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

The thing is, when you were a child you only have a memory or perception of what your family did or what was done locally. Trick or treating was a thing where I grew up, first in a block of flats we would go around to neighbours and then on our street. It died out as all the kids on the road got older. We couldn't go around to family we didn't live near them.

We're very lucky where we live. It's a new build estate lots of young families, rule is don't knock if no decorations out. DD loves it

Oh Come on now - I was just causing you to laugh a minute ago - don’t spoil it now. You clearly need all the amusement you can get.

I don't think so. As long as trick or treaters are only going to houses with obvious signs of an invitation to knock - lights on, pumpkin lit, decorations - then it's reasonable to knock on stranger's doors too.

I don't know anyone with young children these days, but I'm happy to have a few dozen unknowns come to the door once a year. We live in a village so I recognise some of the parents, but I'm not bothered if I don't. I'm not checking ID before dishing out the Haribo.

It's barely worth the effort of getting dressed up if you're only going to close neighbours and friends. And really half the thrill of Halloween for little ones is not knowing who's going to be on the other side of the door. I wear a witches hat and carry my black cat to the door 😄

Our lane is rubbish for Halloween, the kids would have a choice of 2 or 3 houses if we were only allowed here. But there’s a road round the corner that goes all out and almost every house is decorated (in competition with each other) so we go there as well. At some houses they hand out mulled wine to the parents and there’s a residents pumpkin competition. Locals won’t drive up or down it tonight as they know there are dozens of kids everywhere.

Our street used to really go for it, for all the little kids. Then someone posted on the local facebook page that it was a great place to take kids, and for the next few years, people from all over the town started driving over and bringing their kids. Blocking driveways, meaning 3/4/5 times as much treats needed to be bought, and would still run out.

In the last year or two, hardly any houses in the street put out pumpkins any longer.

YANBU in that it's getting out of hand. But YABU ,- what about children who don't live near friends or family, or who live in a street where other people don't want trick or treaters?

I've been buying sweet & chocbars for weeks now, just resting my hands from carving the pumpkin then will begin decorating the window to attract the little monsters! All welcome, our area is known for a good haul! Raining at the moment so I may have to cast a weather spell! Have a good time everyone.

Expecting to stick to friends and family is a bit U. How many people live that near friends and family, especially in a city. I think sticking to a street or block is fine, and you only call at houses where they've put out decorations so you know you're not bothering anyone who doesn't want it.

My kids are with their dad this weekend so im
not bothering, haven’t even bothered with any sweets and not putting a pumpkin out

Nope, YABU. It's your opinion and it's up to you who you give treats to anyway.
Just don't give any to anyone you don't want to, instead of huffing and puffing about strangers daring to come to your door.

Why would it need to be just your own street?🤔 If people have a pumpkin/decorations then you can knock.

I am 60. We dressed up (mask and a black sack which served as a witches dress or a cloak) and collected apples and nuts door to door when we were kids, we stayed local so it was more of a community thing. It does feel a bit much now with parents driving to places where the dc with get more stuff, most of which like likely get thrown out.

I am in my early 60s and we did trick or treating when I was a child. We didn't call it that though. And we usually got money, not sweets!

Children can understand he nuance of it being Halloween and not what you do the rest of the year. Just cos they're kids doesn't mean they're thick

I love having so many kids visit. To me it feels like being part of the community. We buy a couple of tubs of sweets then when they run out, take the pumpkin in and turn the lights off.

What I object to if the amount of tacky, plastic decor everywhere. Just gross, too scary for little kids and terrible for the environment.

I didn't grow up with it so probably don't really understand all the nuances, but I wouldn't let my children go out round other people's houses asking for sweets unless we were also giving out sweets at our house. Which is what we do. Just seems wrong to me to take without giving.

We used to do this when kids were littler….usually the roads close to where we lived and their friends.
a few years ago there was a local social media post asking where to go and someone not particularly near to us suggested our road.
within an hour or so we had people turning up with car loads of kids, had no idea idea who they were…the road was virtually grid locked.
to us and our neighbours it was like being mobbed by hoards of baying kids….most of who were rude or pushy. It was constant bell ringing every few minutes and we ran out of stuff within an hour…..never again.
as far as we’re concerned if you want your little darlings to be entertained on Halloween, make some bloody effort yourselves, get together with a few neighbours or friends and sort something. Sick of lazy parents expecting everyone else to do it for them!

I’m confused about all of you whose elderly neighbours hate it so much… now and as a kid the seniors didn’t decorate, just porch light on, but delighted to see everyone dressed up and have a little chat. It seems like in the UK maybe it’s more regional based on tradition but here in Canada it’s universal and also a good way for newcomers to start integrating. When I was a kid we also got boxes from unicef to wear around our necks collecting pennies.

Very few houses look like TV houses but it’s fun the week before driving around and looking at all the decorations. Then day of to go further for the bigger kids. Some university towns do a trick or treat for the foodbank so the big kids/young adults can go join in without getting candy.

We also don’t blindly trust the sweets - parents always inspect before the kids get them.

Caroling and New Year’s visitors aren’t a thing here so it’s an important community tradition. I think it also teaches kids about knocking on doors and manners. Obviously skipping your own neighbourhood to drive to the rich area just puts extra traffic on the road, but it isn’t end of the world either.

I remember it being called penny for the guy. I cannot recall one mention of trick or treat from my childhood. It was imported from America but probably has ancient uk roots.

It’s a big event where I live and lots of fun so I do enjoy it. I’m not doing it this year though, my teen is no longer interested and I’ve had a horrible few weeks so my heart isn’t in it tonight. I love the little ones knocking though and I might have a walk round my area this evening if it’s dry to see everybody else’s decs.

Trick or treating in its present form definitely originates from North America! In Scotland in the 70s and 80s we went "guising", where you dressed in a scary disguise, went round to neighbouring houses, would be invited in, and did some kind of act (sing/dance/tell jokes). The homeowners then tried to guess who you were. You might be invited to do ducking for apples, or that thing where you have to try to eat a scone dripping with treacle without getting it on your face. In return you got treats (apples, satsumas, maybe homemade toffee or tablet, sometimes shop-bought sweets) and maybe even some coins. By the very nature of it - going into people's houses, and them trying to guess who was behind the disguise, while really knowing all along - you only went to people you knew.

Lanterns were made by hollowing out turnips, and pumpkins were virtually unknown. I remember getting a Richard Scarry book when I was about 6, which had pumpkins in it, and I had no idea what they were.

I would bet that these are the types of customs which carried through from medieval Europe. Not the wholesale ladeling out of buckets of sweets and crisps to strangers.

I find it sad that so many of our old traditions are dying out.
That so many people don't know it didn't originate in America, for one thing.
If I am at home, I answer the door to the kids in costume myself.

Tonight, I am going guising round some streets in a nearby city with the local pagan group, singing the traditional Souling song and then partying.
(We go to only the houses that have said they want to participate)
We have noticed that adults accompanying their children trick or treating have taken their cues from us and are also beginning to dress up. Smashing!

Last year was insane here with children coming from the neighbouring streets, from the other side of the park etc, and a lot of older children too. It was fantastic actually, everyone was having a ball and the kids were running amok. Any house taking part can only give what they can give, we have a sign that goes up when we run out of sweets.

No need to overthink it into weirdness about kids getting sweets, it's not a new thing.

Was "penny for the guy" not on Guy Fawkes night, instead of Halloween? That one-week period was crazy for kids!

Ok so the poll is roughly 50:50 right now, so sounds like there are very mixed experiences. Some similar to myself with streets being overrun, while others generally saying first come first served and to only give what you have got.

Sorry if I don't return or comment further, think a range of points have been given and think anything else will now be a repetition of points.