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.

YABU

If you don't want to join in the fun, turn the porch light off and ignore the door bell.

I quite like seeing the neighbourhood children in their costumes and giving them a piece of candy. They all looks so happy, excited and proud of the costumes. I love all the pirates, princesses, ghosts, pumpkins, etc. I've never had any rudeness/problems. If I run out of candy, I blow the light out in the jack-o-lantern, turn out the porch light and that's that. It's no big deal.

WorraLiberty

Triple bingo, we now have it replaced the penny for the guy

but cunts people are knocking at my fucking door

What a charming thing to say about children out having fun

Fair £5 Do people really spend £5 on sweets for random children?!

Oh yeah, mischief night, that was bad but fortunately that has phased out here over the last 20 years.

More like a tenner I'd say

"Fair £5 Do people really spend £5 on sweets for random children?!"

They're not random though, they're your neighbours.

Well, you're the type of person to call children cunts so I think misery will follow no matter what's going on with you.

Yes...more like a tenner. Why not? Spread the love. My friend bakes beautiful cakes for them too and makes little goody bags for each child.

I grew up in Birmingham too and I didn't do it and don't remember others doing it. Dh not from Birmingham remembers it as mischief night but said there was no treat about it.

Halloween was the second Christmas in our house growing up. OP did you really not know Halloween and all its traditions including trick or treat have their origins in Britain and Ireland before starting this thread? It amazes me when this comes up every year how many people refer to Halloween as an American import.

Excited we easily spend that much! Most of the kids in the village come round, so there's quite a few. And they're not random, I know most of them! DS certainly does anyway.

And yes, everyone here sticks to the rule of only knocking on doors which are decorated. I can see why people don't like it if they live places where people don't stick to it, tbh.

No, I certainly dont spend £5 on sweets for random" children...by the time you add in the baking ingredients for the Halloween cookies I make to give out its probably a whole lot more!

I find trick or treating really quite anti-social and then Is this just me being an anti-social bastard? hmmm confusing!

Trick or treating is not anti social but yes...you are anti-social. I find it strange you're so het-up about some young kids knocking on your door, telling you a joke for a sweety.

YABVU!

You think the same about choir singing at Christmas?
MISERY GUTS!

I hate it too OP. Didn't do it with my DC when they were little but they go with friends now they're at secondary school because they love the whole dressing up thing. I my or may not get a bag of sweets in case any knocks and I'm feeling tolerant but we won't decorate the house.

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

Not an issue then.

Over the year, it works out to about 1.3 pence a day. Yes, I think I can give than to children to help them celebrate an annual tradition.

But if you can't OP, that's fine of course. No-one says you have to participate. Just don't answer your door. It's a bit like fireworks going off around you. Noisy, a little intrusive but will soon be gone.

but cunts people are knocking at my fucking door.

Well aren't you just lovely. They are children FFS.

Just put a sign up and stop whinging.

I'm 37 and we went guising as children (Scotland). My mum did too. We used to learn halowe'en songs and tam o shatter at school around halowe'en time so that we could 'perform' on the door steps! We would have parties and dook for apples. This was mid 1980's. I am sure we got money for guising rather than sweets.

I'm sorry but you are being a miserable sod and I say that as someone who is disabled and really ill and who's living with constant pain.

We have 5DC and we've always bought in sweets for all the trick or treaters well before I became a parent myself.

We had over 100 trick or treaters last year,no repeaters all different children and they were all lovely,they're parents had made a real effort and helped them with they're costumes and all the children tiny upto older teens were really polite,most of them stopped to have a chat about our Halloween decorations(DH puts loads up in the garden and in the house)and said they could even remember what we'd given them sweet wise the year before.

If you don't want to join in then that's fine,you can get hold of signs that you can stick on your door now that say pretty much just that or just shut your curtains and turn of the big lights.

I think to call it begging for food is well over the top and very Scrooge like!

That'll be tam o shanter rather than shatter

Bramble As I said upthread, I love Christmas because it doesn't involve people knocking on my door begging me for sweets, never had carol singers in my life.

YANBU. I hate it. I won't let my kids do it. If my kids want sweets I will buy them some but I won't send them out bothering all the neighbours threatening to play tricks on them unless they give them sweets.
I am 45 and we never did it as kids either. We used to go to Halloween parties and do apple bobbing and other games.
And why on earth shouldn't the OP have started this thread? If you don't want to read it because it bores you then don't read it!
Threads always come round every year - that's how the site works!!!

Secondary children don't trick or treat in our town, unless they are escorting younger siblings. But I think there are a lot of parties behind closed doors.

You may have had carol singers but if you don't answer your door after dark then you wouldn't know!