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!

Some people come to our estate as several streets out in a real effort. The funny thing was that they would come from the estate where I teach. That gave them a shock when I opened the door!

Thank goodness for people like you, the misery guts on here are dreadful, I bet they'll sit in tomorrow sucking on their lemons. Keep enjoying Halloween and making great memories for the children.

No not normal and very cheeky!

I think it should be houses within walking distance only. Unless travelling to trick or treat with friends/family

encouraging children that it's OK to beg is pretty CF behaviour generally, wherever they do it.

When I lived in London, our house was known as the 'Halloween House' because I used to really go to town decorating. We used to get 200 or so kids each year, lots came from other areas but I was just happy to be part of it all (this was pre-DC). I love Halloween!

Now that DS is old enough, he has a Halloween party every year and then we take him trick or treating round our village, but if we lived somewhere crap for it I'd have no problem going somewhere else.

A few bags of lollies cost very little, and it brings such joy to the kids.

😂😂😂

Nope I've never heard this. Not everybody lives in an estate. We live in a quiet area. I always have loads of sweets ready and nobody ever comes.

Obviously we only go to houses that are decorated and advertising themselves.

Why would you feel cheeky? I really don't get it. Halloween is for everyone. Party mix bags cost very little.

It's absolutely normal. Just because you don't do it doesn't mean it's not normal. I know many people who do it and have done for years.

Our first year in our new home we had close to 200 trick or treaters! I think that year lot some of our neighbours off as not many do it now. Most years we have 100ish, think last year we reckon it was 130.

I think it's fine to travel to meet up with family and friends. I don't really have a problem with people going to an area they have no connection with if otherwise their kids wouldn't really get to trick or treat, but I do think it is a little sad not to live in an area where at least a few people make a bit of an effort.

I do think that if you're trick or treating yourself, you should leave sweets out/another adult at home to hand them out if possible. So if you're going to participate, give as well as take. But I guess for families in flats or who live in the middle of nowhere with no one passing, that might be a bit pointless and they might just end up with a whole bowl of sweets left.

The time. 5pm until 8pm. Then no more. And we do get lots of teens all dressed up too.

I live in a target village, I don't mind, happy to give sweets away.

I also find all these begging comments really funny 😂. They're so illogical.

If I invite my friend in for a cup of tea and a biscuit, is she begging?

A convention has developed whereby displaying a pumpkin on 31st October is an invitation to children passing by in costumes to knock on the door for a treat. By knocking, children accept that invitation. They are invited and they accept. I don't see how that can be seen as begging in any form.

My mum is 80. Any occasion to make money was taken by her and her siblings growing up. On bonfire night they would split up and have a ‘penny for the guy’ on each end of the street, to make sure they made maximum money. That’s more like begging!

im nearly 50 and certainly went trick or treating. It absolutely isnt new to England.

We live on a very quiet terraced street with a dead end, apart from the odd few young families Halloween isn’t really ‘done’ here so we’re going to my DM’s house, she lives on a new build estate that has gone all out. Plus my DC’s will be there until I get back from work at 5pm anyway so it makes more sense.

DH is however staying home with a bowl of sweets just in case we get the odd one knocking on our door.

Might try hitting up Bucky P, see what Camilla's giving out.

I live in one of those places where people drive for miles. It’s amazing. I expect around 2.5k (not a typo) visitors tomorrow night - we are known as the hot chocolate house

We live somewhere that gets swarmed with trick or treaters. Ive just been to the shop to stock up on lollies and sweets. I've got enough for the first 300 kids that knock - most of them are amazing at only taking one bag of haribo rather than grabbing handfuls - but i have learnt to speak up and say oi oi to those that try and swipe more.

Whenever my stash is gone i just bring the pumpkins inside and no more knocks.

I don't mind if the trick or treaters aren't exactly local, its a lovely atmosphere and my dc enjoy walking round for an hour filling up their bucket from all the other houses

Honestly, because some neighbourhoods really suck and it’s really no fun for the kids! We’re very lucky where we are so we’ve never travelled anywhere else. We’re a close knit group of three streets that all lead onto a sports field. It’s lovely. I see lots of faces I don’t recognise and we’ve lived here for 17 years so I’d definitely recognise children from our own little neighbourhood. I think it’s great and think the more the merrier. Parents comment every year about how lovely and welcoming our neighbours are. The children get so excited about the effort everyone puts into decorating their homes. I love seeing happy children, it brings me joy. How could it not? I don’t think it’s cheeky at all. I’m like a kid on Halloween and love seeing their cute little costumes and big smiles ❤️ All my kids friends come over to ours for dinner before and then go out trick or treating because we have a great neighbourhood for it.

Totally cheeky but there are exceptions as people have listed. Cool if there is a connection to another area (parent, friend) and cool if you live rural or on a busy road or without pavements. Cheeky otherwise imo.

We're in a tiny village with a majority elderly population. We wouldn't go trick-or-treating here so we drive to my parents house for tea, they live on a large estate with lots of houses decorating for Halloween and open to trick-or-treating. It's a really fun evening and there is a real buzz on the estate, my children are really looking forward to it!

I don't mind, we have a couple of boxes of sweets and lots left over at the end. I think a lot of it will be kids teaming up with friends who don't live in the same street which seems fine to me.

I'd rather my kids walk around a safe neighbourhood than where I live. Plus I live on a main road

I think it’s C AF. If you’ve chosen to live in some rural out of the way area then you should take the consequences of that. Not take from a community you’re unlikely to reciprocate to in any way.

I doubt it - you’d go to the nearest town because your kids would want to. We live remotely and go to the next village where our school is - no qualms given we go to school there.