to really hate the idea of trick or treating and wonder why the fuck it's become a 'thing'?

[Excitedtoday]

I find trick or treating really quite anti-social. Why is it acceptable to be rocking up at someone's house on a dark evening basically begging for food? You don't know who lives there or what the effect of you knocking might be. For example, an elderly or disabled person who can't get to the door easily or someone who, for whatever reason, feels vulnerable in their own home.

Perhaps it's just because an anti-social cowbag and I hate people knocking on my door that I'm not expecting, especially at night.

And I also wonder how recently this has become a 'thing' that loads and loads of people do? When I was younger, I'm 25, no-one went trick or treating but over the last few years I've noticed my friends who are parents and family doing it as a matter of routine and I just wonder when that happened?

Is this just me being an anti-social bastard?

BTW, no children and never answer my door after dark whether its Halloween or not.

I got annoyed one year as we'd gone out for a meal specifically to not be bothered by TorT and some children came in the restaurant and asked every table for sweets. They didn't get anything.
I was put off the whole thing quite young by the children at my primary school who did it. It wasn't good natured, they would plan how to be quite menacing and who would carry the eggs. They were no respecters of the idea that if there were no decorations then you didn't knock and they would turn on kids whose families hadn't given out sweets the following day at school.
The children where I live now don't seem to have been told about not knocking if there are no decorations. Not been egged yet though.

I really resent the way Americans take other cultures' customs and traditions, commercialise the fuck out of them and re-package them back to us as a new Yankee branded enterprise with full corporate backing.

Ridiculous.

America doesn't force their brand of Halloween on us, the shops here have decided all by themselves that it will be a money maker for them. So go be angry with Tesco or whoever if you're that irked by it, but to resent America for it is stupid.

" I really resent the way Americans take other cultures' customs and traditions "

which 'Americans' would those be, specifically?

Lisbeth, I admit it, it's me. That's how I spend my free time, forcing trick or treating, baby showers, and proms on unsuspecting UK residents. Sorry.

I can imagine you now Steff, pounding the streets of North London, handing out witches' capes and forcing treat buckets onto unsuspecting Brit kids.

steff next you'll be arranging those not at all creepy Purity balls where teen girls dress in white gowns and promise their Daddy that their vagina will remain unexplored till they're a respectable married lady.

2016 the year Purity Balls sweep the UK. Perhaps.

Steff let's coerce them to do away with unnecessary vowels next, eh?

I really resent the way Americans take other cultures' customs and traditions, commercialise the fuck out of them and re-package them back to us as a new Yankee branded enterprise with full corporate backing. And it isn't an American tradition anyway...America just morphed it into what it is today.

Opps, sorry....disregard last comment, totally read the post wrong.

CheerfulYank whatever do you mean? do you mean like the London pronunciation of 'boots'?

They're just children, it's just once a year ... I can't believe this a forum for mums. You're being quite mean. Would it kill you to open the door and smile while giving a kid a lollipop. It's not hard work!! And a pack of lollies cost way more than your fags!

Can you not read? I've posted and said I'm disabled, other posters have said the same too, people have posted saying they've been at their grandparents' houses because they have Alzheimer's and the Trick or Treaters scare the life out of them.

Getting up to open the door won't kill me, but it will make my already severe pain worse.It will put me in bed, crying in pain for at least a week. It's more than hard work for me to get out of my chair, hence why I don't do it unless I deem it absolutely necessary.

We don't all live in a Mary Poppins type bubble, where we float to the door with a bluebird on our shoulder to give the little darlings some sweeties. Oh, and I don't smoke either!

i used to do it, gave sweets to kids....one year I didn't and got my van egged

now I turn the doorbell of and ignore.

I go out trick or treating on Halloween and I take my children. It would be hard to stay at home knowing what fun was going on outside.

There are swarms of kids where we live. We get hundreds of knocks. The majority of houses have not a pumpkin, but several pumpkins, carved in hundreds of designs, and a slew of decorations. Last year we visited load of houses totally decked out top to bottom. On one street there was a stilt walker dressed as the grim reaper, on the next street someone had set up a 'crime scene' populated by werewolves, our close neighbours have an entire A/V set up with microphones, spooky music, fog machines, the lot. One set of neighbours always do a fire juggling show. Last year we dug graves in our front garden and stuck pumpkin heads in them. This year we're decorating the green with spooky glowing eyes as our contribution to this once a year evening festival of fun lasting 4-9pm. The local pub serves pie and peas from a takeaway table at the front. The local shop does the same with awesome samosas and chickpeas. The local church has a table outside as well giving out sweets.

My elderly, disabled and autistic relatives live in the same area. They sometimes take part, but no decorations=no knocks, and they have a normal evening.

I think it is a bit daft to assume that Halloween traditions and execution are the same in every community in every city in every town everywhere.

YANBU to say that you don't enjoy the tradition of trick or treating in the area you live at this time in your life. I never want anyone to be bothered by our Halloween traditions.

YABU to say you dislike all trick or treating done by anyone anywhere. It's not living in a bubble to say that some places and some families manage trick or treating very well and considerately.

OP, YANBU

If all trick-or-treaters were young children escorted by their parents and respected the peace and privacy of the homes with no Halloween decoration or no porch lights, you wouldn't see these threads.

The cute little kids and considerate parents aren't the problem. It's the aggressive teenagers who put me off. They bang on my door even if there is no outside light or pumpkin, I'm afraid.

People can enjoy Halloween as much as they like, just don't disturb people who want to be left in peace!

Now I just go out for a movie on Halloween night.

Those who think the OP is unreasonable--don't get mad at her, get mad at the yobs and inconsiderate parents who ruin it for everyone.

I grew up in the countryside in Northern Ireland and never came across trick or treaters until I moved to a village with my own family! We personally do not celebrate halloween, I don't like the costumes, ghost/ghoulies, story behind it all so therefore my boys won't be trick or treating, they will have sweets & treats we've bought BUT any child that comes to my door will get a bag of treats & a smile wondering if they'll come now when I've no pumpkin out

Lisbeth no, I mean like colour, paediatrician, coeliac, etc. :o

oh yes Yank,those. I much prefer the 'merican spelling personally!
What I really love is saying 'aluminum' and 'lieutenant' American style really loudly and watching various Brits twitch with rage...

I dont mind it when its young kids dressed up but it really annoys me when teenagers turn up in tracksuits, 1/ why are they even trick or treating at that age, and 2/ atleast make an effort!
Also hate it when you run out of sweets and have to give out everything and anything you can find in cupboards because you dont want the house getting eggd

I was born in 1970 in the south east and trick or treating was completely unknown to me until I was about 25. I don't really like it but if everyone adheres to the 'rules' there's no harm in it, I guess. Do sympathise with those who live in areas with inconsiderate teens though.

Here the rule seems to be only knock if the house is decorated or has a pumpkin on the front step.

We just ignore and have no problems but my elderly aunt has been very frightened by late-night teenagers outside.

Last year a neighbour put up a sign saying "No trick or treaters aged 10 and under welcome" which he said worked well.

Sorry, that "No" shouldn't be there

I dont mind it when its young kids dressed up but it really annoys me when teenagers turn up in tracksuits, 1/ why are they even trick or treating at that age
Is there a cut of age for liking sweets?

Any more room on the miserable bench? I'm in my 40s and it wasn't a thing in the town I grew up in (Kent). We did occasionally have a party at home so we could dress up and do bobbing for apples and tell spooky stories by candlelight.

I love Halloween and all things spooky but I detest trick or treat. We do get them banging on the door when we have no lights on and no decorations and its nearly always young teens or around the 15/16 age group. The house and cars have been egged before, we've had mud thrown too.

We have taken part in the past and the tiny tots with their parents were lovely, the older ones became very menacing particularly if the sweets ran out as they promptly demanded cash!

We normally go out now to avoid it all.

We did it in Dublin when I was young. We never called it 'trick or treating' though and would say 'help the Hallowe'en party' to whoever opened the door. We mainly got fruit and nuts, not sweets.

However, I do understand that not everyone feels comfortable opening their door to strangers in this day and age, so I agree that only knocking at doors which have decorations up is the best way to handle it.

I don't think the OP is being mean or a Grinch. A lot of people don't want kids knocking on their doors for various reasons. As long as kids stick to neighbours they know or houses with decorations, then fair enough.

Oh and I agree, older teenagers in track suits shouldn't be out trick or treating. That's intimidating to a lot of people.