What do you think about Halloween this year?

Same as every year.
The knocking on door thing demanding something for nothing ( or we’ll pelt your house with eggs ) is a vile American import.

I ignore it every year!

I’d rather not think about Halloween at all, and if it is struck off the calendar this year, great.

Living out in the sticks thankfully passes us by.

I will be at home, the curtains closed and lights low. I will not be answering the door. Around here people who welcome trick or treaters leave a sign outside their door.

It’s just a bit of fun, Kandinsky. Don’t keep your light on and they won’t knock. I’ve never had anyone pelt my door with eggs. A few sweeties and a pumpkin on my doorstep is worth it to see the little ones dressed up and their faces full of fun.

Ignore it now it’s so commercialised, it was called ‘tucking apple night’ back in my childhood and it was fun, homemade costumes, apples on strings or in buckets and no begging at doors. Now it’s just a money making enterprise.

There was another thread on this I was accused of being a moaning minnie and hating children having fun ( and worse) because I thought buying less plastic tat and knocking on strangers doors and dipping their hands in sticky sweets would be a bonus. Glad to see I’m not the only one.

I’ll decorate the windows as ever, carve my pumpkins, get my witch’s togs on and welcome any children who knock on the door. I love to see them. One little ghost last year was so excited he tried to put his sweeties in our cauldron instead of taking some out.

The spooky shop trail our local business group usually organises for the children has been cancelled, and I guess a lot of the celebrations will take place at home, but we’ll have wrapped treats ready to hand out (toss out?) to any callers instead of letting them choose their own. Children have missed out on a lot this year, I hope they can still have fun.

We're planning a village socially distanced Halloween event with pumpkin decorating prizes (Displays around the village) and children’s parade in costumes where they are each given a small bag of sweets to avoid trick or treating. We need some fun events at the moment.

DD1’s village are organising a spooky scarecrow trail. At the same time a well established local scarecrow trail near us has been cancelled, “because of Covid”. Strange days.

I'm not celebrating, but my DGD is a huge fan of it, plus her Birthday is at the end of October, so I think I'll make her a Halloween slideshow (smartshow 3d has really nice templates for that) to send via e-mail, but I'm not gonna do anything myself. Well, maybe a pumpkin latte will be enough

American twaddle.

I really love seeing the children at Halloween; all dressed up and so excited to be out in the dark with their mums and dads. They only approach houses that make it clear they're welcome and I've never yet had a rude or aggressive child visit me; not even the older ones. As for decorating the house with ^cheap imported tat from China^; no need for that. Pumpkins, paper lanterns, some bamboo canes and an old sheet; anything you can think of to show that your child friendly and not an old grouch is always appreciated.

The same as i think every year - dreadful.

I will put a pumpkin in the window as usual and leave a bowl of mini packs of Smarties in the porch (and hope there’ll be plenty left for me and dh ??.)

Pumpkin is never wasted since I always turn it into Thai style soup the next day.

I never mind the trick or treaters - dds used to love it, as Gdcs do now, and around here it’s virtually all little kids dressed up and excited, with a parent lurking nearby.
I doubt there’ll be many this year though.

FindingNemo15

American twaddle.

It's not actually!

"American Folklore: An Encyclopedia" (Garland, 1996), noted that "Halloween beliefs and customs were brought to North America with the earliest Irish immigrants, then by the great waves of Irish immigrants fleeing the famines of the first half of the nineteenth century.

As a child I watched my poor Mother trying to hack her way into a turnip and we did the duck apple malarkey. That was 50 odd years ago

I loved going to my friend's house at Halloween. She was Scottish and the amount of goodies they used to have had everyone banging on their doors

However the trick or treaters had to do a little act/show which caused some confusion

I must say I wasn't a huge fan when mine were small, ( we used to go away), but we went to a family party last year and the glee on my 3 year old's granddaughter's face was a delight to see

Not sure what's happening this year

We were supposed to be getting the family together but unless the rules change it might have to be postponed

I used to enjoy using Hallowe'en for creative activities at school , followed by Bonfire night, then into Christmas. The Trick and Treat phenomenon came too late for my children, but I used to keep a few sweets at home for young visitors, until I found my newly painted garage door sprayed with sticky red juice.
It would be foolish to go out visiting houses at this time, I would think.

Kandinsky

Same as every year.
The knocking on door thing demanding something for nothing ( or we’ll pelt your house with eggs ) is a vile American import.

I ignore it every year!

This.

Some of you must live in some terrible neighbourhoods! I've never heard of anyone's house having eggs thrown at them at Halloween. Maybe I've just been very fortunate but I've never had any child, of any age, who hasn't been polite when they've called to Trick or Treat. I've obviously been incredibly lucky. ???

We don't get it here, thank goodness.

I never have, either, Chewbacca.
The worst we ever had was a couple of evidently mid-teens, not dressed up except for a mask, who called the day before.

‘It’s not Halloween!’ sez I.
‘But we’re going to a party tomorrow night!’
‘Tough!’

I hate it I was too generous the first year we were in our present house had was inundated with kids for a few years after . We have gone out if at all possible since . When you children were young and when I was young all you got was sweets and fruit and you always did your party piece. I remember my neighbours daughter and a friend singing " We're a couple of Swells " and they were dressed for the part.

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Such a lot of anti American comments on here !

It’s fun for the kids and as a child in England we often had Halloween parties. My own children likes dressing up and walking round the Close knocking on doors .