Whats everyone doing for Halloween this week?

[Doughnuts68]

Whats everyone doing for Halloween this week?

Oh wow.. no day(s) off in Scotland at all? Some very tired kids in school the next day then (unless they went to bed as normal). We stayed out past midnight..after doing the usual going door to door begging in disguise when it got dark, setting off fireworks (and bangers), I recall often sitting by our local bonfire til very late.

Lol yeah the scorched turnips...god the stench after a while. More than three decades on since I last carved one I can still smell it now. They did look pretty amazing as lanterns, although I’m so envious I never got the chance to carve the pumpkins that are common today. The faces on turnips are fine, but you can do so much more with a pumpkin.

@RLScott did you have to hollow out the turnip too? I guess so if it was supposed to be a lantern, right?

Oh wow.. no day(s) off in Scotland at all? Some very tired kids in school the next day then (unless they went to bed as normal). We stayed out past midnight..after doing the usual going door to door begging in disguise when it got dark, setting off fireworks (and bangers), I recall often sitting by our local bonfire til very late.

Nope - our October week was last week (although we've got an extra day this week as it was already a local holiday on the day of the queens funeral so we got one in lieu). People with young dc or those who can't cope with a late night just go out guising earlier (helps that it gets dark significantly earlier here) but guising stops long before midnight - no one would have any sweets left much past 8.30/9 and bonfires are for November 5th. Many dc are a bit tired the next day, mine cope well with the odd late night though, tbh they don't go to be much later than normal anyway they aren't early sleepers. Every now and then I still buy a turnip for dc to carve - its character building (although I actually prefer it - less slimy than a pumpkin) 😆

Yes you hollow it - hack and scrape with a combination of knife and spoon. Generally bend a few and damage your wrist in the process 🤣

If the Celtic custom that is Halloween ever gets as big in England as it has always been in Ireland and Scotland (and I think it probably will) then kids in England will surely have to get the day off (and the day after). ridiculous that people get a day off for Halloween. Seriously I’ve heard it all now.

Luckily my DC are grown up now but I never allowed trick or treating as it’s nothing short of glorified begging. A belief which was cemented one year when, when I didn’t open the door to some littl kids trick or treating with their father he shouted “miserable fucking cunt” through my letterbox.

the problem with Halloween is that while for some it is just a bit of fun, for far too many it is an excuse to go round threatening older people in their home,s, egging and spray painting people’s cars and houses, generally causing malicious damage. Trick or treating should be illegal past the age of 8 then maybe we wouldn’t have these issues on Halloween, but as it is the police and fire service are extra busy on Halloween sorting out frankly anti social behaviour under the guise of “just a bit of fun.”

DD is an adult, but loves Halloween. She went pumpkin picking on Friday and is going to a Halloween themed party next weekend.

We are old gimmers and don't do anything for Halloween.

Nowt.

We're doing our usual if having a few of the DC's friends over for sone food, then off out T/T'ing.

I stay at home with the wine and a few friends and open the door

Praying for rain next Monday.

Yes to both. The lantern kinda looks like this:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Gaelic_folk_influence

Carving out the eyes and mouth was always tricky on a turnip (it looks much easier with a pumpkin).

Ahh never consisted the slime element. Pumpkins do look amazing though. The faces you can create are far greater than with a turnip which is quite limited (I vaguely recall us having to discard one or two turnips when the carving went awry).

Bonfire at Halloween is unique to Ireland I think...it’s the major difference between here and Scotland. Guy Fawkes Night never took off here (for obvious reasons).

Nothing. It's all crap.

Thats awful someone would shout that (especially in front of their child). I’ve never experienced anything like that (both as a kid going around the houses and as an adult handing out sweets). We have home video of us as kids in the eighties doing it as well as footage of my mum handing out stuff at the door and she would ask the kids to do something (which was traditional)...great memories.

Bit more background on the custom which I think is a great one (when it’s not abusive like you endured). From The Irish Times (Oct 2014) on late 19th century Ireland and Scotland:

“Scotland and Ireland started tricking: A few decades later a practice called ‘guising’ was in full swing in Scotland and Ireland. Short for ‘disguising’, children would go out from door to door dressed in costume and rather than pledging to pray, they would tell a joke, sing a song or perform another sort of “trick” in exchange for food or money. The expression trick or treat has only been used at front doors for the last 10 to 15 years. Before that "Help the Halloween Party" seems to have been the most popular phrase to holler.”

Nothing we do stuff on 5th Nov which is an important historic event
Kids have never had any interest in H ween

Being ill and getting a dog. The well members of the family went pumpkin picking-up yesterday and Halloween-loving teenage dd1 has a weekend of Halloween stuff planned here with friends but if we don't recover enough to blitz the house and settle the poor dog she'll have to find another venue!

We break up on Friday and fly somewhere warm and sunny straight away.
can’t wait!

DC had school disco on Friday. On Saturday we went to local farm we have annual passes for, which had really good Halloween stuff including a circus. DS2 has been very excited by Halloween so has instigated lots of activities, including decorating the house, making Halloween pictures, having a Halloween-themed meal and making potions. We've got some Halloween biscuits to decorate still. DS2 has been invited to a Halloween-themed birthday party on Saturday. On Monday we will go trick or treating. Definitely need to fit apple bobbing and eating doughnuts hanging on strings in somewhere, maybe on Sunday. I've also done a week of Meg and Mog themed activities at the school I work at. I love Halloween!

I forgot, we also watched Hotel Transylvania 4

I went to the trunk or treat at my church today, and that'll be it. I'm meeting a friend on Halloween day, but I'm not doing anything else. I normally feel really excited about Halloween and this year I don't. And I've broken with tradition and not dressed up as my favourite character from Harry Potter this year!

he shouted “miserable fucking cunt” through my letterbox

Did he, aye?

Went to see the Blackpool illuminations.

Been pumpkin picking.

Long autumn walks.

It was my birthday so went to a nice restaurant for food.

As little as possible, I hate the pressure and expectation to ‘do things’ for Halloween!
ds chose a pumpkin and we carved it, his sister will take him out trick or treating on Monday. And that’s the end of it in this house!

It has been Halloween since January 2020 and it looks like it is going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. No need for light entertainment on one night of the year. Shit just got real.