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?

Doesn't agent millions turn up today from premium bonds?

Same. And took the bowl, to boot.

Yeah that happens here but I just leave the tub out anyway not my fault if the kids after them are disappointed.

Thing is the older teens ruining it can be quite intimidating d

Yeah. My husband wants to do it so I grudgingly give in. This year little one can go to my neighbours and give them something that's it. One house.

I've told my clients to text first so I open it just to them, otherwise I won't bother.

We will be but have to go out at 6:15 and I doubt DH will be home. We’ll leave a bowl out for any later ones and hopefully people will be sensible! We live in a small village though so know most people and trick or treating as a teenager here would be social suicide!

Funnily enough I consider what my family do in the run up to Halloween a tradition now.

I use a cardboard box for this reason. I make my offering to the neighbourhood, once it's out there it's their issue if the first kid takes it all

I no longer take part , as it's moved on from local kids in the street to touring groups from all over, but mainly they go to decorated houses, so don't usually get disturbed .

We leave a bowl of sweets out all the time when we go out and we live in a "rough" area. I suppose it's not as rough as we thought!

I think it's great, a chance to have a chat with the neighbours and a bit of fun pretending to be terrified of tiny giggling vampires.

I feel a bit bad for people who won't be troubled or disturbed by anyone because as with everything, you get out of your community what you put in. Humour the children and spread a little bit of joy!

The unspoken rule of only decorated houses ( even if only a small indication) being approached used to be adhered to here ( SW London ) and the giggling of small groups of dressed up and supervised local young children was very sweet. Teenagers came by much later and were more interested in laughing amongst themselves than bothering households that didn’t want to join in.

In the past couple of years, though, it’s changed to non local groups of children being taken around in cars, grabbing the whole supply of sweets and then later bigger groups of teenagers demanding money. Scares the wits out of the solo elderly in this road.

I’ve had the opposite issue where I’ve bought sweets and put the pumpkin out and literally no one has come down our road. We’ve just moved and I’ve been told it’s the same here. I’ve got an emergency tin of Quality Street in case.

I don’t like the whole Halloween thing and don’t put pumpkins out, but kids still knock. I hate having to buy loads of sweets that I wouldn’t normally be spending money on. My kids know we don’t really do it. I never did it as a child it seems to be much more of a thing in the last 10 years or so. We’re out tonight so hoping we miss the majority.

I always leave the tub of sweets on the doorstep, then fill it up every hour or so. This is because we have a dog and the constant opening and closing of the front door really agitates him.
In my experience, between 5pm and 7pm it is usually young children with their parents and they just take one sweet each. Teenagers will come out later, they are usually polite and respectful but even if they do take a handful that's fine by me, at this point I'm happy to see the sweets gone.

Last year at my work, 2 women stole 6 kids' Halloween costumes between them. The women and the 6 kids went to my former colleague's (now friend) house - the kids wearing the stolen costumes. They took the outfits but some outfits had things like headpieces (witch's hat) or masks attached were left behind attached to the hangers. So the store had a rough idea of ages and genders of the kids. My friend usually answers the door to ToTs but didn't for them, as she was on the loo. On her Ring app she saw them and saved a couple of screenshots of the group.

These women are one of 4-5 regular shoplifters in the supermarket and other shops in the town. Her Ring footage and others were passed onto the police and shop security companies and they have been banned from entering all shops in the town.

I feel sorry for the kids.

I am over 40 and it has been a tradition to trick or treat since I was a kid. We live in Scotland so I am also surprised to hear it is a newer thing? I'd say something that has been about for 30 years is no longer a new thing and firmly rooted in British culture.

Dog walked early, lights off, will spend from 5 - 8ish in the kitchen at the back of the house, as all the noise at the front makes Ddog really anxious, it's absolute chaos round here there are so many kids doign the rounds (new build estate). Hopefully no-one will knock as we are not decorated, but we did have some older kids last year up until about 9 who clearly didn't care about the 'decorated houses only' rule. I hate it more than Bonfire night tbh.

I don't decorate the house and have never had anyone knock the door.

I love hearing the squeals of excitement from children going up and down the road though!

I'd never seen anyone dressed up and knocking on doors till I moved to current village 5 years ago. Once had the neighbours come round in London about 15 years ago and totally surprised me as I had no idea it was a thing in England at all.

ToT'ing has been a thing where I live in Leicester since I can remember. Only the past 10-15 years it has expanded to throughout the country.

Anyone who is scared such as lone elderly people should have common sense in keeping as few lights on or take refuge in the rooms in the back for one day of the year.

It's the chav carol 'singers' that are worse than ToT'ing as can get them all through December. They want money despite only singing the first line (usually the name of the carol) of a few carols and its always out of tune or spoken.

Anyone who is scared such as lone elderly people should have common sense in keeping as few lights on or take refuge in the rooms in the back for one day of the year.

Don't be ridiculous. You think people should have to hide in their own houses? That's appalling.

Yeah we have that down our road. It's a convient location so people drive in.

It's either that or their homes get battered (pun) with eggs and flour which is awful to remove as experienced that at a previous address. Thank goodness its not in the summer.

This.