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

So are your kids still at the trick or treating age? Do you really expect houses where there are no children living to decorate their houses and answer the door 15 times during the evening?

I did before I had kids, I will after kids. I'm not of the stop, drop and roll MN collective when someone knocks on the door and happy to humour kids with some sweets on Halloween.

I leave small party bags of sweets out on the doorstep with a sign saying help yourself, which stops the door knocking. I was never allowed to trick or treat as a kid so it's nice to join in and see the neighbours in their costumes.

(And I have no kids myself)

My area always has FB posts about only knocking on decorated houses. This works beautifully between 4.30 and 6.30. After this, it's disregarded entirely and some poor sod always ends up with their front bricked in... The local bins are also always torched too.

Personally, I will be giving out sweets to anyone who turns up before I've run out. I developed an agressive sweary response (and a massive stick), for after 8ish, which combined with the crack house at the end of the road and the cctv opposite, normally keeps my house nice and egg/brick free.

@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 🤷‍♀️🎃

probably because they've had bad experiences. we've had the lights on the hall one year, as you do, and people wouldn't stop bothering us. the kids got excited for every knock as they thought it was daddy. At first I opened the door and said sorry we don't do Halloween. One dickhead dad told me "why do you have your lights on then?" WTAF? So I stopped going down and people would bang on the door, kicking it, tapping on the window, shouting through the letter box.

I was heavily pg so it took a huge effort to shut one side of the front garden gate which was always open - that didn't stop people either, I saw one guy from upstairs window who just climbed over neighbours low fence into our front garden, later someone else opened the gate.
fucking entitled cunts

Another year we had our windows egged because everything was dark and door wasn't answered. We weren't even home. I was furious, because they did it our elderly neighbours too - they were in no shape to answer their door repeatedly!

So I hate Halloween. I hate that people think it's ok to disturb strangers for their own fun.
We'll have our front lights off, watch TV - as we do on many other nights - and ignore the bothersome beggars.

I did before I had kids, I will after kids

I should probably finish that sentence properly...I will after kids... have moved out. It sounds awfully sinister without.

"that didn't stop people either, I saw one guy from upstairs window who just climbed over neighbours low fence into our front garden, later someone else opened the gate."

"Another year we had our windows egged because everything was dark and door wasn't answered. We weren't even home. I was furious, because they did it our elderly neighbours too - they were in no shape to answer their door repeatedly!"

Shocking-all for a few free sweets!

YANBU to not want to take part. Up to you.

However the Covid risk

@FourTeaFallOut

So are your kids still at the trick or treating age? Do you really expect houses where there are no children living to decorate their houses and answer the door 15 times during the evening?

I did before I had kids, I will after kids. I'm not of the stop, drop and roll MN collective when someone knocks on the door and happy to humour kids with some sweets on Halloween.

Hmmm....I used to think that way, especially before kids when we moved to an area full of them. I like kids and used to enjoy seeing them on Halloween. But 20 years later it's all worn a bit thin - the immediately local kids from my street are all grown up and it grates a bit when you get large groups of 20 kids coming round from 3 or 4 streets away taking all the sweets you bought in one fell swoop and talking about their massive "haul". It seems to have changed from the 5 or 6 sweet little kids from down the road whose parents you're on nodding terms with, to large unmannered groups of kids who just grab a handful of sweets and don't say thankyou, or ask why you don't have any chocolate.

@diddl

which they didn't get because I had none🤷‍♀️
thanks. I already feel my anxiety rising as it's getting darker now.

I have half a mind to actually open the door and say things like "you are not the pizza guy" or "I can't believe you can see me, I'm actually a ghost"

Whoops

The covid risk is really minimal given what we know now about fomite transmission (absolutely tiny risk) and the fact that it all takes place outside.

Yanbu, if you don't want to participate then don't.

Personally I'll participate but I'm a teacher, the Irish Govt think I have some kind of magic that prevents Covid spread - so can see no reason not to do it. Plus we already know that surface transmission is not a huge risk, Covid is airborne.

without exception every post has reminded people about the decorated house rule. I'm surprised actually that it isn't universal.

Because people don't do it, it's not universal people don't take any notice.

And tbh I'd never hold out a big bowl of sweets and let kids pick what they want - of course you'll have a few that try to take it all! I give them a sweet or two, which I hand to them.

I should have said in my first post that I don't actually care about any risk of COVID coming to our house as DH and I both had COVID a few weeks back. No risk whatsoever to us. I also work in a primary school so well used to the heightened COVID risk there, but then on the other hand that does highlight the lack of good hygiene practices when groups gather socially outside of school. At school they're really hot on getting the kids to wash their hands regularly and gel them as they come into the classroom etc. I'm also aware of how lax parents can be in protecting others. Quite a few send their kids in coughing or with a temp and clearly unwell and seem surprised when we call them to ask them to pick their child up and arrange a PCR or keep them isolated. Wouldn't surprise me at all if someone knowingly brought their sick child out trick or treating "because, ahhh, they won't wanna miss out on all the fun".

So it's the risk to the visiting kids that I would be concerned about. It does seem to be the case that any risk is due to airborne factors and not surface transmission, I give you that.

OP, you might like to stick a pic of this on the door - received from DBro this morning - with his own caption, rather than the original!

We also live in a “Halloween tourist area”. It’s been great fun for 20 years but I’ve hung up my cauldron for this year, mainly due to covid. I’m not expecting any knocks as it’s the decorated houses that are visited normally. I am a bit disappointed but hopefully next year we’ll be up and running again.

Now I just imagine the bowl sweets as COVID soup waiting to happen

Many good reasons not to buy sweets, this isn’t one of them. People are no more likely to catch Covid from a bowl of sweets than they are to catch any other winter bug.

I'm intrigued, where is a Halloween tourist area @Kiduknot ? Is it somewhere famously spooky like Whitby or something?

Nothing to do with Covid, but after years of having numerous kids trick or treating, the last two years - no-one. This has meant that DH and I have ended up eating all the sweets and biscuits we bought in for the occasion. And there were a lot!!

Haven't got anything this year and sod's law someone will ring the doorbell.

My village is apparently doing Halloween next week because nearly all the school kids :(primary in the village) have covid so 'could we do it next week instead 😂didn't realise Halloween was a moveable feast tbh

YANBU. I usually do it, but I just cba this year.

We have no decorations or pumpkin (older couple, no DCs here) but two lots of children have knocked already. If only they were on MN, they'd know the rules!

In the past we have offered sweets, but we're tired and unwell now and just haven't got the energy.

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER

OP, you might like to stick a pic of this on the door - received from DBro this morning - with his own caption, rather than the original!

My village is apparently doing Halloween next week because nearly all the school kids sadprimary in the village) have covid so 'could we do it next week instead 😂didn't realise Halloween was a moveable feast tbh

That's just bullshittery , you miss it you miss it. No go arounds.