Trick Or Treating - am i mean?

mummy_Jay

My boy will be dressing up and standing at the window like last year waiting to see whos coming to see him as he puts it, he loves seeing all the other little girls and boys dressed up and he especially likes giving out the candy. When he's big enough I intend having Halloween parties for him but until then he'll just have to put up with me setting the extra place at the table.

As for taking him trick or treating, he's told me he wants to go this year as he wants to take the candy to his "friends" (he doesn't get the idea that its him that would get the candy, not him delivering it). Not sure about this, i may try and convince him its better to wait for them to come to us.

Strange as is sounds,I prefer the trick or treaters to the penny for the guy kids and the carolers, I thinks it more as they are satisfied by a chocy bar rather than want money. Though one year we had a young girl come caroling playing carols on her flute which was lovely and I didn't mind giving to her, though I'd rather carolers did it for charity.

MattB_4

missjennipenni wrote: »

Am i miserly for not allowing my children to go trick or treating ( i see it as akin to begging) and for not opening the door to trick or treaters?

Whats yoru view on this practice?

Sounds fine to me! My parents would never let me out for it either. Can't say I'm fond of the whole Halloween thing now I'm (apparently!) grown up. Thankfully the little kids can't be bothered to walk up our steep drive these days so we never get them calling. Too much Playstation and too little exercise I expect :rotfl:

kdf987

i used to love going guising when i was wee...not trick or treating! we always had to sing/say a poem or tell a joke, so we were kind of doing something for our treat.i lived in a village where pretty much everyone knew each other...and there was always three houses everyone was desperate to get to..the ones with home made tablet and toffee apples! my elderly neighbours always used to love us coming round as the wee bit of entertainment and (always) home made costumes brightened up their night.we always went with friends and at least one adult and i can see why people may be wary in towns/cities. but if you are careful and only see friends/relatives i then i would have no problem taking a child guising.

making guys and then begging for money for them is a totally different matter though. id never let a child do that.

Queenieviolet

We go trick or treating in our local area and I always accompany the children. We only knock on doors we know who are displaying a pumpkin. It's great fun and a real giggle seeing all the local children out and about dressed up. Not sure some of the problems mentioned are really to do with Halloween but more to do with antisocial behaviour from a minority.

foxy-lady

Yes i think you are a meanie.
I can remember going trick or treating when i was younger. Every year i would make the same costume. I would spend ages cutting moons and stars (???) out of paper and then colour them in with a neon yellow pen before sticking them all over a binbag that had arm holes cut out. Not sure what i was actually meant to be! My big sister used to take me although she always stood out of sight but still expected half the goodies !!

I think halloween is great- we put up decorations and have a scary pumpkin. The goodies for the trick or treaters sit by the door- we never give money. We have a special cd with 'monster mash' etc on. DS (5) and DD (11) both dress up- my problem is i want to take them out and be at home to answer the door too! I have even got the dog a costume this year and we're going to take her out with us. I enjoy seeing all the costumes- the best i ever saw was a teenage lad as a mummy covered head to toe in loo roll. The worst for me are the 'scream' masks.
Early trick or treaters are told to come back on halloween and i do have a moan at the ones who make no effort and the ones that try to call more than once.
Would like to add that i have never done a 'trick' or had one done to me. I don't see any harm in it myself- was amazed to read the paranoid contaminated sweets comments.

Someone who mentioned the girl who called at christmas with the flute- how lovely. When they call at our house we stand and listen to them sing, OH even puts requests in 'do you know this?, do you know that?' They have to earn the money. Don't think we'll get many this year
xx

katiekittykat

i don't mind it when it is people at the door who i know (young kids with their parents)

What i can't stand is teenagers in nothing but a mask who complain when you give them sweets and say haven't you got any money?

Pure rudeness.

M-People

kitchen_buff wrote: »

Alls you are doing by not letting your kids participate in trick or treating is making the adult futures a misery. They will always re call their mum not letting them do it. When they are adults they will make their own minds up on doing it with their kids. They might not have kids because they might think being a kid is miserable so why bother. Come on its a bit of fun. As long as you go with them and they are not causing trouble letbthem do it.

for god's sake - they aren't going to put off having children because they weren't allowed to go trick-or-treating - that's a bit extreme...

I wasn't allowed to trick or treat, and it didn't kill me.
I dont care what anyone thinks of trick or treating, but im sure that not allwoing kids to do it wont result in no next generation. That's just not going to happen...

mrs_metal

My Dad said that trick or treating started in Ireland and the local kids would dress up and if the people in the house they visited didn't recognise them they would get a treat but if they did recognise them they would get a trick (a lump of coal or something). Don't know how true this is because he does have a bit of the blarney!

I don't remember any kids going trick or treating when I was little, it was something they did in American TV programs not here and I don't agree with it now, it's not an English tradition and I don't agree with kids begging. If I lived somewhere like America where it is a tradition I would get sweets in for the kiddies.

I always just ignore the knocks on the door but we've moved to a new area and in the new house you can see from the front door what rooms have lights on so we may just go out for the evening.