Anyone here not answering door today

[Auburngal]

I am going to switch off doorbell late afternoon. I have never done trick or treating as a child nor gave sweets to kids.

I just don't want my evening to be disturbed by the constant ringing of my doorbell. First few years of living at my home didn't get anyone as its a newbuild and people didn't know to go to the doors, you walk around the back of the block of flats and maisonettes.

Wonder how many people with Ring or similar doorbells will tell the kids and chavs to go away, politely or rudely?

if your home is not decorated/pumpkin outside there should not be anyone knocking, is that not the rule?

@Autumn38 i am 100% with you, love to see the children all dressed up, I like to think I will be doing for the children when I’m old as well 🎃

happy Halloween everyone, hope your kids have a fun evening 🎃💀👻

I don’t mind answering the door to kids who have gone to some effort to dress up, but our dogs go crazy every time someone knocks and it gets annoying, going to try leaving sweets on the doorstep in the hope that the kids have enough consideration not to take them all in one go

Generally most people only knock on doors with pumpkins now. I live in a flat, so no-one will be knocking. I do know 2 children in the block so i’m going to get some coins incase they come and say daddy will take them to the shop as I have nothing in for kids

I use my bicycle lock to stop them even getting through the front gate. Last year I hung sweets on it but as others said, the first bunch of people just emptied it and left nothing for others. If I don't lock the gate, no amount of shut curtains and lack of decor stops the incessant ringing and knocking.

Luckily in my area children abide by the "pumpkin rule". I used to decorate and had a steady stream of children but didn't last year and had none. It works really well here.

I’m not participating!
can’t stand Halloween.

We’ve never had trick or treaters at the door, we live too far out. We do leave free sweets and little bags we make up in our honestly box at the end of the drive with a sign. We get a lot of tourists in campervans and they often stop for a treat for their children. I’ve already filled it today and will restock it this afternoon.

I've no kids and I still kit it out and buy sweets in for the kids.

Lets be honest it's a couple of hours or so, once a year. You can do what you want of course, but you're asking AIBU, so aye I think you are, and a bit of a tightarse.

If everyone done this, the tradition would die out.

Nobody on MN ever answers the door do they, unless it's a close family member (not an in-law) who made an appointment 10-14 business days in advance? What's different about today? 🤷🏻‍♀️

(FWIW we live in a flat so rarely get anyone knocking but we have some sweets in just in case!)

I was brought up to view it as begging, we did ducking apples and games at home instead, sometimes with friends. This was before the UK had adopted so much from America though and more people went to church where celebrating Halloween was discouraged:

www.christianity.org.uk/article/halloween

Anyway, it's not a practice we've ever taken part in so there are no decorations outside and we won't answer the door.

I will.
I won't need to answer to t&t because we aren't decorating and round here the parents only take their children to houses that are decorated, but if someone knocks I will answer.

Pumpkin and decorations rule here too. Our village goes in for it in a big way though. Will be taking my two out guising for a little while, 2yo has even managed to learn a joke (although keeps forgetting the punchline ). And then DD1 loves opening the door to the kids and giving them sweets.

kids and chavs 😂 blimey, sounds exciting!

We don’t get kids or chavs (or anyone else) sadly so although I would open the door I doubt anyone will come!

When I was young - many years ago- we carved a turnip lantern and that was the extent of our acknowledgement that it was Halloween.

I moved to Scotland in my twenties and came across Trick or Treat for the first time. I quite liked it because the children had to perform a wee song or tell a joke before they got given any treats. But I get the impression that side of the tradition has died and now children just expect to be handed a load of sweets just because they've knocked on the door. And so it's morphed into just into a form of begging.

I'll be turning the lights off this evening and going to bed and hope I get through it without any problems.

Sorry, I’m Irish and I know what’s behind Oíche Shamhna aka Halloween, so I would be more than happy if it died out.

One of the joys of living in a flat. No trick or treaters #miseryguts

Wow how miserable.

I don’t agree with trick or treating as I think it’s weird to teach children not to talk to strangers or take anything from them only to encourage them to knock on doors and ask for sweets for one night!
But I don’t begrudge anyone else doing it. We will have the lights off and no decorations out tonight so hopefully won’t get any knocking, instead I throw a Halloween party each year which seems to go down well (already had it this year a bit earlier than usual!).

It's difficult as my dogs bark like doorbells 🙈😬 my son has told his friends to all pop round. I had planned to just leave sweets out so I think I'll do that (until they are gone). Other than opening for his friends.

If everyone did this, the tradition would die out.
Fingers crossed! Wasn't ever a "tradition" in the various bits of England I've lived in all the way up to the 90s. What children do in England now is a very recent US import, nothing to do with Scottish or Irish traditions and not a tradition in England at all. I'd happily see it die out.

By me, people only knock on it you have a pumpkin out or a decorated Halloween house. I bought some sweets but have eaten most of them so probably won't put the pumpkin out!

Chav teens not dressed up at all, ignore the rule and demand money, not sweets.

I’ve just asked this on another thread - where do you live that this happens?

Demanding money is not a Halloween tradition. It could be extortion though.

I’d send them away with a flea in their ear but I realise not everyone would be able to do that.

By all means don't participate. The rule is not to knock on undecorates houses.

Calling children chavs is uncalled for.

I love Halloween but I totally understand your point of view. Don’t get me started on sitting on Father Christmas’s lap, especially when you know he is wearing a fake beard!

That’s awful you get that! Lucky we don’t have that hear so it’s a fun tradition for those who want it.