Disaster!

Guisers round here too - and lots of them! I think that will have been DC3's last year which is quite sad to think, but there are plenty of young children in the area so we'll have a few more years of fun and games yet

On the plus side, the streets no longer smell of burnt turnip as they did when we were young and DH and I don't have to carve a lantern using a hammer and chisel and our parents did!

The rule round here - and where DGC live 200 miles away is,that if you are prepared to take part in the trick or treating, you have a pumpkin, real or imitation, with a lit candle in it.

This year I dispensed the treats at the front door while DGC and parent were out tricking or treating. There were a fair number of them, but it was all over by 7.30.

We put up outside Christmas lights early, then switch them in for Halloween so children know they will be welcomed. Then off again until December.
Also out a pumpkin near the gate with a caldron filled with sweets. They don’t knock then.
Fill it up periodically.
All works out ok.
I know it’s all a bit commercial but little uns love being out in the dark!!

Very sparse callers this year. We had two lots of three. They helped themselves very politely, and then one little one changed his mind, stating “Erm, I don’t really like these ones!” so he was allowed to dip again! The remainder of the Skittles, mini Mars Bars and Milky Ways were taken to junior football this morning and offered to the players.

Jane10 Goloshans is a Halloween festival in Inverclyde. I think it’s mainly Greenock based

Erm Marilla- we live in Scotland! 'Goloshans' must be a regional variation. Were you maybe in Fife or Highland? At least it wasn't Americanised trick or treating!!

In Scotland it was called going out on Goloshens and you had to recite a poem, sing a song or tell a joke to earn a sweetie.
Now we live in England, our first Halloween visitors looked horrified when I asked them what they were going to ‘do’.

In local villages here, it seems customary to decorate your house or light a pumpkin to let the children know they are welcome to come to the door. It seems to work well.

We don't have 'trick or treating' just guisers. They have to do a performance, usually a little song or poem, or sometimes a joke. It's up to the householders whether or not it's been good enough to be rewarded with some form of goody.
Halloween decorations as bought in shops is just commercialisation and we don't fall for that.
It's noticeable that these days guisers are often accompanied by parents hiding discreetly. Perfectly understandable.
The number of guisers seems to wax and wane as they grow up and new ones become old enough to do it.

My door remained firmly locked !

Reading the local newspaper this morning it reported that a man in an ugly mask along with two other thugs entered a woman's house and burgled the place.

Where I live it’s mostly the younger children who knock on doors and always with their parents or in a group supervised by an adult.

Children of junior school age and older go either to a brilliant ‘bright and light’ party run by one of the local churches or to something very similar run by the local youth centre. Both of the organised events are incredibly well resourced and the children have a whale of a time.

My neighbour said that they don't always come to the door. He didn't know that you have to display something (pumpkin, spider in web, ghost, etc.) to indicate that they're welcome!

My sweets were all gone by 6.30 pm so I took in the decorations and turned off the porch light - no more callers!

two lots of two children, I think most of them went to an organised party, however, I have a large bowl of sweets left that I don't like!

We only had one ring of the doorbell this year - the first time in several years.

In recent years I have provided mainly non-edible treats such as fruit scented pens, erasers, glow sticks and hair accessories. They come in cheap multi-packs from Poundland or on line. I therefore don't have the temptaion of left-over sweets to be used up. I love chatting to the children who politely wish me Happy Hallowe'en, no mention of trick or treat. Last year I counted 69 individuals but this time only 51, mostly accompanied by parents.

I live in a small village, an email was sent asking which people would like children to call. I replied saying I would - no-one came! I will now have to eat it myself - it's a tough job but someone has to do it

We have lived in this house 34 yrs and have never had them call. We are on the very edge of town though.
It is definitely a case of "no decorations, don't knock" in our town. There are a couple of streets that are renowned for decorations including light shows and amazing special effects in the way some are for Christmas lights.

It could be that 'don't take sweets from strangers' and 'don't go door to door begging' is having its effect.

Schools here include Haloween practices in their talks about 'Staying Safe', pointing out what a dangerous practice it is to go to the house of a complete stranger at night and ask for sweets.

Why does it need to be pointed out, isn't it obvious to adults, if not to children who only have vision of sugar plums dancing in their heads?

A compromise is, "if you must do it, go with an adult" and sometimes that happens but in the end, don't children consume too much crap sugar ?

I long ago realised I was encouraging this extremely dangerous and dubious "tradition" by offering goodies, so no longer do so.

There is a long road very near to me where Halloween is celebrated by almost every household and is usually teeming with families in fancy dress etc. visiting the decorated houses. My son's parents-in-law live there and spent the day planning for it. Today I learned that 197 children called at their house, which they said was 30 children fewer than last year!

I have no idea where Germany came from!
I typed 'or any chocolate'
Auto-correct also changed haribos to 'hairdos' but I noticed that before I posted!

I'm not iron-willed, Witzend, the only way I can resist is by not buying twixes, Germany chocolate in the first place.
Sweets like haribos, fruit gums, etc I can resist!

We had at least 30 children calling in groups of 4 or 5 with their parents. We get them to show us their outfits before we hand over a small bag of Choc buttons each.

We know a lot of the local children as they play on the field in front of our house. ?

Some of it might be an increase in children going to parties and other events instead of going house to house. I can't speak to the UK, but I know that in our area, some of the malls have trick-or-treat events, too.

No trick or treaters here, and there are three families with youngsters in our close. I had the treats in all ready, but no-one came. Never mind, the DGDs will enjoy them!

Goodness, how iron-willed of you, Callistemon!
I've just had two of the leftover Twixes. And some Smarties earlier. ?

Witzend I always buy sweets that I don't like (those Horribos for instance!)

The DGD will have to help me out, but daddy said they have too many sweets already