About out of area trick or treaters

[Daisypod]

First let me say I love Halloween and always stock up for trick or treaters.
Our area really goes for it with lots of houses decorated and the streets become really busy for the evening. It's lovely to go out with the kids and seeing the community out and it is done as much for the social aspect as it is the goodies.
But it is now getting quite a reputation for it and last year many people ran out of sweets by 6pm. People are coming from miles away because it is such a good place to come to. I am already seeing on local Facebook pages about people discussing the fact they will be heading to our area.
So Aibu to say it is a bit unfair for so many people to be coming from other areas to get the goodies and leaving some of the local kids without?
If you want to experience it put the effort in in your own areas and create the same spirit there.

[ThatMuppetShow]

Anyone who wants to understand the British mentality re: Brexit should read this thread.

What has Brexit got to do with refusing to encourage CF who come to grab free stuff that wasn't meant for them?

Says more about you than anyone else really...

[snottysystem]

Anyone who wants to understand the British mentality re: Brexit should read this thread.

That's a crock of shite.

YANBU. We put the pumpkin out & hand out sweets, it gets quite busy in our area due to the schools.
My kids would never knock on a house that's isn't decorated/has a pumpkin out.

If a neighbouring area had a fantastic theme I might take the kids to look but I wouldn't trick or treat, that's greedy & if I did want to trick or treat I would bring sweets with me.

We often look at the Christmas lights in Morden and always put money in.

My road has an annual street party, should I expect strangers to turn up & eat the food & drink?

[DontCallMeShitley]

After reading this and thinking about the genuinely poor people I am going to put some chocolate eyeballs and the like in the food bank this week because the kids round here don't go short of anything, and the food bank families surely do, hence the others being bussed in most likely in the past. However, it is still not great to have hordes of people bashing on the door when you are alone in the house and a big crowd filling the road.

Hope it will be organised like last year, no-one knocked at all, although I was hidden away in the back with the lights off. Did peep out to see the witches and ghouls pass by but not many compared to when we moved here.

[ScotsinOz]

@DameofDarts just for you $193.00 Australian is currently £102.00 Stirling. Perhaps people will get why I think it’s now become a grab feast. And just because I now live in the land of Oz doesn’t mean I’m leaving this site.

Perhaps we should have a vote - I’ll call it Mumsnexit 😁

[DameofDarts]

Thank you for the conversion @ScotsinOz

But fgs once more for the cheap seats, I didn’t say or even think you should leave the site

[purplepalace]

I agree OP. We have a lot of 'Halloween tourism' in our area, with families blatantly admitting 'ooohhh we've come all the way from to bring the DC here to trick or treat'
...pissed me right off!

I don't decorate the house anymore, I turn all the lights off on Halloween (and they still
Ring the bell!) now we hide upstairs until they've all gone

[Symptomless]

I get it but equally I'm one of those who is looking for a nice place to go trick or treating with kids. My own place is nice and quiet but nobody has pumpkins out for miles. Except 3 or 4 residential streets. So we all end up there. It gets busy, thankfully cars haven't been a problem but most of the residents don't seem to mind.

[snottysystem]

@Symptomless Do you bring treats with you?

[AthollPlace]

When I was a kid (80s) it used to be Penny for Halloween. People would save up their coppers and give you a few when you knocked. It was probably cheaper than sweets and more sensible because you could spend it however you wanted. I’m not sure how I feel about collecting sweets that could have been tampered with.

[BlueChangeling]

I'm the only house in the estate that gives out sweets. Close knit community and I did personalised treat or treat boxes for the 20 local kids, with there names on the front and filled with sweets and spooky notebooks ect, we don't put a pumpkin just text the parents to let them know to bring the kids round between 6 and 8, they know after that we stick on a scary movie and don't answer the door.

Worked well for a few years but last year was a disaster. A new community centre opened just down the road, they had a massive party which lots of people from outside the area attended.

The other parents and kids saw the boxes the local kids had and called to ours after the party to trick or treat, which is fine as I always have a big bag of extra sweets and lollies to hand out to unexpected callers, but this wasn't good enough for the parents. I was called a heartless bitch and a stingy cow for not having the same personalised boxes ready for their children... Whom I'd never met before.

Im reluctant to do anything this year because of the abuse I got from the other parents but I don't want to let down the local kids who really do appreciate it.

[LittleDancers]

For me, I don't mind where the kids come from but the young teen hoodies who don't bother to dress up at all and grab two handfuls of sweets each in one go are very annoying. It does sound like it's got out of hand where you are though.

[MrOnionsBumperRoller]

In the towns and villages around us it is the less well off estates and areas which make the effort on Halloween and the more affluent streets, where houses are often rather secluded or set back from the road, who do nothing. We are yet to experience Halloween Tourism on my very working class estate though and it sounds very unpleasant.

[FionaOgre]

We visit SIL over an hour away a lot and sometimes it's over Halloween. The kids do go out trick or treating with their cousins in an area that's not theirs. It's just where they happen to be. It's a little, tiny bit cheeky intentionally going to areas just to get a bigger haul but it's a massive shame when you're stuck in an area that doesn't participate. Halloween is a great experience!

My biggest peeve about Halloween is that I have up to a hundred children at my door because I go all out with graves, flying ghosts, smoke machine and screaming doorbell because it's wonderful seeing those little faces light up (especially in my green tinted floodlights lighting up the place!) but my own children find just a small handful of houses giving out sweets. They come back with sore feet and sad faces. All those houses who dress their kids up and send them on their way and promptly turn the porch lights off and don't answer the door. So they're happy to take but not give. Miserly and CFery.

[SD1978]

Ask for ID and a recent bill from each child to ensure that only local children can participate? It's really not as easy as juts do it in your own area, many neighbours may not want to. We are Halloween travellers, and the 'best' streets are advertised on local FB groups. Difference is here (Australia) it's encouraged and seen as a point of pride, as opposed to wanting it only for the kids nearby and plenty of cheap and crappy sweets are purchased to facilitate them.

[TheKarateKitty]

Yes, it’s the expectation that one should give/just buy more, not giving back but more than happy to take, and the clogging up that takes the fun out of things. Of course, no one blames the little ones, just the greedy parents and teens not even bothering to dress up.

I think people saying ones that don’t want the excessive amount of takers are “shitty” are the ones that are the takers.

When I was a kid, it was done once the plastic pumpkin was full or nearly, in our own neighborhood.

My eldest hasn’t trick or treated in years, this is my youngest’s last year. We do hand out candy as well, about 5.5 kilograms until it runs out. That’s about $40US/£31 and all I want to spend on handing out. I buy half of that to share out at work.

The porch light off means no more candy, but we’ll still have the later crowd from wherever ringing.

Most of the kids are young and say thank you, only taking one piece if they reach for it; I tell them to take a second piece. If they hold the bag or bucket to me, I put in a couple of pieces. It usually works out we have enough for them.

As a PP said yes, it is a spirit night and known as Samhain. Not American in origin at all, though I doubt that needed explanation. It’s the new year for some of us as well as a time to honor our dead. I go all out decorating our house inside and out, desk at work, because I love Halloween/celebrate Samhain. Lots of lovely compliments, which I appreciate. Of course, that means trick or treaters will come. 🎃

[chardonm]

@ArseHair best comment