Am I nasty/mean

bella4uk

I think it tends to be called trick or treat now, which I hate, because as kids we used to say penny for halloween and it's not the done thing anymore.
I loved halloween as a kid and used to get really excited....I can't see the harm in buying a big bag of lollies and when they're gone no more halloweeners....
I like to learn about traditions and I for one would hate to see it go....
To the OP, of course you're not mean..

immoral_angeluk

I remember getting a knock on our door from trick or treaters last year.. they didn't get anything though as we'd literally just been handed the keys to our house and were painting the living room which was bare bones with nothing except a lick of paint!!! lol! Will probably get some cheap sweets for them this year but if they don't like sweets then it's tough.

consultant31

kingmonkey wrote:

Anyone have tips for keeping trick or treaters away from your door?

We have big gates which are always locked when we get home from work and two Rotties which roam the property.
Strangely we are never bothered by anyone :rotfl:

seven-day-weekend

funky-footprints wrote:

It is after all a bit of fun,

QUOTE]

One thing Halloween ISN'T is 'a bit of fun'.

Apart from other things connected with it, is it fun to train (and encourage) your children to demand money with menaces?

bella4uk

Bah humbug....:)

achtunglady

Ahhhh. i must be getting old, i was told never take any sweeties off strangers, thats what knocking on doors asking people for treats is isn't it?????
Nowadays its you can't play conkers because of health and safety, surprised health and safety havent jumped on this bandwagon, I mean, what happens if someone twists their ankle on your property while trick or treating??

achtunglady

As for absurd traditions, does anyone think in 20 years time, there will be a "Live Aid" day where everyone donates money, even if its a penny to help the poor? Now i'd be up for that.

Edinburghlass_2

seven-day-weekend wrote:

funky-footprints wrote:

It is after all a bit of fun,

QUOTE]

One thing Halloween ISN'T is 'a bit of fun'.

Apart from other things connected with it, is it fun to train (and encourage) your children to demand money with menaces?

Sorry but yes, in lots of place it is a bit of fun and no-one is "training" their children to demand money

Originally the idea was an apple and maybe some nuts, money never came into nor does it where I am from. The kids are happy with a few sweets and fruit once they have done their party piece and then go home for dooking and games.

Money did come into it for Bonfire Night when it was customery to ask for a penny for the guy, fortunately the advent of group fireworks has stopped a lot of that.

Stompa

funky-footprints wrote:

It is after all a bit of fun, a responsible parent is out every year with the children here

FWIW I don't think over the years I've ever seen a parent with them - responsible or otherwise!

Savvy_Sue

lil_me wrote:

It was because my son woke up and heard them say I was mean that it bothered me as he was repeating it.

I've been running this through in my head this afternoon, and there is of course one answer, which is yes, you are nasty/mean, you are a mother, it goes with the territory! :rotfl:

More seriously, you are upset because your son heard them say this, and he's repeating it, so maybe you need to talk to him and say that these people THOUGHT you were nasty and mean, because you did not do what they wanted you to do, ie give them sweets / money. Mummies do not always do what people want, but they always try to do what is best for their children. Sometimes this makes them SEEM mean / nasty, but that is just one of life's lessons: we can't always have what we want ...

Also, I won't allow my offspring to talk to me in that way. I may agree that I am being mean, evil, completely unreasonable (mine are all teenagers now!), but it's up to them to deal with it, without bad-mouthing me ...

siren13577 wrote:

Your gates getting padlocked sounds like misery night or missey night in Liverpool. I'd never heard of this a few years ago but it's the night before Halloween(?)

I think it was just done to annoy us as we hadn't opened the door at all on Hallowe'en, or maybe it was nothing to do with Hallowe'en, we have some choice teenagers nearby! Fortunately it happened while the chap we share the house with was out, so he did the gate climbing trick when he came home: he didn't have his phone on him so hadn't even been able to phone us and check if for some reason we'd put a padlock on the gate (which is actually one possible solution for Tuesday week!) Or even ask us to go and unlock the back gate, for which we carry keys but he doesn't!

Anyway, he came in and asked if anyone was going out first thing next morning, and I said no, and he said "good because the front gate is padlocked and I don't want to cut it off in the dark and cold". It's fortunate it wasn't done on a school night, because otherwise the boys might have been the first ones to find out!

siren13577 wrote:

kids in Liverpool armed with eggs and flour basically, throw it round etc. I think that this is terrible but funnily enough it's only restricted to certain areas of Liverpool as far as I know.

We get that both near where we work and where we live. There are signs in all the local shops saying they won't sell eggs to children near Hallowe'en, but they get them anyway. I thought it was one of the 'tricks' - no fun when an egg's been smashed on your car, it's horrific to get it off!

siren13577 wrote:

I'd murderlise (keep an eye on this word it'll be getting into OED before you know it) my son if he was up to stuff like that

:rotfl: