To think that trick or treating is basically begging?

[AndyWarholsOrange]

I actually don't think that at all but am surprised that no one has started the obligatory thread about it yet so thought I may as well start one. Also, Haloween is American and allowing children to have anything to so with it will lead to them worshipping Satan. Have I missed anything?

I bought myself a witches hat and broom

You should only be allowed to knock on your own door, (dressed only as a rabbit so you don't actually scare your folks and so the neighbours don't assume you're into devil worship) and only receive half a satsuma. Any sweets received from the neighbours must be xrayed before DC are allowed to even look at them.

Obviously, I now need a dog so I can buy that fabulous costume.

I saw this thread title and thought "Ah, the annual T&T begging thread, must be time to start my Christmas shopping."

But it's not a real begging thread at all, so what are my poor children supposed to do for Christmas presents now? Their poor sad little faces on Christmas morning will be all your fault, OP. I hope you feel proud of yourself. [sadface]

Scrambled I'm not actually being serious if you read my OP.

Viva your dog is gorgeous. I am now pondering whether to try dressing up my cat.

We love Halloween in our house for it's spirit and the build up to it but I have the trick and treating bit, never took my kids out for it !

Personally i don't like halloween. I don't like the kids on this estate 364 days of the year so why i would like them for the 365th i do not know. I put a sign up saying 'No Trick or Treaters' and sit in the dark which generally does the trick.

Jerseyspud i agree with you. I hate Halloween cos its my birthday with a passion. I get kids where i live who are quite happy to pick on DS but expect sweets when its Halloween! I usually put a sign up asking them not to knock but some still do so i get some peace. I think if you want to go out then do so but only go to people you know. Not strangers.

What a shame. Halloween is lovely in Scotland, in fact I think it might be Scottish in origin - it's certainly Celtic. We don't have trick or treating we have guising which is where children you know come disguised and you have to guess who they are. They have to do a wee party piece like a joke or a song before they can have any sweets, it's really very cute.

I don't like it, have never taken DD and never answer my front door.

We enjoy it in our rural village. I just love to see all the children in their costumes. We do 2 or 3 pumpkins and get in/make treats for everyone. What's nice is the excitement of the children being out in the dark (no street lights here). They always have a mum or dad with them, dressed up too and looking sheepish.
When we first moved here, the little ones got a terrible fright when my husband opened the door, as he's as black as coal and all they saw were his white teeth. Much more scary than any mask!

Oh yes

Someone has to come on and tell everyone it's called 'guising' in Scotland

Otherwise this thread is invalid I'm afraid

It's tantamount to the NRA and the NSA using British children to cunningly infiltrate the homes of kind old elderly Brits who fought in the war in order to coerce them into buying American brands of sweets and so the Americans can take over the world by stealth and impose their nefarious ways on us innocent Brits.

Thanks Worra I knew there was something about Scotland that I'd forgotten.

I've just done that Worra, the thread is validated, carry on :)

Pheww!

I love it cos it gives me an excuse to carve some pumpkins (it's bloody addictive!). Sadly shoving them all on display on the shed does mean it also draws the kids to the house, but hey, ya can't have everything LOL!

(I have sweets prepared this year!)

My husband's uncle suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of Halloween antics of a particular nasty sort. Culprits decided to cause him and his wife extreme anxiety which the Court acknowledged at the time. This has coloured our perception of Halloween. This and flour and eggs plastered over my daughter's car when she didn't answer. I gave some young people some satusmas as I didn't have sweets. They said thank you but chucked it out on the pathway. I gave money the next time to children who were not of our neighbourhood but whose parent sat in a car nearby. However, really enjoyed supplying children I knew with money or sweets. All fine if done in the right spirit.

As an American: it's gotten out of hand there! Used to be a bit of fun one evening for small children, with a bit of trouble by teens sometimes. Now it's an excuse for all sorts of binge drinking and exhibitionism by adults beginning the weekend before and stretching to the weekend after. Even for the little kids it has gotten crazy, everyone gives out the candy they dreamed of getting as children: full size chocolate bars and the like, rather than the various (cheap) hard candies and taffy of yore. And every activity they do: scouts, sports, youth group, even school has to have an event too, so at least the parents get their moneys worth of wearings of the expensive ready made costume, meanwhile, the kids stash of candy is too large for decency before Halloween even arrives!

That being said, my son-in-law works for an online costume retailer, their october is like most companies December, overtime every week. Employees and family members do much of the modelling, and their photos often get used as if they are clip art in articles the world over. I spotted him on the BBC website last week! The upside of this is: the company is very slow in December, so they can travel and bring the grandbaby for the holidays.

Trick or treating and jack o lanterns actually originated in Ireland so you can blame the Irish for that . Americans just love the holidays in general, I envy them for how much they get into the spirit of things tbh. We're miserable sods over here who don't want to be bothered with any of that fun stuff or probably by strangers in general. The roots of Halloween are actually way further back than Americans so don't go blaming my cheerful friends now.

I LOVE halloween. It's so much fun. We decorate our house, dress up and have Halloween themed food for the entire day. Oh and of course watch Halloween movies like hocus pocus and Halloween Town. Nothing dark about it here, just a lot of candy corn fun!

I used to love it as a kid.

I take my two begging every year and they seem to love it too.

I always keep a bag of sweets for kids.

You bunch of misery gutses.

You bunch of misery gutses

That seems rather unfair. People are perfectly at liberty not to like it and be able to say so.

Of course they are.

And my opinion, which I am taking the liberty of expressing, is that people are misery gutses.

PiperIs and Mayz can have a lollipop for spelling Hallowe'en correctly with the e'e

BTW -eggs are a bugger to get off anything, my car got egged by some tit on a bus. Even though I wiped it, the egg got into the rubber seals and not even a jetwash would shift it properly.

Maryz to tell people about spelling when I don't spell a posters name right

that wasn't directed at Maryz it was a correction BTW.