She was about knee high and moo'd mournfully as I opened the door. 10/10

I live in a flat in London and we never get trick or treaters and it makes me sad 😂

I absolutely love Halloween and have the house all decorated and lots of sweets in. We've had about 5-6 small groups which is a lot less than usual and I think it's pretty much finished now. Will take the decorations down soon.

I do think it's a little sad that more people don't do it but I do understand not everyone is into it generally, has spare money for sweets or is feeling it this year in particular. But I know some people who take their own children trick or treating but then don't give out sweets themselves and that seems a little unfair (but again if it's a money issue then totally understandable).

@MindyStClaire

I'm Irish and late 30s, we never did a turn. My Grandad used to talk about it, but I never heard of anyone singing a song or telling a joke in my lifetime.

I grew up in NI and we did Halloween rhyming when I was growing up! We had to say a little poem and people usually gave us money. The first time someone gave me food instead of money I thought they were a bit bonkers tbh.

We also carved turnips (aka swedes). But I do think NI is a bit more old fashioned than even the rest of Ireland in some ways... but maybe that's wrong.

I'm 38 fwiw.

When I was young we roamed all over our estate without any adults. Into living-rooms of people, we didn't know we sang a song or told a joke. Went home with a plastic bag of apples, nuts, tangerines and 20ps.

@Buzzinwithbez

I've given about 50 gift bags out tonight. My favourite to answer the door to are the embarrassed teenagers in hoodies. I love being over the top thrilled to see them and embarrassing them even more.

Literally just had 3 young men at the door. Their ‘costume’ was a face mask They sheepishly asked for sweets and I said that as they were so big they could take 2.

They were lucky to get me and not DH, he wouldn’t have been so accommodating.

@MimiDaisy11

I think hello/trick or treat and ‘thank you’ is a bit different than expecting kids to sing/tell jokes/perform. Not every child will be able to do that

I think this might be a cultural difference. In Scotland it’s been traditional to do songs/jokes when going around homes and not just come to someone’s door and ask for sweets. I think though England is more influenced by the USA and the whole trick or treaters.

Given that I’m Scottish I don’t think it’s a cultural difference. Not much difference between Scotland and where I live now, some people will still ask for a joke etc others don’t.

Very busy here- all the kids have a joke or a song. Had around 50 kids since 5pm and still coming- rural Scotland.
FML, 50 songs, I think I’d rather have my house egged.

And in my experience as a child trick or treating in Scotland you said ‘trick or treat’ got some sweets and said ‘thank you.’ No asking for ‘turns’ of songs/jokes etc.

Exemplary behaviour here.

Have seen a fair amount of people out TT but haven't had a single knock (we have no decorations or lights out front on etc)

No drama, no issues. Same an every year to be honest..