Anyone else a scrooge and NOT give out Halloween candy?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So if you live out in the country you're not allowed to go trick-or-treating? Or are the cows supposed to give out the candy?

When we were little we would go to our relatives' houses and stop by their neighbors. Guess we were just out begging.

I think she is addressing the "truckloads".

I've seen "truckloads" around here. It does get irritating as the purpose is to get more loot in less time.

I lived in the country and we had to visit neighborhoods where we could when I was little...but my family didn't haul in 30 kids on a greyhound.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Well, seeing as it's an American holiday, Halloween is weird over here. It's recognised, and all the shops have costumes to buy and stuff... but I find it strange because, to me, it would be like the US celebrating Guy Fawkes! And, as a result, it's not done 'right' over here.

But anyway...

Kids over here don't really go 'trick or treating'. They go 'Happy Halloweening' (at Christmas they basically do the same thing, but with no costumes... sometimes there's caroling). Most houses here give the first kids 50p-£2 (between them - not each!), and tell all groups that come afterwards - 'sorry, I've already given'. We don't really 'do' sweets or decorations for Halloween here.

Then the next week they come around asking for a 'penny for the Guy'.
Then it's Christmas.

What is Penny for the Guy? What do you do with the pennies after they get collected?

I think it's so interesting to hear how other countries do the Holidays !

 

[momof3littlelilos]

We go out on Halloween usually to DTD. We don't give out treats at home because of the non-costumed teenagers...if it were all kids it would be different. I'm just not comfortable opening my door to mini-adults looking for munchies late at night.

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Love Halloween, always have, and happily give out full-sized candybars to anyone who rings the bell. We get around 40 kids including teenagers and turn off the lights by 8:30.

As a kid, we did remember who were the meanies in the neighborhood with their lights off.

Even before I had kids, I happily gave out candy -- just in honor of those before me who happily gave me candy.

 

[MrsPete]

I think she is addressing the "truckloads".

I've seen "truckloads" around here. It does get irritating as the purpose is to get more loot in less time.

I lived in the country and we had to visit neighborhoods where we could when I was little...but my family didn't haul in 30 kids on a greyhound.

That's exactly what I have a problem with. When the kid comes to your door with a pillowcase in hand, and it's already so full that he can barely carry it, the trick-or-treating has gone beyond "fun" and has turned to BEGGING. Or when it's a teenaged girl carrying one bag for herself and one bag for her infant, it's BEGGING.

Also, it should be mentioned that MANY churches plus the schools have Halloween or Fall Festival events on Halloween night. Kids can go there for Halloween fun. At my church they can eat a hot dog dinner, play midway type games (golf, balloon darts, basketball throw), take a hayride, and play on the inflatibles, and it's 100% FREE. They'll also go home with a decent amount of candy.

What I have a problem with is the families who make the night into a full-fledged, HOW MUCH CANDY CAN WE POSSIBLY RAKE IN TONIGHT? event. It's very obvious who's doing it: the kids run to the door, grab the candy and are gone without a thank you. If you comment on their costume, they MIGHT say, "Whatever", but they're probably going to just ignore you and run on to the next house.

 

[LisaNJ25]

If you don't want to give out candy on Halloween, then just turn off your outdoor lights and don't put out a Jack-o-lantern. Most parents teach their kids to only go to houses that have lights on.

I agree with this one.. Its gets annoying going from house to house with light on and have no one asnwer the door.

I take my little ones out early and than come home to hand out candy. I usually let me older one walk around (In costume) with friends but he has to be in by 7:30.

 

[EeyoreFan1]

WOW. We spend approx. 400-500$ weekly on groceries for 4!! And yes, we try to be cheap, but get lots of halloween candy for others.

 

[Poohs Pal]

I live on a dead-end street with a steep hill. When I first moved there, I bought candy and sat outside with my little bowl. After two hours, I had ZERO trick or treaters. Since then, instead of waiting around my house, I pitch in money to my parents and go over to their house to hand out goodies.

OMG this sounds like me. The first halloween after building our house we had zero trick or treaters. I was almost in tears. I love these costumed little one's. we live in the country with a very long drive, I guess kids today don't want to work for their candy.Where we lived before we would get plenty of T or T's. I miss the trick or treaters so much every halloween I make up a excuss to drive into town just so I can enviously see all the action. DS just finds this the funniest thing he's ever heard of. He mentioned the other day that when I move to florida into a condo I should probabaly get trick or treaters. Someone else chimed in and said probably not, Florida's just full of old people That person is no longer aloud in my house . Susan

 

[Zandy595]

...DS just finds this the funniest thing he's ever heard of. He mentioned the other day that when I move to florida into a condo I should probabaly get trick or treaters. Someone else chimed in and said probably not, Florida's just full of old people That person is no longer aloud in my house . Susan

Hey, I'm not old. If you do live in a condo you probably won't get any trick or treaters though.

 

[VSL]

What is Penny for the Guy? What do you do with the pennies after they get collected?

I think it's so interesting to hear how other countries do the Holidays !

It's for Guy Fawkes (to make the dummy to put on the bonfire on November 5)... of course, people usually give the kids more than a penny these days

Personally, I would rather pay to see a 'professional' Guy Fawkes firework display... but WDW has ruined all fireworks for me anyway because normal fireworks just don't compare!

See, in November, the US has Thanksgiving, where you 'give thanks' for whatever you're thankful for, and the UK has Guy Fawkes, where we burn a dummy of a Catholic guy who tried to kill the first ruler (who happened to be Protestant) of Great Britain (England and Scotland had seperate Monarch's before the death of Elizabeth I), and set off fireworks as representation of the gunpowder that would have blown up Parliament.

Clearly different morals and values playing out there

 

[golfgal]

I didn't read all the posts so if this has been mentioned, sorry, but what about giving out pencils or something along those lines? Go to the Oriental Trading website and there are tons of fun things you could hand out for Halloween and you will spend less then $10. You can get free shipping if you do a Yahoo search for oriental trading and an ad on the search screen will have a free shipping code. That way you can keep your budget and still hand stuff out.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I'm not buying one piece of candy this year, never mind a couple bags. I'm tired of having them in the freezer the next 6 months. I haven't seen kids come around here in the past two years, and none came around when I lived in FL either. I know one year when DS was young, I took him to the mall. I'm sure that's probably where a lot of parents are taking them. Seems the neighborhood visits are pretty much gone. A couple years I took DS to just a few neighbors that I knew well. We didn't go all over.