To not answer to trick or treaters on the 30th?

[happyfeet5]

I feel bad but we’ve had 3 knocks now and really don’t want to be disturbed over dinner! Find it very unusual that anyone would encourage DC to do this the night before Halloween? Understand that Monday is a school night but Sunday is too!

AIBU to not answer?

Round here if no pumpkins outside the door you don’t knock. So unless you have decorated your house Yanbu - just ignore.

@MightyOaks I hate halloween so I'll gladly eat all the biscuits.

Wouldn’t you just open the door, see the string attached to it and that would give the game away?

We've had a few tonight. One group said it's because the kids do activities/ sports clubs during the week & it will be too late to go when they finish. We have sweets ready so gave them out. No big deal. I love Halloween seeing all the kids dressed up & excited

I really dislike Halloween, it's basically encouraging your children to go out and beg.
We do carve pumpkins so we expect trick or treeters but if the kids didn't enjoy carving pumpkins and giving out sweets then I wouldn't bother.
Not usually this miserable but am feeling a bit resentful that I had to buy myself and my son a Halloween outfit for nursery tomorrow when I don't ever celebrate the day!

In England? Yes. You call it that because England took it from America, even in the 80s.

But it started in Ireland and Scotland and was called guising. The English didnt do it when it was just our thing though. You took it up when America and Canada got into it and used their name for it.

We had some very young children 7/8/9 years I would say knock about half hour ago. No parent with them. Halloween sweet bags and buckets but no fancy dress?

Really dangerous tbh when it’s not actually Halloween evening and no one about.

I have never taken my son trick or treating and will keep it that way as long as I can (he’s ten now). Knocking on strangers doors... it’s just not right.

However, I always do a small thing for him here at home. He has a head piece to wear which looks as if he has a knife through his head. Il do face painting here we have a bag of sweets to hand out and I’ve just done some fairy cakes no icing on or anything just as they are cheap and easy to do (nothing amazing here for those that knock but hey it’s cost of living! ).

Ha ha! I made this mistake the first year we ever went out when my Dd was 3. I thought it was like Carol singing and could be any time around about Halloween 😂😂

Didn’t make that mistake again!

You realise that the adults who give out sweets are willing participants in trick or treating don't you? It's not begging in any way.

I think the poster meant ‘trick or treat’ offends her as it’s an American term when we should be saying ‘guising’ which refers to the origins of the Celtic tradition. I get increasingly pissed off year by year when I see more and more people ‘do’ Halloween without any awareness of its origins. Honestly, I think some parents just love it as a chance for their dcs to get some free treats at others’ expense.

I won’t be opening the door tomorrow either. And for the poster calling others miserable for not doing so, get a grip.

I am here alone, and there is absolutely no way I am opening the door to god-knows-who when we all know that there are preteens and teenagers who also go out trick or treating and expecting to be given sweets and even money.

And after a bloke called me a miserable fucking cunt for not opening the door in front of his tiny tots, I won[t be opening the door to any of those either as you have no idea what the parents are like.

Of course it is.

We already have a poster here saying posters re miserable for not opening the door and giving sweets to their children.

And I was called a miserable fucking cunt by one a few years back.

The parents who go round with their kids do so with the expectation that the children will be given sweets. If you go to anyone’s house who isn’t up for that, then it’s begging.

@MayThe4th - Nothing wrong with teenagers getting together with friends to go trick or treating. They're not all bad.

Reminds me of Bottom "Just cash, no sweets!"

I miss Rik Mayall😢

This boils my piss. Halloween is NOT american, it is a celtic pagan tradition

The irish brought it to America

God you get some miserable people. Don't participate if you dislike it it's just a bit of fun once a year.
I love doing the pumpkin and putting it out, and seeing the kids in their costumes I think it's lovely.

Well I don't know where you live but where I am kids absolutely do not knock on houses unless they have decorations/outside to show they are participating. I have also never once had a child be rude and we get a lot of groups come round.

@elizabethdraper LOOK AT PAGE ONE MY POST AGREES. I mean the term trick or treat is American so your piss can chill ffs!

I thought it was like Carol singing and could be any time around about Halloween

I would love some decent carol singers to come to the door (though not at Halloween 🎃)

@Gilmorehill thank you so much for knowing what I meant. Obviously I didn't make it clear enough.

Will be handing out cakes and sweets individually as last time when we put them in a huge pumpkin bowl to pick a treat one lot of teens took multiple items clearing the whole bowl! Greedy!

Last night -sat,- there was a knock at the door, I ignored it, carried on cooking. They knocked again and again I ignored it mumbling under my breath about it not being halloween and they’re pushing their luck. On the third knock I decided to open the door and send them on their way - opened the door to my sons friend who was dropping something off to him. I had to apologise for ignoring him!!!

Mumsnet seems to be a another world where kids don't knock on doors with no decorations, meanwhile in my experience living in various places they knock on any door decorations or not.

Rest of year we tell them not to talk to strangers or take sweets from strangers then one night it's encouraged it's bizzare.

I tend to back my car right up a foot away from the front door then go around the side to let myself back in. Trick or treaters can fuck right off.

@BritWifeInUSA you are wrong - in my day (70s and 80s) teenagers would egg and spray shaving foam in the US on Halloween.

Frankly who cares whether it's called 'guising' or trick or treating? It's the same thing. Here there are three primaries within a few blocks and we get about 100 kids. All on the day (no one came tonight). And I'm not sure about it being commercialised? It's a few decorations and sweets.
My kids loved it when little, the kids around here love it too - an hour going round for a few sweets. Do not get the vitriol it inspires. If you don't want to participate then don't decorate and keep the front lights off.