Does anyone else have this happen at Halloween?

[lillygator]

forgot to add - DH and I always dress up, I lived with my Gma growing up for many years and she always dressed up, so I thought that was the norm. I think really, as long as no one is playing pranks or being mean and they knock or ring, give them some treats. If everyone can't be treated the same, turn the lights off or put up a "x address kids only" sign.

 

[Pakey]

They come into our neighborhood by the vanloads. It's quite common to open the door and have 25 kids standing there together. We hand out about 750 candy bars and when they are gone; we turn off the light. No discrimination against teenagers but I do hate giving out candy to the moms holding an infant unable to eat yet.

It's never bothered me in regards to whether the kids live on my street or not. Kids are kids; I love handing out candy.

 

[tasha99]

My neighborhood is poorly lit and doesn't have that many kids, so we go trick or treating with friends in their better lit neighborhood. It's great because all the houses participate (whereas here we'd probably have to skip several) and there are also sidewalks.

I don't understand not giving out candy to older kids. Teens have a hard enough time as it is.

 

[NHdisneylover]

We lived for 5 years in a "safe" suburb near Detroit and always had tons of kids some in from the city. Like others, I was thrilled to be able to provide a safe place for those kids (and my own kids) to ToT. I just bought lots of candy and turned out the light when we did run out.

I guess what goes around comes around because after living near Detroit for 5 years we moved to rural New Hampshire. We lived where homes were very spread out and ToTing was not safe (unlit dirt road, no sidewalks, bears, etc.) so we went into town for Halloween. Everyone was always ery welcomming of the neighbors from out in the country (well everyone but the lady I metnion below).

I have no issue with teens trick or treating either. I might gently chide those who do not bother to wear a costume, but that is about it. Really, there is so much they could be doing that is NOT okay why be upest if they want to have fun and get candy as well. As long as they are polite about it I am thrilled to see them

kind of sucks I think.


we live in a neighborhood with not many kids and quite a few snow birds who are not here by Halloween. There are quite a few "teens" who aren't teens really but tall and well, looking like they are teens. Not only are they kind of outcasts at school, but then to have to worry about being self consious TOT'ing!!

YES DD12 is tall like her dad (he is 6'5"). Three years ago (so she was 9, but over 5 feet tall and alreay getting pretty curvy) she and her brother (7 at the time) went up to ring a bell and trick or treat while DH and I hung back at the end of the drive (trying to give the kids some independance). The person at the door complimentd DS in his costume and gave him a handful of candy, then she turned to DD and in a biting voice told her she was sick and tired of teenagers begging for candy and to go back home to where she belonged. DD is an ultra sensitive anxious kid anyway and was sobbing and scared by the encounter. She did ot trick or treat any further that night and she decided not to go door to door the next year because she was afraid of more such reactions as she had only gotten taller and curvier (at 10 most people guessed her to be about 15). It is not her fualt her body grew up so darned fast and it is sad how many people expect her to act the age she looks instead of the age she is.

 

[aprilgail2]

Everyone comes here too. We can get over 200 kids some years. We only hand out 6:00 to 8:00 but it is over by 7:30. I don't care if the kids are from other communities...just don't knock until Trick & Treating starts
:

Every year on here I am amazed to hear that places have regulations on trick or treating....hours and lights on and off stuff....even some places that changethe actual DAY you trick or treat . I am always glad that around here its the same as when I was a kid- you get home from school, get your costume right on and out the door you go- if you are fast you can get out by 330 and have a good 4-6 hours of trick or treating time. This year I am sure the kids will be starting around noon since its a weekend and heading right through night time! I used to love when it landed on a weekend LOL. And no house is safe LOL, lights on or off you go to them all! Most houses around here have sensor lights so they don't go on unless you walk up to the house, they don't stay on. I would be very sad if a kid didn't come just because the outside light wasn't on .

We don't usually hand out candy because we are out trick or treating ourselves, but I know people from outside the subdivision come here. We live in a pretty rural county and there aren't that many neighborhoods to go to. It doesn't bother me and if we didn't both take the kids out, I would be fine handing out candy to anyone who comes to the door. One Halloween, we were between houses and we were one of the families who went to a different subdivision.

When I take my daughter out trick or treating we just leave the bowl of candy on the step with a note that says "take 2" for the kids that come trick or treating at our house. I wouldn't not hand out candy because I am taking my own kid out, doesn't really seem fair. And I have to say I live in NY and have never come back to my house and had the bowl totally empty so no one dumps the whole thing in their bag!

 

[luvsJack]

Even those kids not in costumes are sometimes not really as old as you think. I can remember being at that in between age of growing up and still wanting to be a kid. They are embarrassed to wear a costume but they still want to tot.

And if someone was to see ds, his gf and baby out tot this year, they may think they are teens with a baby; but they really are not. They both look really young. So, sometimes what you think you see is not really reality.

We go to other neighborhoods to tot because its easier than our area. We can park and walk through the neighborhoods in town. Out where we live, we have to drive and park at each house (rural area, houses far apart).

 

[Aisling]

I live in a big city with lots of different neighborhoods. It's very common for kids to go to whatever neighborhood has the best reputation for giving out the best candy and where most of the residents participate (noted by the neighborhoods that have the most decorated houses).

As far as teenagers go, if they're wearing a costume, even just a mask, AND if they say "Trick or Treat" when they come to the door, I give them candy. We get tons of teen ToTers and they get the same candy as I give the younger kids. The age makes no difference around here.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

My parens have lived in the same house for 20 years, but only the last few years they have been getting kids who aren't from their neighborhood. The parents actually drive up in the car, the kids get out and then back in to the next house (which adds a lot of cars to a sub-division where the houses are very close together with a lot of kids are walking around in the dark-dangerous!)

I don't mind the older kids coming, it is just annoying that they don't wear any type of costume. I have several different bowls... teddy grahams for the really little kids, basic candy for the older kids and then 'fun' candy or someting else fun for everyone else (i.e. halloween play-doh)

 

[etoiles]

why don't people give teenagers the good candy?
i mean, as long as no one is rude or anything, why not give them all the same candy?

When I said teenagers earlier that get the bag 2 candy, I meant the "I'm too cool for Halloween" teens that don't even bother to put on a costume and just walk around with a plastic sack asking for candy. To me, if you don't even try then you get the bag 2 candy instead of my best stuff. Same goes for adults who don't even try but just shameless beg for candy.

 

[amid chaos]

We live in one of those neighborhoods, also. In the 20 years we have lived here, i cant imagine how much candy we have given out to neighbors, non neighbors, teens...whoever happens upon our doorstep.

It did become an issue for our elderly neighbors who were on a fixed income or had difficulty getting up and down so often, but wanted to see the neighbor kids in costume and give them a little something.. We solved that issue by having the neighborhood kids gather and trick or treat together (about 50 kids). We only had about two or three elderly neighbors who shut their lights after the large group came by, but I think it was nice to know it was an option for others.

The rest of the neighbors are glad to see anyone and everyone.

 

[golfgal]

We used to have this in our old neighborhood and I loved it. It's Halloween and its a few bags of candy, what's the big deal? As for teens, if they are in costume they get twice the candy from me as I normally give out to everyone else. Good for them for going out and having some fun on Halloween.

 

[Becky2005]

I do hate giving out candy to the moms holding an infant unable to eat yet.

Around here they practically INSIST on giving the infants a treat! I took the youngest out when he was a baby because I was taking his older siblings out. I had a small bag for him "just in case" but really wasn't planning on getting anything for him. Most of the time we stood back since he was in the stroller while the older ones went to the door. You would not believe how many people were OH HERE...HE gets one too!

We don't get too many kids from other neighborhoods unless they are ones going around with friends that live here type of thing. We have so many kids though, that I suppose it's possible. I just wouldn't have a clue.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I give the teenagers the regular candy, but only one bar. If the teenager dresses up, they get 2. Sort of like my own little incentive program.

 

[KirstenB]

We live in a rural neighborhood with 90 homes. For years, ours was the only neighborhood around. So we're used to getting kids from outside the 'hood. I buy a few big bags of chocolate candies at Sam's Club, and I'm covered for all the trick or treaters. Life is too short to figure out who lives where.

 

[tzolkin]

When I was in college we lived on a farm, so there was no "neighborhood" to trick-or-treat in. DH and I took DD to the town where I went to school and we both worked. We just went to 5 or 6 houses for the experience and I never thought we were doing anything wrong because we didn't live there.

Now we live in a little village surrounded by a very rural area. I know that any of the kids that don't live in our neighborhood that come around don't have anywhere near their own homes to trick-or-treat. Often they will go with someone who lives here. For example, my nieces trick-or-treat with us because their homes are too rural.


Since my parents live on a farm and have never had even one trick-or-treater, they hand out candy at our house so DH and I can go out with the kids. A few of our neighbors with kids just shut off their lights while they go out, but in my experience we get 95% of our trick-or-treaters during the hour we're gone.

 

[Avalon_toon]

I admit I've done this with my kids - our neighborhood is mostly elderly people, there are only 3 houses in our entire block that have kids - and about 80% keep their lights off and don't answer the door on Halloween. So after the first few years with my eldest, trudging up steps and standing at doors where no one ever answered, we started driving to the neighborhood around his school, where most of his friends live, and tot'ing there. We park in the school parking lot though, so hopefully we are not inconveniencing anyone...

 

[ZachnElli]

I've done both, lived in the neighborhood that people brought their kids to and lived in a rural area with no neighbors and driven my kids to a relative's neighborhood (actually our old neighborhood) to go trick or treating with friends and cousins. Seriously, take it as a compliment!

 

[momof1princess]

i guess i'm guilty of this. i live in a very rural area with a few houses scattered here and there. every year, i make the 5-6 minute drive to a friend's house who lives in the center of town and another friend with a hay trailer brings her kids over and picks up friend 1's kids and my DD and we all go on a hay ride through the town's streets so the kids can trick-or-treat. i do not leave my car in front of the house of anyone i don't know (it is in friend's driveway) and we stay in our little town. i can understand the op's frustration, but honestly, where i live, there's no choice. we're very rural. some people don't even give out candy at home. they do the trunk-or-treat events at their churches instead (which the kids LOVE).

 

[KAMLEM]

why don't people give teenagers the good candy?
i mean, as long as no one is rude or anything, why not give them all the same candy?

If they don't bother to dress up, I don't bother to give them candy. If they dress up they get what everyone else gets.

Every year on here I am amazed to hear that places have regulations on trick or treating....hours and lights on and off stuff....even some places that changethe actual DAY you trick or treat . I am always glad that around here its the same as when I was a kid- you get home from school, get your costume right on and out the door you go- if you are fast you can get out by 330 and have a good 4-6 hours of trick or treating time. This year I am sure the kids will be starting around noon since its a weekend and heading right through night time!

I am amazed to hear that you go out so early. Around here nobody goes out until dark. Now that DST has changed, it doesn't get dark until about 6:00. I can't imagine TOT'ing when it's light out, I don't think it would be as much fun. I agree with you about the regulations, I definitely wouldn't want to change the day or limit the times, I just don't get that.