Families that go Trick-or-treating but don't hand out candy?

[Mouse House Mama]

As for the bolded....I cannot believe you keep track of this. Do you take written notes or just rely on memory? Do your kids help you keep track?

Perhaps a spread sheet.
Johnny- snickers
Mary- laffy taffy
Bill- gumballs
Taylor -? *do not give good candy*


J/k couldn't help myself.
Maybe we need a board for it? It could have so many possibilities.
TOT planning journals.
The pre-TOT report.
The actual TOT report.
Strategies for the TOT.
Rewards programs for TOTers.
How to use CVS bucks to maximize your TOT experience.
No porch lights no problem just keep knocking.

I could go on and on!

 

[disneybound2010]

But that was the choice you made when you moved there. You can't have the best of both world without it seeming greedy.

I live in an area that is on the edge of town and we all hate when they bring in the kids from out in the country to trick or treat in our neighborhood. You should trick or treat where you live and give out candy there also.[/QUOTE]

Wow. I guess I should just tell my 4 year old that he's just going to suck it up and deal because he is the only child on our road out here in the country and no one gives out candy back here. No trick or treating for him.

Thank goodness most people aren't keeping track the way you and your neighborhood appear to be. I'll remember to stay away from that development. The ones we frequent are always so excited to see us and look forward to handing out candy no matter where the children came from!

 

[marcyinPA]

Why am I the bad guy? We leave a bowl on the porch or one of us stays back to give candy to the neighbor kids. I think it's bad Trick or Treating manners otherwise. Would I be a better person if I turned out my light and had my kids take everyone else's candy without reciprocating?

You actually trust people with an unattended bowl of candy?! You must live in a very honest neighborhood! I could never ever do that here! (of course, we get on average of 300-400 trick or treaters ever year...)

 

[HelenePA]

and as a kid Nope I have no idea who gave out what.. we were taught to leave it in the bag to til we got home and thats what my kids do... and the first year we lived here I did stay home with my now 5 yr old to hand out candy.. NO ONE came.. I do mean NO ONE.. why should I sit at home on the chance that SOMEONE might come by instead of being out there having a fun time with my kids.. some of ya have your panties in a twist over this??

 

[marcyinPA]

This has got to be the funniest yet most slightly disturbing thread I have ever read.
Do people really keep track of what Halloween candy people give out? Really? I can tell you that I have no idea who gives out what on my block. Oh- and we all trick or treat together. You know why? Because we like to and we want to! We all dress up and have a ball. The neighbors all come out to talk, we see other families etc. Halloween is a big event in our home. We do put a bowl out if nobody else in the family (grandparents etc.) want to stay home to hand it out. If we didn't then people would be surprised because we do a huge display that the neighbors love. However, I doubt that they would be offended or feel slighted if we didn't leave a bowl out and just handed it out when we came home. That imo is ridiculous. I certainly have better things to do than to worry about not getting a snickers bar from one of the neighbors.

My kids actually used to know who gave what at Halloween. They knew the house that gave peanuts (grab a handful of peanuts in the shell from the bowl)...they skipped that place after the first year... And they know the house where the guy works for Mars and gives out full sized bars

We live in a busy neighborhood and can get easily 300-400 kids. I buy crappy candy. Sorry, but I can't afford the good stuff with that many kids!

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

We're retired now & plan on giving candy IF someone manages to come down our dead-end street. I won't purchase candy yet though cuz I'd eat it...

When our kids were small, a friend who lived in the country came in to join us. We'd take the kids around our neighborhood & she'd bring candy to add to what we'd hand out when we got home. We did live in a 4-unit building though, so it wasn't like no one would be around; just our door would remain closed. Those were fun Halloweens & if not for coming to us, my friend's DD wouldn't have been able to go.

For an innocent question in the beginning, this thread sure has taken on a life of its own. That's what makes life interesting though--we all have an opinion! That's how it should be!

 

[C.Ann]

Up until the past 2 years or so, I usually left the lake for the season the day before Halloween.. That way I would be at DD's house to pass out the candy while she and her DH went out with my DGD..

Now they give out candy to the earlier trick-or-treaters (till 7 p.m. or so) and after that they go out as a family.. So technically they do give out for part of the evening..

 

[ajk912]

If you're not home yourself, then neighbor kids don't get to come to your door, show you their costume, and pick a treat from the bucket....yet that's what you were claiming bothered your kids.


When you get home from trick or treating, do you compare with the parent who stayed behind....we went to Johnny's house and nobody was home, did Johnny come here? I cannot imagine adults giving this a moment's thought.
This thread is truly eye opening.

Apparently you aren't familiar with parents chit chatting at the bus stop. How many TOTers did you get, how many bags did you end up buying, how's everything going, did you get your lawn mower fixed, have you used your heat yet this year, can you BELIEVE the property taxes this year...

People don't compare notes? What do you do at the bus stop? You don't send your kids UNSUPERVISED do you? lol Some people may just ignore their neighbors or others may chitchat about what goes on in the neighborhood or around life. I brought my practice test to the bus stop and asked one of the othere parents to explain a problem to me. It's whatever, we are friends, so I guess we do compare notes sometimes.

 

[marcyinPA]

We live in a neighborhood where people come and drop off their kids to ToT. Five blocks of row houses on both sides of the street...more doors per block!

Sounds like my neighborhood...established neighborhood full of rows and twins. 300-400 kids is pretty standard here.

 

[HelenePA]

Apparently you aren't familiar with parents chit chatting at the bus stop. How many TOTers did you get, how many bags did you end up buying, how's everything going, did you get your lawn mower fixed, have you used your heat yet this year, can you BELIEVE the property taxes this year...

People don't compare notes? What do you do at the bus stop? You don't send your kids UNSUPERVISED do you? lol Some people may just ignore their neighbors or others may chitchat about what goes on in the neighborhood or around life. I brought my practice test to the bus stop and asked one of the othere parents to explain a problem to me. It's whatever, we are friends, so I guess we do compare notes sometimes.

holy cow my bus stop iis NOTHING like this. We are usually there for an hour after the bus comes and we are NEVER catty enough to talk about who gave out what or if we didn't give out at all.. amazing what others are like.. I'm so glad to have nice sane people at my bus stop.

 

[ajk912]

I have got to be honest here. I have never ever even thought of any of those things growing up and neither did anyone I know. Oh- and not only did I live in a neighborhood where we knew everyone (and was related to many of them!) it was the house that my Mom grew up in so we had been there a long time. I have never heard of worrying about recipricating on Halloween. We also never remembered who gave out what. We said TOT and the person threw the stuff in the bag. We might remember after the fact that X always gives out pennies etc. but that was it. If someone didn't give out candy we didn't care. We knew there was one house that didn't celebrate Halloween (Jehova Witness) and it really wasn't any big deal. It simply never occured to us. Once we got older we went out to have shaving cream fights with each other and didn't TOT.

Oh gosh..this is showing my age here..but my DH once told me that when he was a kid he and his friends would sneak out and egg or toilet paper the houses that didn't give out candy. He told me once we lived in a house (not an apartment) we had to make sure we gave out candy so we didn't get egged. I told him that that is vandalism now so people don't do that anymore. Or so I think, but we give out candy anyway.

I can't believe no one ever played pranks like that when they were kids! Not bad, of course, but one of those things you look back and regret doing when you were young and stupid. Maybe we need more prankster boys on this forum, or I wonder if they would fess up?

 

[Skywalker]

Reminds me of my sister-in-law. From the time her daughter was one year old (she is 13 now) they have dressed up and gone trick or treating all evening...they have never stayed home to give out candy.

One year I mentioned to her "You know one of you could stay home and give out candy...it'd be a nice thing to do for the other kids in the neighbourhood you know." Her answer. "Who cares?"

I asked her if she would ever stay home to give out candy and she said no. She said when her daughter stops trick or treating they will just turn off the lights and watch movies or go out.

Charming, isn't she?

So she kind of coloured my opinion on people that do that...I tend to think they are selfish too.

 

[C.Ann]

Wait a minute! I just realized how many posts there are to this thread - went back and read a few - and my head is spinning.. Are people really arguing about trick-or-treat "etiquette"??

Is there nothing people don't find a reason to argue about on this board? Is there a full moon tonight?

I think we need some "fluff" threads..

 

[golfgal]

So, if my kids come home from trick or treating with MORE candy then I handed out do I have to go out and find kids to give more candy to so it is even???

 

[Kat77]

The first couple of years we lived in this house I tried to participate in Halloween. I opened the gate to our property and turned on lights that glow along a long winding driveway up to the house. No one came. Second year...same thing, although I could see children running from house to house on the street. Again, . Finally talked to some neighbors and they told me children, even a few adults, are afraid of my house. Some tale had circulated for years how the place is haunted. Well heck! That should make my place even MORE fun! Only way I can participate is walk down to the street in front of my house and hand candy out there. Not very fun but I've done it on a few occasions.

That is so neat, what a bummer none of the kids trick or treat you. I totally would have as a kid.
I wonder if I can start up a rumor about my own house?

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

Full Moon was on Saturday.

 

[golfgal]

The first couple of years we lived in this house I tried to participate in Halloween. I opened the gate to our property and turned on lights that glow along a long winding driveway up to the house. No one came. Second year...same thing, although I could see children running from house to house on the street. Again, . Finally talked to some neighbors and they told me children, even a few adults, are afraid of my house. Some tale had circulated for years how the place is haunted. Well heck! That should make my place even MORE fun! Only way I can participate is walk down to the street in front of my house and hand candy out there. Not very fun but I've done it on a few occasions.

I do remember as a kid not going to houses that sat back too far from the street because it took too long to get to and from the door-it was all about maximizing your time out and hitting as many houses as you could .

 

[snowy76]

I do remember as a kid not going to houses that sat back too far from the street because it took too long to get to and from the door-it was all about maximizing your time out and hitting as many houses as you could .

We're on a cul de sac where you have to walk uphill to reach the houses. The kids almost never come up. We were stuck with a ton of candy each year at first. Later I bought bags of chips (so that the leftovers wouldn't go to waste, we could pack them with lunches).

Last year I went back to candy, and left out a bowl full while we took DS to my sister's house in another town to show her his costume. I figured some lucky kid might hit the jackpot and take it all. Nope... We came home to a full bowl! I will no longer feel guilty about not being home to hand out candy.

 

[ilovepcot]

That is so neat, what a bummer none of the kids trick or treat you. I totally would have as a kid.
I wonder if I can start up a rumor about my own house?

Hey...you're still welcome. And for coming all the way from Texas to FL, I'll buy the good stuff for ya! Maybe even throw in a few "surprises"!!!

 

[tlens]

Somehow the "OMG MY KID WOULD NEVER DO THAT and compare" people apparently aren't the norm. You guys never remembered what houses gave out the full sized candy bars? You didn't have a tally sheet in your head, "Oh, that house gave me some wierd religious tract last year..I am skipping them this year." For many kids, Halloween is a sport. Especially when you live in an area long term and you know your neighbors since you;'ve been neighbors for years. You go to the friends' houses, you say, "Oh hi Mrs. P!" and it's really dissapointing if the mom or dad you see almost every day is out and about trick or treating and you don't get to show off your costume and pick a piece out of their bucket. Especially in cases where the kids play together almost every day after school and on weekends, the kids know they can always run up to Mr. Z if they need to. It's a bummer if those families chose not to participate on Halloween, both from the kid aspect and from the parent aspect. (Again, I am annoyed as well, though I never SAY it, I am gracious, if someone's kids show up at my house but they choose not to give to my kids..I am like..oh really?)

I remember last year..one of the kids' from the subdivision over came to our house, I wasn't planning on going over there..but my middle daughter was liike, "Oh, it's Annie! We can't forget to go to her house!" I don't think it ever occured to my kids that Annie's parents wouldn't want to offer candy. Actually, they have a hard enough time with dark houses..they get so excited since it's once a year..they are like, "What, nobody's there, but it's Halloween!! It's a holiday!" Kid excitement, you've to go to love it while you still can.

Really? REALLY? Come on. My kids run so fast from house to house that they barely have time to yell thank you before they're ringing the next bell. They don't even usually look at what goes into the bags until we get it home and see the odd ball stuff a very few houses give out. Would they even have a remote idea of which hosue that came from? Not on your life.

The kids are out to have fun and all it takes is some narrow minded adults to ruin yet another childhood ritual.

So many things I've read on this thread border on the truly pathetic.