To think that trick or treating should be confined to your own street or friends/family

[Moonnstars]

Showing my age here, but I remember when I was younger firstly trick or treating wasn't really a thing, but even when it started to become popular it was only your friends and family you called in on. I remember visiting my grandparents and their neighbours (who had been prepared so had sweets in) and then doing the same with my friends family.
Now it seems that people are asking where is the best street to visit, and I even saw today on social media someone saying they are on holiday in the area and where is best to go, happy to drive around to find the best places!

I have my own children who will be out, but we stick to our own street. I also have sweets in to give out, but am I being unreasonable in thinking I shouldn't have to have enough in to supply people coming over from different places and that it should just be people you know or at least living in the same street you hand stuff out to.

Also I do acknowledge some people go all out and advertise their address and want people to visit - however these are often for charity and as for a donation.

YABU - stop being so tight and buy more sweets

YANBU - it is getting out of hand, people should only go to people they know/stay local

It wasn’t really a thing where I grew up (I’m 45 and grew up rural Devon).

here it is quite popular and we tend to go on our street and the street either side of ours.

When I was a child if I was in England the focus was on Bonfire Night, making masks and a Guy, building bonfires. Treacle toffee, Parkin cake etc. The story of Guy Fawkes was taught at school.

If I was in Ireland it was all about Halloween with Jack o Lanterns made from swedes/turnips, colcannon for dinner and a slice of Barm Brack etc. Funnily enough the burning of a Catholic wasn't approved of. Samhain is an ancient Irish tradition not a USA import/export. Whole swathes of Scotland didn't care for Bonfire Night either

Very minor though.

I was at uni in England in the 90s and it was still barely a thing there. Coming from Ireland where it has always been huge (schools being off, which I believe we are the only place on the world where this is the case) it was quite a shock.

The practice is not "tick or treat", that is merely a later interjection that was added on to the secular Halloween custom of guising which is from here.

I know this.

I specifically asked when trick or treating came to the UK.

I have my answer. Should have used Google first, my bad.

I don’t care about the rest.

Every year Halloween brings the miserable bastards out doesn't it.

People generally only knock on decorated houses.

How many people live in walking distance of grandparents? How is knocking on your grandparents door fun?!

The fun is knocking on doors of those who have made a big deal of it. No offence to those who have one pumpkin lit (thanks for the sweets, very kind) but the real fun are the houses who have big scary displays. So we walk across our village to those who embrace Halloween!

I think you’re being miserable OP and totally missing the point of trick or treating.

IMO it’s only really taken off since a) pumpkins were readily available, and b) there has been a mountain of black and orange tat in the shops.

None of that was available some decades ago. I can’t blame farmers for cashing in with pumpkins, but all the (usually Chinese) plastic tat is another matter…

Because I give 20 treats out, but my kid gets 20 treats back...

You get 30 treats by going to a nice road, and aren't giving anything back.

These things stop working when people just want to take and not give anything back.

Houses in my village got through hundreds of sweets last year because we're seen as safe and kids go to school here, but there's only actually 22 kids under the age of 12 who live here

I'm going to defend the pumpkin takeover. Anyone who has ever wrangled a turnip into a lantern is probably on board too.

Absolutely I'm surprised there weren't more horrendous turnip carving incidents. Give me a nice hollow pumpkin any day.

But this is ridiculous. No one needs to buy funsize mars bags, most kids are fine with a starburst.

It’s not about the sweets, god knows there are too many, it’s about the FUN! Seeing young children laugh and have a memorable evening seeing displays.

My kids are still very young so we can’t really do much as we’re out trick or treating but usually have a tub of celebrations to hand out to anyone who comes after we get back.

But I’m looking forward to ramping up my efforts when my kids are older and no longer want to actively participate. I love seeing little people’s faces.

If you’re not enjoying the young kids, then don’t do it. It sounds like you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

I could easily give my kids a pack of haribo but wheres the fun in that? Your comment about people on holiday just giving their kids sweets shows you don’t get it - how sad to sit in doors and have a sweet, there’s literally no point of it. Which is fine, but just don’t do it.

Halloween was definitely a thing in the north east before the late 80s.. one year my dad carved turnips but wasn't going to risk a tealight so wired them up with batteries and little bulbs for us to carry around.

I would if anyone actually knew where our house was. Even delivery men struggle to find it or the electrician that we had round today.

So should I stay in and not let my excited 8 year old go out? Find it weird you are so focused on sweets and the number of them. 🤷 Luckily no one here seems so stingy as you. What about the kids with no gardens? Should they not go anywhere either?

Parking for one thing! As mentioned by several others it seems it's new build housing estates where a lot of effort goes in (these houses are family homes so that would be why) but there is absolutely no parking anywhere! Maybe it's just here but people have a driveway/garage or maybe a couple of spaces, but because houses are built so close together there isn't on the road parking so for any one not from the estate who drives over then people end up parking on corners and the odd spots where there does happen to be a gap, but this makes it tight for residents or anyone wanting to get through.

This is still how it’s done in Scotland. I’m not from here and was very surprised by all the jokes and songs. To be honest, it makes the whole giving out candy to large groups of kids take forevvvvver, and you have to act like you’re enjoying all the performances. But I’m always bah humbug this time of night and then by the end of the night I think it’s a lovely community event. Some of the houses around here go all out with decorations and there are two older ladies for whom it is clearly the highlight of their year.

OPs post seems a non issue to me. We’ve not done it some years and many of my neighbours never do. You just don’t put decorations out. 🤷‍♀️

My point is and still stands that it isn't about going round looking at decorations, else very few would bother knocking on doors. I also posted originally saying about how some houses do decorate for charity (and as someone else mentioned, not many do contribute and just go to see the house and collect a sweet or toy).
I even admitted for my own kids it is about going out getting sweets. If I said to them about going to a Halloween party they would likely say they are too old for that, so it isn't about the dressing up either.
Right now you say your kids are too young for it, so perhaps consider when they are older whether they want to do it for dressing up, or because they hope to get something out of it.

Im not actually bothered about the number of sweets. It was just to illustrate a point. That everything cycles around our village, and then we have people who come from outside who are happy to take and take and take but not give anything back.

Plus my kids go to school in that neighborhood and we walk which is better than massive cars bogging up the pavement.

It's not not about the sweets but it's not just about the sweets because the ones they're getting are the same of those that have been piled up in the kitchen with no restrictions, that they haven't really touched for at least the last week.

Ok, to those posters who think there's nothing wrong with it, what do you say to the several posters on this thread whose communal street efforts for Halloween have been ruined because they've had too many visitors and have now had to stop celebrating?

As with anything, it does become a problem if specific locations are becoming overwhelmed with visitors. This isn't an organised event, it's done on the goodwill of the public. Everyone thinks "oh it's not a problem, I'm only one person", but when 200 people are thinking like that then yes, it's a problem.

This wasn't really an issue before social media, because you might go round to a friend's or a cousin's but now there are posts with hundreds of people on Facebook going "go to X street, they've done well" and while X street might have planned for the 50 kids that live in the village, they haven't planned for the 100 coming from Y town.

They come in droves around here, with pillow cases. They do the whole town.

This is the kind of thing published in a county newspaper about our village. It's absolutely heaving outside already (and only just gone 5pm) but barely any houses decorated this year compared to previous years. Such a shame but its not sustainable and does spoil the "community atmosphere" for the "community".

"For several years now, the popularity of Halloween in xxxx has grown from a few houses in xxxx to an annual community event throughout the village. Visitors come from near and far to see what residents have come up with for their houses, experience a true community atmosphere and have some spooky trick or treating fun. This year, a charity collection is being made for xxxxxx children's hospice. Visit www.xxxxxxx to make a donation. Visit the Halloween houses on the evening of October 31."

I liked it during Covid. The village organised it so there was a map - houses that were going to decorate contacted the organiser who added to the map. The maid were then £1 each from the village shop (which went to the village hall fund I think). You bought the map, took your kids to see the decorations, and each one had a tub of sweets you could take one from.

I know it spoiled the house knocking and actual "trick or treat" shouting, but it certainly made for a quieter night for those of us who don't mind it but do have things to do and don't want to be at the door 50+ plus times (not exaggerating, also would have people waiting at the end of the drive to come up when the current ones finished).

Doesn't seem too noisy tonight but I have heard a lot of dogs barking.

I am 70 and I definitely didn't do trick or treat and had never heard of it as a small child. I think it is a regional thing.

It's an Irish/Scottish thing. In England it may have been regional, ie. in small pockets, hence never mainstream. Having grown up in Ireland it was very surprising to see how little it was marked in England when I was at Uni there.

The English, historically anti catholic, has Guy Fawkes (used to burn effigies of the Pope too) on Nov 5th, the Irish and the Scots, Halloween.

And I'd hadnt heard of the term "trick or treat" (early 80s) when I was celebrating Halloween. We did not use that interjection at the door. We also carved turnips (pumpkins a more recent thing).

That interjection dates from 1917, and the practice of kids in disguise, guising, is recorded in Scotland and Ireland in the 1800s, a practice that was then transported.