AIBU to ask what you think of this year's Halloween?

[Deyes999]

I normally take my children trick or treating around our neighbourhood, they get all excited to get dressed up and usually really enjoy it. This year however I am not sure if its the right thing to be doing. I have asked some friends if they plan to still do it and had mixed responses, some saying yes and others saying absolutely no way. I would like to know what others think.

I don’t have kids but love it when the neighbours kids come round. I thought this year I might put up a ‘help yourself’ sign with individually wrapped chocolate bars spaced out on a ledge and some hand sanitiser, but that does feel less fun. I expect a lot of parents won’t be doing it this year, though. It’s a shame for the kids but hopefully it’s just one year.

Not sure what I'm going to do. DS loves trick or treating but I don't want to take him if people won't be answering their doors. Halloween is a Saturday this year so I might see if there are any events on in the day that we can go to instead.

Actually quite worried about halloween this year, there is an elderly lady on my road that goes all out. The house looks like you stepped into a horror movie, she bakes cookies and hands out a goody bag to every kid that knocks. She is still planning on doing it this year and added the goody bag items to her grocery list already. She is also in her 90's, slightly unsteady on her feet and has a myriad of health issues. My kids are having a scavenger hunt at my parents house and I'm going to be outside mrs endofroad's house on a deck chair in a mask with hand gel handing the bags out.

No trick or treating from strangers, surely....

We were supposed to be in Florida, obviously not going so DS wants to go all out for Halloween instead. He’s planning a graveyard in the garden. I’m not up for ruining any more fun for him, 2020 has been shit enough.
We’ll definitely do something. I’ll book some themed days out for half term and have one other family round for a little party I think.
I’ll definitely leave a bowl of wrapped sweets out as well.

I work in a school. Halloween will be business as usual here.

I really dislike all the Hallowe'en hype at the best of times and never participate, but it seems extra specially stupid to engage in it this year.

Halloween is a big deal where we live but we won’t be taking part this year. It just seems like crazy to invite kids to you door In groups to take sweets from a Communal bowl during a pandemic! Putting sweets out so they can help themselves is pointless as with the usual numbers they would be gone within minutes. We always run out and have to out up a sign. Hopefully it will only be for thus year.

@CitizenFame

Of course it’s not the right thing to be doing. We are still meant to be isolating. That doesn’t change for a night just to get free treats.

Still meant to be isolating? When did they bring that back then? On the buses, in the pubs, shops and schools? If you need to isolate then you do you but please don’t make this stuff up!

Clothes line is genius @BluebellsGreenbells ! Top marks!!!

Love Halloween here so will definitely be using this tip.

@Joeblack066 Perhaps isolation was the wrong word to use. However the government website clearly states that visits to households should be kept to a minimum when possible and I don’t think that traipsing around from household to household in order to get free treats is acceptable. Not to mention really selfish to subject other people to that.

Sorry to hear this @Bickles.

Were you going specifically for Mickey's Not So Scary or Universal's Fright Nights?

If so, I believe our theme parks are doing scare mazes and theming; Chessington for younger kids and Thorpe Park and Alton Towers for older ones.

I normally buy loads of treats but won’t this year. I won’t answer the door to numerous kids and if I put treats outside someone will just take the lot.

Get some different face masks and run in and out of each room you have a your house. Get the kids to knock on the door to the room you are in at that time and hand the sweeties out wearing a different mask each time. Then have a Halloweeny meal and a 'scary movie' night.

No, we were just going mainly for Harry Potter and Star Wars. We’ve been twice before with DS and we’ll go again hopefully 2022.
I can live without a theme park this year but may book Legoland for next Spring.

I think this thread is bringing out the usual Halloween joysponges dislikers, but anyway....

Put a big bucket out a slight distance from the door or something & just assume everyone is washing their hands.

Thanks for all the comments. I'm thinking now I will probably just do something at home for my own children. I wouldn't want to be making people feel uncomfortable or putting anyone at risk by knocking on doors etc. I just wanted to see if others felt the same. I have decided to give the trick or treating a miss this year.

We'll put pumpkins out and buckets if individually wrapped sweets . No need to over complicate things, it can still be fun !
Most of the fun takes place outside walking round in costumes. We are not letting covid suck the joy out of our lives.

Probably not... we might have a few of their close friends over... but haven’t decided.

@Bickles the Jurassic Park velociraptor coaster will be completed next year at Universal so this should make the queue for Hogsmeade's Hagrid coaster quieter, that's one positive of not going this year.

I think children going around and bothering neighbours daft at the best of times, can't you give them a year off this year?

Will absolutely be happening here. Decorations, tubs of sweets and lots of mayhem for the hour the kids go about.

Why on earth shouldn't it go ahead? You're not inviting the kids in for a cuddle.

The washing line idea is good. I won't be celebrating it in our usual way, I told DS last night we'll have a party with a few cousins but no trick or treating.

No we're not doing it this year. It's not a good idea due to corana virus, as we'd normally get around 50-70 children call. I don't want to be exposed to that many children in one evening. Tried to leave a bucket of sweets by the front door once year, within half an hour it had been completely emptied! We're going to do a movie night with sweets and chocolates instead.

We’ve never done it. I don’t want my kids knocking on the door of strangers.
So we won’t do it this year either.