Am I just a 'Grumpy Old Woman' ?

Or even

I wanna come to yours maggiemaybe!!!

Yes, I remember carving turnips. And the pong as they burned.

I love your post, pompa

Must admit, I've seen some impressive pumpkin carving. I like that bit, the Jack-o-lantern thing. The rest, nah. I just don't like grim and ghoulish. And one can make kids excited about something any time.

You'd be very welcome, jinglbellsfrocks! They'll probably need a substitute nana by then as I'll have knocked myself out cold on the "Beware all who enter" sign now hanging above the kitchen door. You'd have thought I'd have learnt by the third time, or the fourth, or the fifth....

I don't like the landfill tat but I do enjoy the goblins blood soup (pea soup)the worms and dragons poo and a pudding of evil intent for the DGC

I'm all for a party too, but I don't see why we need so many commercially driven excuses to have one.

Sainsbury's is selling, amongst other things, "creepy cakes", bumper bags of Trick or Treat sweets, etc. etc. Asda has a huge range of Halloween "accessories", including children's "blood-spattered tights", "animal beating heart", "demon-faced clown masks" - the list goes on - and then, of course, there are all the packs of barbeque and party food.

So shop and supermarket staff who dress up in these ridiculous costumes are all part of the push to sell these products.

I used to buy sweets for any trick or treaters but none ever came around. (so I just HAD to eat them!). Last year I didn't bother only for two sweet little witches to knock on my door (accompanied by their Dad), I did have some individually wrapped choc cakes which I was planning to take to a friend so I gave them to the little witches.

This year I have again bought the sweets, wonder if the witches will return!

At least Halloween doesn't start in August - or even July, like Christmas in September. I can't make out whether I'm a grumpy old woman (well, actually, I know I am) or whether I'm merely jealous of all the diversions for the children these days. Halloween, I'm sure, was unheard of in the 40s and 50s when I was really young, Bonfire Night was on 5 November, not before and not after, and Christmas was three days - Eve, Day and Boxing Day. New Year was a sort of diversion, if you call being the only youngster at the Methodist Chapel social followed by the Watch Night Service at 11.45 pm, only just awake, and all the adults high on orange squash, a diversion. And don't get me started on Proms - a quick whip round with an autograph book and home. School - end of! But live and let live - as long as they don't make a noise and frighten the horses ...............

I wish it was in August; at least young children wouldn't be running around in the dark [which always worries me].

Hallowe'en seems to have taken over from Guy Fawkes' night. Is it anything to do with elfansafety, I wonder? I don't like small children being out at night, knocking on doors but I suppose it was the same with Penny for the Guy. They are both forms of begging but Trick or Treat comes with a small hint of threat, especially with the bigger children who come on their own. I tend to ignore the doorbell but my OH bought a bag of lollipops a few years ago and has been handing them out ever since (the same ones!).

We have a very small children's home in our village and after returning from shopping this afternoon, three 5/6 yr old girls and one older boy (in charge) came into the garden. They were delightful. Faces painted up into animals, home-made costumes and carrying little baskets. I didn't have any sweets but did have some choc. pudds in the back of the fridge. I gave them those. Big smiles and kisses all round and off they went.
A lovely afternoon interlude.

I am a GOW regarding Halloween, but admit to having a tin of sweets by the front door. I used to teach locally and when I answer the door, small children shriek. I hope it's recognition and not fear that I must be dead as I am so old. I would feel very mean having nothing to give them. And they are always with parents. Your afternoon interlude sounds very touching Ffin. And a million miles away from supermarket/garden centre cash grabbing.

That kind of event would also be perfectly fine with me, ffinn. It's the knocking on doors of people they don't know after dark that I don't like, plus all the "landfill tat" that someone else defined so exactly. The kind of tat that I, as a young mum, could not afford and didn't want the peer group pressure to buy, not to mention the build up of expectation in kids which I'd then have to disappoint. It's the pressure to spend that I dislike, nothing else.

The GOW in me has seen that this year Halloween tat in the shops has exceeded anything I've seen in previous years. As a child in England (came up to live in Scotland when I was 10), I knew nothing of Halloween. However, I did find it really exciting to go 'guising' with my new friends here. We dressed in our mum's old clothes and daubed soot on our faces (from the back of the fire ) and slapped some of mum's make-up around our faces and off we went to knock on doors. We had to tell a joke or sing a song and then we were given sweets or a few pennies. No commercialism, no cost - just fun!

Yes B - Quite agree about the landfill tat and hyped-up commercialism that surrounds events such as Hallowe'en. Wouldn't it be a fine thing if most of the trashy stuff were left on the shelves. #dreamon

Haven't read all these posts but yes Hallowe'en traditions are Celtic and def not 'trick or treating'. When my kids were young (and only in their late 20's now) they dooked for apples and went guising and they had to do 'a turn' - sing a song, tell a joke etc and be dressed up and carrying a tumshie (a swede lantern). It was great seeing the excitement of their face when they came back with their haul of penny sweets and even money from the neighbours. Things went rapidly downhill after Tesco discovered pumpkins. Although the year my son forgot about his lantern and we found it under a pile of his stuff in the grate in his room ......we thought a gull had died in the chimney!

As children we bobbed for apples, told ghost stories, and sat with the pong (thanks Jing) of our swede lanterns scaring ourselves, such good fun. It is a pagan tradition, and like every other christian/pagan festival, has been grabbed by the retail trade to boost their profits.

I've met a gorgeous witch in the supermarket, she was shopping for treats with her grannie. As I left, a skeleton and a ghost came in (with their parents) - it's great fun. We're lucky in only ever having children accompanied by adults, or much older siblings, roaming the local streets. I just hope we don't get yet more fireworks tonight. My dogs don't bat an eyelid, but many animals really suffer. Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys the evening in the way they want to. I recommend a glass of something

henetha I'm with you on the cost of broomstick fuel, shocking that they put the price up at this time of year. Having fallen off a couple of times recently - even before a glass of witch's brew - I've decided to hang up my broomstick (never liked the cat anyway).

I must be the Worst Witch!

However, choccies are ready in the cupboard just in case and yes, I will have to scoff nibble them if no-one comes to trick or treat. DGC don't live near enough to visit but they are excited about dressing up.

The fireworks are the one annoying thing - they will probably start tonight and go on from now until the New Year. Ban fireworks except in organised displays. Bah humbug!

Who will be celebrating All Saints' Day tomorrow? Anyone on here have a saint's name?
www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/all-saints-day

I am so pleased it is not just me who is a GOW regarding tonights antics. My own kids donned an old sheet (normally used when decorating) with 2 holes cut in for eyes and were allowed to go to the neighbours to frighten them. Lots of laughter as the neighbours played their part but not a trick or treat in sight.
Right now I have battened down the hatches, closed all curtains, locked the doors, switched off most lights and to all intents and purposes I am NOT AT HOME !! As others have said it has all just got out of hand.

We're getting more callers than usual - I've had to smack OH's hand away from the cauldron with the sweets in or we'll be running out. So far they're all very young, very cute, and well supervised by mum and dad.

I know it's just my personal experience, but I don't believe trick or treating is anywhere near as threatening as Mischief Night used to be (the night before Bonfire Night). There were a lot of nasty tricks going on then and there was no chance of buying the little blighters off! We used to tie next door neighbours' door handles together with rope, which was fairly innocent but no doubt annoying, and one year we stripped all the flowers from a teacher's garden and sold them as posies door to door, including to one of her colleagues! A lot of egg throwing went on and bangers through letterboxes. My parents used to be sticklers for good behaviour, but we seemed to have carte blanche on this particular night.

I don't like fireworks being on general sale either, particularly since a huge rocket ended up slicing through the roof of my BF's car.

I've never heard of Mischief Night.

It looks as though it might just be a Northern England thing, Eloethan. I never realised that.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8339617.stm

It always made me pleased that I did not live in the same area as I taught in. Mischief night seemed to be an excuse for very anti-social behaviour. Am I right in thinking it was mostly 'celebrated' in the north of the UK ?