To tell trick or treaters to fuck off?

[Rosebean92]

Last night myself and my elderly mil who I often care for were at her house preparing to watch strictly (very exciting i know). The doorbell went and I was quite surprised to see 8 kids with 2 adults trick or treating. Baring in mind the house was not decorated at all no pumpkins no nothing and as we were at the back of the house the lights werent on in her front room so lord only knows why they knocked... anyway my mil said i'm sorry but i dont have anything for you.

The kids looked really disappointed and they went to go knock on the next door neighbours house, seeing this my mil said "dont knock on that door the elderly man who lives there isnt very well". (Not covid but he's been in ill health for some time)

Well little jimmy decided to go ahead and ring the doorbell, the poor old sod answered the door and said "no sorry!" and shut the door in their faces.

The two adults - I'm asuming the mothers, looked embarressed and I said "Why did you let him do that? You shouldnt be going around the houses anyway why dont you just go home!?"

Not going to lie I was angry at this point and felt this is just beyond ridiculous. The kids started to get upset and one of the mums muttered something I didnt quite hear and they left.

I mean what the actual fuck were they thinking?! We really didnt mean to upset the kids but we didnt want them there - so as not to drip feed we live in a large city and none of the houses on the street were decorated for halloween at all - most of the residents are elderly so even if we werent in the middle of a pandemic its not a good place to trick or treat anyway.

I feel like I've ruined halloween for those kids now :S

31st is qute a new thing. It was in the US originally. For us, Catholics, there are religious reasons against ghosts etc and 1st (today_) is a Holy Day all Saint's Day. The day before is All Soul's Day so I was never really into that trick or treat blackmail stuff, believing in satan and ghosts. Would be good if we could all just drop it now.

I saw some children dressed up coming up this road but they didn't seem to call and I had the house in darkness and don't do sweets/sugar anyway as it kills children off and makes them ill and their teeth fall out.

Kids old enough to go against wishes of the old man and your dm, then yes I'd have called the mothers cunts tbh and told them to fuck off in front of their kids.
The only way some entitled parents learn.

I love Halloween and trick or treaters but the rules are clear - don't knock if there are no decorations. People are rude and selfish to do that, you were well within your rights to say what you did and those parents are completely inept.

Well they shouldn’t have been knocking in pre Covid times let alone now. I say that as a mum to 3 primary aged kids and we go trick or treating every year including last night! We only go to decorated houses EVER! Last night people had left sweets out and some even had contraptions for socially distanced trick or treating

I was ready for trick or treaters last night but none came (more sweets for us!). I would have opened the door because I like kids and like making them happy. I signalled my participation with pumpkins and bunting. Also if they are out trick or treating then they probably aren't bothered that I've touched their sweet packets.

YWBU to tell children to fuck off, yes.

YANBU for being annoyed that their parents let them knock on your door or next door. No pumpkin, no knock. Openly participating houses only.

I don’t believe in teaching children to go begging for sweets at total strangers houses, my children were never allowed to go begging for sweets. My grandchildren never go begging for sweets either. Their parents let them dress up, carve pumpkins etc and play games at home, their parents provide their sweets, not expect random strangers to provide sweets.
Safety of children is paramount and always has been, you wouldn’t let your children go to total strangers houses at any other time of year!!
People are not taking Coronovirus seriously enough, so definitely shouldn’t be in groups going around people’s houses, spreading or potentially putting themselves and others at risk, just why ?????

Thank god Xenia has arrived to tell us all to JUST STOP IT.
(Halloween is not a US import btw but I'm sick of trying to tell people that)

@Leaannb maybe it depends where you are. I’m 40 and we went trick or treating every year and had Halloween parties etc - so that’s back in the late 80s.

@philswagielka - unclear then why the OP posted the title 'Aibu to tell trick or treaters to f**k off'. Perhaps it's a typo.

@Xenia

31st is qute a new thing. It was in the US originally. For us, Catholics, there are religious reasons against ghosts etc and 1st (today_) is a Holy Day all Saint's Day. The day before is All Soul's Day so I was never really into that trick or treat blackmail stuff, believing in satan and ghosts. Would be good if we could all just drop it now.

I saw some children dressed up coming up this road but they didn't seem to call and I had the house in darkness and don't do sweets/sugar anyway as it kills children off and makes them ill and their teeth fall out.

No it isn't, the Scots/Irish have been doing Halloween for years and the tradition was imported to the US. The pumpkin carving is American, originally people here carved turnips and a lot still do. The Scots call trick-or-treating guising, although in Scottish tradition you have to sing a song or tell a joke if you want a treat. It's also got absolutely fuck all to do with Satan, I have no idea why you think it does but I suspect you're just being goady as usual.

Also, no, sugar does not make kids' teeth fall out if they brush them. The human body does not work that way. Children are not going to drop dead if you give them a sweetie unless it has arsenic in it or something.

YANBU and I took dc trick or treating last night to houses we knew. Kids should never knock on undecorated houses covid or no covid but especially at the moment the parents should have known better.

@WoooooGhoulsDoAFlit

Thank god Xenia has arrived to tell us all to JUST STOP IT. (Halloween is not a US import btw but I'm sick of trying to tell people that)

Whatever would we do without Xenia's amazing hot takes?

(Also fed up with pointing this out, I'm half Scottish and I was talking to my auntie the other day about when she and Dad went out guising, and she's in her sixties now so it's hardly a new thing.)

@IceSkater

Was so disappointed when we moved to this country and realised Halloween wasn't a thing here. So many mean & cranky people who don't give a crap about kids :(

Noticed anything this year that might mean people don’t want random people rocking up? And usually, it’s polite to only knock on decorated houses. And why should children be expecting sweets just because?

@PhilSwagielka
I'm just looking at my sweet-guzzling 11year old and wondering when all her (perfectly healthy) teeth are going to drop out. After all, if Xenia says so, then it must be true???

Can't believe some of these responses!! There's a bloody pandemic going on, Boris just announced he's locking down England and it's in part due to the stupid behaviour of some people who feel that the rules don't apply to them and go trick and treating anyway! The OP was perfectly reasonable in her response, the two parents were entirely in the wrong especially after the kid defied the OP's request not to knock on her neighbour's door.

We went for a wslk in our outfits round the estaste and gave kids a sweet for every decorated house we saw. We saw no one and despite the rain, we had a brilliant time! I'm shocked people were trick and treating when there were options available to them to still enjoy Halloween...but i suppose I shouldn't really be...

So many mean & cranky people who don't give a crap about kids

Oh, please. We're in a pandemic. People aren't being mean for not opening the door and giving sweets to complete strangers and their children. This one is on the parents. The house wasn't decorated anyway. They should have kept away regardless.

@Greeneyedminx

I don’t believe in teaching children to go begging for sweets at total strangers houses, my children were never allowed to go begging for sweets. My grandchildren never go begging for sweets either. Their parents let them dress up, carve pumpkins etc and play games at home, their parents provide their sweets, not expect random strangers to provide sweets. Safety of children is paramount and always has been, you wouldn’t let your children go to total strangers houses at any other time of year!! People are not taking Coronovirus seriously enough, so definitely shouldn’t be in groups going around people’s houses, spreading or potentially putting themselves and others at risk, just why ?????

I couldn’t agree more Greeneyedminx. Children should not be knocking at strangers houses and should not be encouraged by their parents to beg for sweets

Not unreasonable at all everyone should know you don’t knock unless a house is decorated and this year we didn’t knock at all, if there wasn’t any sweets put out in a bowl (which a lot actually did) we looked at the decorations and moved on

Oh no I bet you were terrified when those killer children knocked on your door spreading their diseases! Please don't leave your house now you are probably infected. Stay glued to your telly to find out the next roooolz

I have never been keen on trick or treat to be honest. I know it can be nice, but I have also seen the version where the trick is to egg and flower people's windows! If there are no pumpkins and lanterns out the rule used to be you do not call. Surely the parents should have known this?

You were more polite than I would have been. Halloween has become ridiculously Americanised. I wouldn’t have answered the door in the first place. And before I get my head bitten off for being a miserable fucker, I’m still very unwell from covid so not in the mood to engage with anyone.

No trick or treating here. Instead, people decorated their windows and you could walk round the trail, spotting them. Some people left treats outside, but mostly parents provided treats. Well over 100 houses took part. Best Halloween ever - it really brought the community together.

I normally love Halloween. We put out our pumpkin and hand out sweeties to trick or treaters. This year however in Scotland we've been told not to, so I checked with one of the DPs of young children on the street and they weren't going out so we didn't leave anything out.

DS was taught only to go to the houses with Halloween decorations.

I've always taught my kids that if the house isn't decorated and no lights on, don't knock. Round this way, anyone happy to take part usually goes way OTT with decorations and lights in the front of the house. We usually do. This year however, we decorated up the lounge at the back of the house and had our own little Halloween 'party'. The front of the house was in darkness. Not one single knock.

I assumed no one would be trick or treating this year. Usually we get loads of trick or treaters but none this year.
I feel a bit sorry for the children but their parents shouldn't have been such idiots. It's not your fault they were upset, that's down to their mums.