To think she was rude! Trick or Treating, am I a CF?

[forwhatyouare]

Long story short, we went trick or treating as an extended family tonight. About 5 kids in total, including my 1 year old.

I came to the door for every knock (we only knock on decorated houses or those with a few pumpkins), and collected sweets in a bag for my DS.

On one of the knocks, I collected a sweet in the bag and the woman who answered pulled me to the side and said "He looks cute, he's getting these for you though I suppose "

I said "haha", thinking I had mistaken her tone and she was joking. She was not. She said "I saw you eating them from across the road".

If truth be told, I was eating a sweet a little earlier.

AIBU to say this is bloody rude?!

Just give sweets to wherever is dressed up or don't at all. It would be different if I was dressed for Halloween and there alone, but I was standing with DS in my arms, with 4 little children surrounding me... Hardly the cheeky fucker of the century.

[Aeroflotgirl]

No I woulden't collect for a babe in arms, only those able to go to the door themselves.

[Aeroflotgirl]

OOOOh I have had a few pieces of 'mummy tax' today, as the kids have been awful, I deserve it .

[mathanxiety]

I always handed out candy to everyone at my door, adults, babies, teenagers, whatever. Even kids without costumes. I handed it out to kids who were very obviously not from the area (many kids from the extremely violent city neighbourhood next door are driven to my quiet, leafy suburb at Hallowe'en).

When it was all gone I shut the door and turned off the porch light, the universally recognised sign that trick-or-treaters are wasting their time knocking.

Honestly, who cares who eats the candy? If you're giving it away it's not yours any more.

I am amused at the brave fight to maintain proper standards of British politeness at Hallowe'en. Wondering what would be made of little groups sprinting from house to house, pillowcases bulging with candy. The open plan front lawns of American suburbia, with no hedges, walls or fences, come in very handy at Hallowe'en.

[PeachyPeachTrees]

I used to go out with DS1 and DS2 as a baby. We all dressed up and DS1 got treats. I didn't collect any for the baby and eat them myself. The sweets are for the kids. If all the parents took some too, everywhere would run out pretty fast.

[MarmiteTermite]

I would have been happy for the mum to eat the sweets if she had gone to all that trouble. You DANBU or a CF 🎃

[PokeInTheEar]

In Scotland, we go guising, as we call it here, and kids are expected to do a “turn” in exchange for sweets, a joke, dance, song or whatever. Babies will generally get a sweetie just for being super cute in their costume.

Who cares who’s eating the sweets, it’s supposed to be a bit of fun for the kids!

[Honeyroar]

I think she was probably meaning to be funny. I'd have laughed it off and said well I'd like him to have some teeth when he's older, or something.

If you give sweets out it's nothing to do with you what happens to it afterwards.

[Vixxxy]

Yeah sounds to me like you are annoyed because she was right Rather than being annoyed, I think I would be a bit embarrassed.

[Rockbird]

I have sweets ready for whoever wants them, and if some go to an adult who is trawling around the streets in the dark and the cold just to make their kids happy then good luck to them!

And what's really making me laugh is all the posters telling the OP to buy her own sweets. I bought way more sweets than my two collected between them. DD2 (6) remarked that she loved Halloween because of the free sweets. I had to tell her in age appropriate language that the sweets weren't fucking free because parents like me had paid our dues by buying loads to give out!

[Strippervicar]

YABU cos I bet your one year old was freezing, plus you were eating sweets other children could have had. Oh yes, I mean begged for. I don't like T or T.
Last time I answered the door when I'd forgotten it was halloween, I asked, "would you like guts or brains?!" To which they gaped at, and DH made an appearence to see what was going on so I followed up with, "Ah, Igor. Have you cleaned the blood up yet." T or Ters fled. Parents n all. It may have taught them not to knock on undecorated houses.

I'd love to expand on this and hand out offal or mince as guts and brains or dyed pasta as worms. Wonder what OP would think of that?

[Charolais]

I grew up in England in the 1950's and 60's. No one went trick or treating in the 50's and 60's. No one. There was some Halloween parties and games - on a very small scale. I remember there was a game called apple dunking. You tried to grab an apple with your teeth from a barrel of water. It was called All Hallows Eve back then.

I moved to the U.S. in the early 70's where Trick or Treating was/is a big thing. The tricking part is usually covering someones house in toilet paper, which is not often done.

Ask your grannies if they went Trick or Treating.

[dragonara53]

I usually give tiny ones milky bars.

[Charolais]

I found this about Trick or Treating being an American tradition;

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-halloween-has-taken-over-england-180953211/

I'm very disappointed how Americanized the U.K. has become TBH and I'm surprised how many of you believe it to be U.K. invented thing.

BTW, high School proms are another American tradition.

[giantbanger]

England maybe didn’t do trick or treat, but the Celtic nations definitely did guising or equivalents.

My granny did and she was born before the First World War.

[giantbanger]

Guising we got money or monkey nuts. We had to dress up and do a turn - sing a song or do a dance. We always had a Halloween party at home too with sparklers and bobbing for apples and sodas with syrup hung up. (Should be treacle but we didn’t like treacle)

Please don’t minimise the experience of the Celtic nations that are constituent parts of the Uk. I’m Irish. My granny was Irish. We definitely did it and so did she.

[WithAFaeryHandInHand]

Oh god I remember getting fecking monkey nuts for doing a little rhyme! I hate them. They’re the worst great ever. We also got money and found it decidedly odd if anyone offered anything other than money or (bastard) monkey nuts.

[giantbanger]

I hated monkey nuts too 😂😂😂 we used to take my wee brother because he was cute and we always got money if we had him with us 😂😂😂😂😂

[Beachmummy23]

We took a one year old with us last night trick or treating with extended family. Did not collect sweets for the little one.

[WithAFaeryHandInHand]

banger! Why did they give them to us? Was my rhyme that bad??? It’s like some sort of punishment.

And I meant to say “worst treat ever”. Autocorrect hates me. It’s probably in cahoots with monkey nuts .

[giantbanger]

God love him we used to put the plastic net off oranges on his head and we drew on a top and joggers with black marker and didn’t allow him a coat. He was Spider-Man. 😂😂😂

[WithAFaeryHandInHand]

Haaahahaha! Poor child! Has he forgiven you yet?

[giantbanger]

Nope 😂😂 we definitely reused the costume two years on the trot. We were cruel.

[giantbanger]

Oh and my school I went to has existed for over 100 years. We have records of a school formal (not a prom, a formal sit down black tie dinner) going back pre-war.

[BlackberryandNettle]

Good on you for accepting she was right - I get you were out doing it in the first place for fun for him but it's a bit cheeky to scoff the kid's sweets.

[Osirus]

As none of the Scots have heard of “mischief night” perhaps it is a myth believed by the rest of the UK?!