AIBU to not have bought any sweets for trick or treaters?

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Even though my kids are older and not bothered by all that anymore, pre-COVID I did used to buy lots of sweets and put a pumpkin out for any other children.

Now I just imagine the bowl sweets as COVID soup waiting to happen. Not to mention numerous hands ringing the doorbell. So my plan was to leave the front of the house in darkness and sit in our main living room ignoring anyone who might ring the bell. 😬

But I’m not sure if I’m being a Halloween Grinch (whatever the equivalent would be for Halloween, I guess the Grinch would be a Halloween lover not a hater).

YANBU - too risky and there won’t be many kids coming knocking anyway

YABU - the kids have missed out last year, let them have their fun this year, the risk is low etc

@HoldingTheDoor

First up, it's guising. Unless you're American. And I hope I'll see some guisers tonight. And anyone who sits in their house with all the lights off is bloody miserable.

I'm Scottish and I've always called it Trick or Treating. I'm familiar with the term "guising" but as a child, my friends and I called it Trick or Treating and still do. I wouldn't expect people in England to call it guising.

I'm nearly 40 and had never heard the term guising until this year.

I'd only ever heard of it as trick or treating.

I knew an American chap who taught me - over emails- to carve a pumpkin.

Steve Chasmar.
( Sadly now died) He collected Halloween ephemera and there were some really scary home made costumes done on the early years of 20th C
Look online - his pics might still be up-

He said the saddest thing was an old Auntie of his lived in the boondocks and had a dish of candies for kids at Halloween, but none ever called.

The poignancy of it made me want to weep.

Halloween is an Irish tradition, he said
Turnips were my first Halloween 🎃 lanterns which he said was very Northern European.
Pumpkins are American tradition.

I don’t understand why people get all dramatic and say they are going to sit in the dark as they don’t want to take part. If you don’t decorate your house you shouldn’t get any one knocking. And if you do just don’t answer the door 🤷‍♀️🎃

I’ve only just twigged that our neighbours (and good friends), who hate Halloween, go away for the weekend or go out if it’s a week day, and just completely avoid it. I’ve only known and lived close to them for about 15 years, but that’s how unobservant I am! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

I love Halloween, better than Christmas. You are all miserable horrors.. boo!

I love seeing the decorations and pumpkins though

I think it's fine not to "join in".

Daughter bought sweets yesterday & now won't be here!

No one else cba to open the door

@Mybalconyiscracking

I love Halloween, better than Christmas. You are all miserable horrors.. boo!

Oh we're not miserable horrors, we love horror films! We watched a couple last night, and will be watching more tonight!

We just don't like trick or treaters, and don't want our door knocked.

Why is that a problem?

First year that we aren't getting involved

DD(12) wanted to host and dish sweets out but got a positive PCR yesterday. The rest of us are waiting on results. It's just not worth potentially infecting others.

She has made a friendly sign for the door though explaining why we aren't answering tonight.

This is a terrifying costume

@marmitegirl01

I don’t understand why people get all dramatic and say they are going to sit in the dark as they don’t want to take part. If you don’t decorate your house you shouldn’t get any one knocking. And if you do just don’t answer the door 🤷‍♀️🎃

Exactly. Everyone I know only goes to decorated houses. If you don’t decorate, people won’t knock. No need to dramatically sit in the dark

I was surprised to learn that some people give out money too not just sweets.

YANBU. I'm not doing it this year, but not for Covid reasons, just because I can't be arsed. Teen dds are going off to parties so won't be here anyway.

I don’t understand why people get all dramatic and say they are going to sit in the dark as they don’t want to take part. If you don’t decorate your house you shouldn’t get any one knocking. And if you do just don’t answer the door 🤷‍♀️🎃 except that’s not true and people do knock at undecorated houses. See my post earlier about being called a miserable fucking cunt by the father of two kids who came round.

@BrutusMcDogface

I’ve only just twigged that our neighbours (and good friends), who hate Halloween, go away for the weekend or go out if it’s a week day, and just completely avoid it. I’ve only known and lived close to them for about 15 years, but that’s how unobservant I am! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

How would you twig that? Do you keep a register of when your neighbours go out or on holiday? That's a little odd if you ask me, I couldn't tell you what my neighbours did last week never mind 15 years ago

Exactly. Everyone I know only goes to decorated houses. If you don’t decorate, people won’t knock. No need to dramatically sit in the dark except there is plenty of evidence that that just isn’t true, so just because you know a few people who go to decorated houses only doesn’t make you representative of the population as a whole.

@Mybalconyiscracking

I love Halloween, better than Christmas. You are all miserable horrors.. boo!

Is that serious? I'm pretty neutral on Halloween but I can't see how not liking it would make someone a miserable horror

@VladmirsPoutine

I was surprised to learn that some people give out money too not just sweets.

On our estate one year someone gave out breadsticks!

I agree that the sweets bowl has to go.

We have switched to a table that we place out in the front garden. The sweets are packaged into little identical bags and spread out. Between groups I can step up to the table and re-supply.

Some of my neighbors have gotten more creative with candy delivery cannons or sweets walls. Very few are doing a sweets bowl at the door. Last year we had the kids skip those houses This year they are vaccinated (not uk) and old enough to go out on their own so it’s their call.

My daughter is taking a friend with us trick or treating, but her friend isn't allowed to actually trick or treat, she will be given a bag of sweets and allowed to walk around with DD. Because Covid. Apparently sweets from people are dangerous but going to school is fine.

@AlternativePerspective

Exactly. Everyone I know only goes to decorated houses. If you don’t decorate, people won’t knock. No need to dramatically sit in the dark except there is plenty of evidence that that just isn’t true, so just because you know a few people who go to decorated houses only doesn’t make you representative of the population as a whole.

I belong to quite a few local facebook groups for where I live now and other places I've lived and there have been the ususal posts about Halloween this week, without exception every post has reminded people about the decorated house rule. I'm surprised actually that it isn't universal.

@AlternativePerspective

Exactly. Everyone I know only goes to decorated houses. If you don’t decorate, people won’t knock. No need to dramatically sit in the dark except there is plenty of evidence that that just isn’t true, so just because you know a few people who go to decorated houses only doesn’t make you representative of the population as a whole.

Yeah, I only know a few people . Our town has a Facebook group for Halloween set up last year when people were nervous about the covid risk. It has over 500 members. There are regular reminders on there only to knock on decorated houses. Our community page also puts out these reminders. All the people I know are decent and stick to these rules. The years we haven’t decorated, no one has knocked. The years we have decorated, we have a steady stream. I must just live in a considerate area.

The rule of only going to decorated houses/ those with a pumpkin applies here too. There are printable signs saying 'no trick or treaters' too.

We've got pumpkins out and sweets ready, and DD is going trick or treating. I expect this year to be quiet though.

Well!

I haven't put the pumpkin out yet, but the bell just rang & they were gone before I got there.

Bloody kids & bloody Halloween

YANBU. We don’t do Hallowe’en so don’t have sweets in anyway.

We don’t have a pumpkin at all, so hopefully nobody will knock, but if they do we’ll tell them we don’t have anything.