Halloween Treats - HM or shop bought???

thriftlady_2

mirry wrote:

my daughters going to a halloween party and I found out they are going trick or treating , which i really do not agree with !
How on earth do I say to the parent of the other child that I do not want my daughter to do that without sounding like a spoil sport ?

It really does amaze me that children are allowed to knock at old peoples doors when its dark, dressed in scarey outfits and threaten people with TRICK OR TREAT !
What morals are we teaching our children ???

I really agree with you on this one;) I would be very unhappy with my children doing this unless it was to friend's houses who had agreed to it beforehand. Fortunately I have a good excuse for my dd at least not going trick or treating - she has food allergies and it simply is not safe for her.

I don't make any provision for trick or treaters I'm afraid and if they call at the door saying 'trick or treat?' I always say 'neither thanks' - miserable old bat that I am :rotfl: Fortunately we've never suffered adversely from this approach, and I always smile nicely when I say it. Sometimes friend's children come round in which case I do give in and they get raisins, clementines which I decorate like pumpkin faces with black markers, or little shiny apples:) .

I'm sorry but I think it is organised begging, an unwelcome import from America, and another excuse for retailers to make money. I feel supermarkets particularly have fueled the custom. They fill their stores with rubbish and children see it and think they 'need' to go trick or treating.

Having said all that, I do things with my kids like making halloween cakes for the school cake sale and their lunch boxes for that day. They dress up and make the rooms dark and scare each other and we always have a pumpkin which I enjoy carving.

Pink.

Hi shell,

This is last years thread on trick or treating that might be of interest to you too.

Trick or Treat?

Pink

mrs-moneypenny

last year after running out of packaged sweets i'd brought for the Trick or Treaters i went on to wrapping a couple of biscuits in foil, the little kids were ok with those but i heard a group of older youths stop them and ask what i was giving out when they said biscuits the youths said we wont bother then were only after cash! some of the the older people on the estate were giving them 20 or 30p each and wondering why they got lots knocking! the kids were obviously comparing notes to see where the 'best' houses to go were.
I know about the amounts of cash being given out by the older ones as my inlaws and thier neighbours were doing it they didnt want to say no in case they got any vandalisim.

our local paper does a free Trick or triaters no thank please dont call poster for the older ones who dont want to take part. so they can put it in there window and hopefully not get bothered

Lillibet_2

thriftlady wrote:

I'm sorry but I think it is organised begging, an unwelcome import from America,

erm...actually it's a pagan festival which began in the UK in the Medieval era & was refined in Ireland at the beginning of the 19th century. The Irish took it to America at the beginning of the 20th century, not the other way around. I wrote more about the origins of Hallowe'en in last years thread if you want more history about it & why we do it.

We love Hallowe'en, although hubby is a pagan which adds to his enjoyment. Most of the children around our way are usually accompanied by their parents, who hang discretley back at the gate and we don't get teenagers much at all. However, we do like to ask the older ones if they know why they are trick or treating, sometimes they suprise us by giving very comprehensive answers!

If you want to deter trick or traters then don't particiapte by decorating your windows or outside your house with pumpkins etc (this really is a green light that you are entering into the spirit of it all) and hang a polite sign on the door or gate saying "Sorry, no trick or treaters".

HTH;)

thriftlady_2

Thanks Lillibet:) I read your post on last year's thread, and actually I already knew that we sent halloween over there ,but your post was very informative:T . It's not halloween I'm accusing of being American just the trick or treating hype. I know it's an old tradition in parts of the UK too but I do think the pressure to do it has been fueled by the way we see it celebrated in the US through TV and film and by supermarkets filling their shelves with junk.

We like halloween and as I said in my post we do various halloweeny things but not trick or treating Happy halloween.

leni

My parents used to give money, which I hate doing so since leaving home, I make HM treats!

First year I made red toffee apples and wrapped them in celephane, the last 2 years I've made fairy buns with green buttercream or a halloween motif on the top and this year I'm debating halloween cookies or pumpkin muffins if I can find a recipe!

The HM stuff has always gone down a treat, although they do look suprised when I bring out a plate and tell them to choose a treat!

We had a party last year and decorated the house, it was great, but I'm like a big kid anyway lol

Sarahsaver

I don't let my kids trick or treat and no-one comes around anyway as most of thekids round here are Muslims. Suits me fine;)
They had a toffee apple each from MIL homemade and they like to do things like apple bobbing, getting a sweet out of a bowl of flour that sort of thing. I want them to learn traditional things I did as a child not some imported American thing which I think has got a bit out of proportion.
We just used to go down the end of the garden and put a sheet over our heads, and try to scare dad when he got home from work:)

recovering_spendaholic

I give wrapped sweets from Home and Bargain to kids, but only if they are from around our roads and I know who they are. I really don't like the idea of going and knocking at peoples houses asking for stuff, and I find more and more that the ones we are getting round here just want money, and are not interested in sweets, which I think is disgraceful. We have a bit of a celebration in the house for DD's and friends and I make some little cakes and "witchy fingers" (thin sausages wrapped in bacon) and stuff like that.

Peem

When we were kids in Scotland this was called "Guising" the difference was - we went to the houses of people we knew, and we had to do a party piece before getting anything.

I do resent the strangers that turn up and just expect to be given something.

Guising was one of the best nights of the year and i'm sorry it's been changed by the American version.

I'm lucky DS hasn't yet cottoned on to all this - this might be my last year. We always have a bit of a celebration - turnip heads, dooking for apples - but that's it.

The HM treats would bring out my hygiene suspicions- not necessarily intentional poisoning.

saving-grace

Peem wrote:

When we were kids in Scotland this was called "Guising" the difference was - we went to the houses of people we knew, and we had to do a party piece before getting anything.

I do resent the strangers that turn up and just expect to be given something.

Guising was one of the best nights of the year and i'm sorry it's been changed by the American version.

I'm lucky DS hasn't yet cottoned on to all this - this might be my last year. We always have a bit of a celebration - turnip heads, dooking for apples - but that's it.

The HM treats would bring out my hygiene suspicions- not necessarily intentional poisoning.

Its still like that in our village. When my kids were smaller they and their friends would do the rounds of each others houses. They didn't knock on doors of people they didn't know.
Now we're past that stage I put a lit pumpkin on the front step so that neighbours' children know they're welcome to call.