Travelling to other areas for trick or treating

[MidnightPatrol]

I’d always assumed that everyone just trick or treated on their own / surrounding streets.

But our town’s parents group (mainly nursery and primary school chat) has people suggesting travelling to a handful of specific streets…

This does explain why there were quite so many trick or treaters last year (at least 100 - we eventually tuned the lights off and brought the pumpkins inside by about 7pm).

I thought it was just the local kids pottering round, not that their parents had driven them here.

Is this normal? Seems like CF behaviour to me!

Could it be some streets are participating more then others?

Personally I stick to the street where we live as people generally recognise each other, feels a little less like you are encroaching on people

This was a thing when I was a child nearly 50 years ago, so it's not new. I don't mind as streets go in and out of trick or treat as the children grow up. My family love any child knocking and it's a few bits of chocolate which is bought anyway.

Wow it's like MN Halloween Bingo this week - drugs in sweets, bussing poor kids into rich areas... I'm just waiting for the costume judging...

If you are going to take your kids begging, then why not go to where they'll get a better return?

We go round the road where our parents live with our children and thier cousins. Granny comes round with us and we meet lots of other grandparents doing the same, we know a lot of the neighbours even though we now live 20.minues walk away . So there is a direct connection to the area we go to. They are in a nice set of streets which are all houses, we are in a street of modern flats where no one really does trick or treating. We wouldn't go somewhere random though.

I grew up in a rural area and we did travel around to houses but I ly those with a connection so relatives or people we were in school or brownies etc with. It was guising then and you had to to a turn to get anything.

We drive to another area but mainly so that the DC can go with friends - wouldn't just pick a random location. Might be cheeky but there is nothing in walking distance of our house and nobody to go with

I haven't seen any decorations yet in my village. Halloween is tomorrow night, isn't it?

I don’t think it’s cheeky. It’s just a few sweets, it doesn’t matter who gets them.

Some streets don’t have many who will join in so they will just go somewhere where more join in.

🥱

This wouldn't bother me tbh, but then I've never had 100 trick or treaters before 7pm! That's nuts tbh and I don't blame you for bringing your pumpkin in.

I don't think it's cheeky to do this, but equally understand people refusing to participate if they have as many as you have in one evening

I have a feeling people will flock to our new build estate. It’s my first year here but my sister said she literally had 100s turn up at hers last year.

Is it begging when Halloween decorations generally mean please knock here, we have sweets?

Ah its not cheeky it's just kids finding somewhere to go trick or treating - it's only a few sweets.
I did it as a child and am 49 so not something new. Although we would get more apples and monkey nuts than sweets

Our estate does a treasure trail and competes with the treats that they give out. We give out sweets, but don’t get involved in the competition. We had some small kids brought round by their parents earlier tonight, and DH said the same kids and their parents knocked yesterday. I wish they’d just stick to Halloween

Just to confirm that I am not being a complete misery - I have in fact bought more sweets this year so we don’t run out so early.

I wouldn’t have a clue where the kids that trick or treating out street are from & I couldn’t care less. It’s just kids having a bit of fun 👻🎃

I don't understand this mentality at all.

Trick or treat a few neighbours either side of your own property - keep it a neighbourly thing to do.

What I think is quite cheeky is going to other houses trick or treating but offering nothing yourself. However I still decorate and happily offer sweets. Just hope there’s as many others offering sweets to my DC.

We travel back to our old estate, where we lived when our eldest were young. We live in the middle of nowhere on one of those roads with no pavement or lighting and our nearest neighbour is a few minutes walk. I know we are CF, but I gave out hundreds of sweets when I lived on this estate, for many years when I had no kids / only had babies so I’ve made my peace with it!

We lived in the US for Halloween last year and people went to certain streets because the houses were all on 2 acre lots but some streets were arranged with longer lots so houses were closer together.

It was a small town but we had 6-700 trick or treaters.

I live in an area like this and I do think it's a bit cheeky that people travel to an area they have no connection with to trick or treat just because the chosen area makes more effort. Part of the reason it's so big on my estate is that we have a real community feel: it's a small school catchment and most families with kids at the local school lives in catchment or very close so we recognise most trick or treaters. And of course the majority of doors our kids knock on, we will know or at least recognise the families. Guising was traditionally done in village communities where everyone would have known each other, and I wouldn't want my kids going to loads of strangers doors just to get sweets, personally. I'd buy them sweets and give them a little party at home instead if we lived in an area without much Halloween festivity.

Our village does a Halloween trail as well as Halloween but it's getting so expensive now. Last actual Halloween I gave away 500 lollies (1 each) and another 600 for the trail. The trail I just leave them out and I know some parents let their kids take as much as they like which means they run out before everyone has gone round. Due to the Col less houses are doing anything and more and more people are coming to the village from other places for the trail and trick or treating, none of whom I recognise. Last year at the end of the night 1 darling with no parents ( secondary school age) asked for something else as he didn't like the sweets I offered and then stormed off when I told him I wasn't a shop.
It's great everyone gets stuck in but it feels frustrating that no one appreciates the cost and still complains at you if it runs out.

I would rather children were able to trick or treat safely. If that means being taken to 'safer' neighbourhoods than where they actually live, and where Halloween is being celebrated, then so be it.

I don't think anyone would have an issue with that, you do have a connection to the area 😀
What people mind round here are the groups of older kids particularly, they are often dropped off in cars, and they tend to wander around ransacking any unattended displays and sometimes nicking the actual props . Local teens would be too scared to do that because everyone would recognise them 😂

Same here. Lots of kids come to our area to enjoy the decorations and I love seeing the costumes and giving out tons of sweets. I don’t have an issue at all, it’s lovely that everyone can enjoy it. 🎃