Halloween TOT'ing Pet Peeve

[becka]

In the grand scheme of things this really means nothing and it certainly is not something worth concerning myself about but it still kind of annoys me. Why do some families take their own kids TOT'ing but refuse to hand out candy to the other kids? I am not talking about a situation where the entire family is out TOT'ing together and no one is home but situations like where Dad and the kids go out TOT'ing and Mom is at home but they choose not to hand out candy to the other kids.

I guess I just really don't understand. I handed out candy even before I had kids because I have fun with it but since I now have kids and we take them TOT'ing I almost feel obligated (probably not the right word) to hand out candy. I really enjoy it so it is not a big deal but I think I would have a hard time sending my kids out and not handing out candy myself. It just seems a little selfish and self-centered to me.

Am I the only one that is annoyed by this?

 

[mrsltg]

I haven't run into that (that I'm aware of), but yeah, it's pretty obnoxious.

Erin

 

[princesspumpkin]

My best friend just did this. Her children wanted to Trick or Treat, but she really didn't have the finances to buy enough candy to hand out to all of the children in the neighborhood (plus, she really didn't feel like getting up and down off of the sofa for hours). Yes, she scrounged up money for the costumes (about $20 because she made her dd's), but it would have cost a lot more to buy all of those bags of candy. I understand your frustration, though.

 

[Marseeya]

In the grand scheme of things this really means nothing and it certainly is not something worth concerning myself about but it still kind of annoys me. Why do some families take their own kids TOT'ing but refuse to hand out candy to the other kids? I am not talking about a situation where the entire family is out TOT'ing together and no one is home but situations like where Dad and the kids go out TOT'ing and Mom is at home but they choose not to hand out candy to the other kids.

I guess I just really don't understand. I handed out candy even before I had kids because I have fun with it but since I now have kids and we take them TOT'ing I almost feel obligated (probably not the right word) to hand out candy. I really enjoy it so it is not a big deal but I think I would have a hard time sending my kids out and not handing out candy myself. It just seems a little selfish and self-centered to me.

Am I the only one that is annoyed by this?

It doesn't bother me at all, but maybe it's because of the way ToT is set up in our town. We have ours on the Thursday before Halloween from 4-6 in the afternoon. Usually one parent goes with the kids while the other parent works, or one parent will take off work for several kids while their parents are working.

THAT's what peeves me off!

The only people home to hand out candy are the ones who work shift work, or retired folks.

I don't know if it would bother me or not in normal circumstances.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Doesn't bother me because I don't believe handing out candy at Halloween is required. We hand out candy because we want to, not because it's expected or demanded. I know there are some houses in our neighborhood that don't give out candy. Usually, their porch lights are turned off to indicate they aren't giving out stuff.

 

[SeaShelley]

Our first home was in a neighborhood cul-de-sac that got literally hundreds of TOTers each year. I handed out candy for a few years before we had kids and then when Ty was too little to go out. When Ty was old enough, DH stayed home while I took him to a few houses.

Our current house sits back from the road,and we would not get very many kids even if we did stay home. We don't though; both DH and I take Ty out....to our old neighborhood. He only has a couple of TOT years left anyway (before Mom says he's too old). So my long answer to the short question is no, I don't feel bad about it.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

The only "dark" houses around here are usually older people, or childless couples, or singles who are probably still working!

I have not come across a house where there are kids T o T and someone is home, yet no candy. I take my kids out, DH works, so yes, our house is empty. But, I put the bowl outside, and people help themselves while we are gone.

 

[pattyT]

I feel so bad about us all going out that I leave a big bucket of candy on the stairs (I don't know how far it goes as it is always empty when I get home)

 

[LauraR]

Yeah, that's pretty cheap. We usually have one parent stay home and give out candy while the other goes with the kids. But we ran across a few houses that left out candy on the honor system when both parents went with the kids. I thought that was pretty nice.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I don't think I've seen that in our neighborhood -- I agree, that's pretty bad. Around our neighborhood, we have a lot of families that have grandparents come over to pass out candy so that both parents can go out with their kids. The only dark houses we saw this year, as far as I knew, were not folks with kids out trick or treating.

 

[MosMom]

We went together as a family and rather than leave a bowl out that older kids will take advantage of, we took our candy with us and passed it out along the way. It was a good alternative to leaving a bowl out!

As far as people that don't give it out but take it, I haven't run into that either...that I know of. If all the lights are out, how would I even know if mom was hiding out in there.

 

[mickeyfan2]

It does not bother me. I hand out candy for the smiles on the kids faces. Handing out candy brings me great pleasure. I am sadly looking at the day when the kids get old and we no longer get ToTers.

 

[disykat]

I also think it's a bit self absorbed to take your kid out in your own neighborhood, but not open your door to their kids. I think the kids would be very disappointed. I know as we go around the kids ask each other if someone is home at their house and then make plans to go back later if they're not. I know it sounds cheap, but we bought our candy at the dollar store - so I don't get how money is an issue. (Before I get razzed for giving cheap candy - We have to be very careful about what candy enters our home due to allergies. I was at the dollar store and saw the very kinds the kids had said they wanted. I checked the expiration dates and they were all good.)

 

[dcgrumpy]

The family across the street from us is like that. It's a couple in their 50's, their daughter lives at home with her 9yo son. The 9yo goes trick or treating, but they put a sign on the door that they don't have any candy.

 

[Brianne]

I'm one of those you've described. My kids didn't ToT in the neighborhood though, so I don't feel guilty about it at all. Plus, there were only 2 homes even decorated for Halloween (not to mention, those were the only two with lights on!), so our kids would've been mighty disappointed if they had tried to ToT around here! DH took them to our local mall to do their thing, which seems to be the norm around here because he said it was very crowded, and many stores ran out of candy very early on.

Sometimes it helps to know the whole story.

 

[becka]

Sometimes it helps to know the whole story.

Yes but in this particular case there were 2 families from our neighborhood TOT'ing in our neighborhood and not handing out candy while Mom was at home. It is not about the money or the candy but to me it just seemed a tad bit rude. Give my kids your candy but I sure as heck am not going to give your kids any....

 

[Living with the Land]

We both took DD out trick or treating but we made a giant lighted pumpkin patch in the driveway. In front of it was a rubbermaid tub full of candy and toys so the kids could pick what they wanted. We picked this neighborhood because it is a family place and our first halloween here was great. It was safe, we walked the whole way, and there were tons of kids having a ball. One house even had a sign that said they weren't home but to pick up a treat from them at the neighbors.

Oh, and when trick or treat was over we had 5 pieces of candy left in our tub so the kids didn't steal it all. LOL

Holly

 

[corie161]

Yes but in this particular case there were 2 families from our neighborhood TOT'ing in our neighborhood and not handing out candy while Mom was at home. It is not about the money or the candy but to me it just seemed a tad bit rude. Give my kids your candy but I sure as heck am not going to give your kids any....

Well, I certainly hope noone bashes us for doing this...my DH was home with my sick 5 yr old who had to miss Trick or Treating. I didn't force him to hand out candy because I felt bad enough for my son not being able to participate.

We aren't in a highly traveled trick or treat area so I didn't think it was a big deal.

 

[PrincessTori]

I took DD out while DH stayed home, but he isn't into the whole handing out candy thing. So I bought one of those candy holder statues from Target a couple of years ago. Its a little boy dressed as a pirate. I just fix him up on the porch and fill it with treat bags I made. We had 4 bags left last night. Works well. One other house in the neighborhood left a bowl out with a sign as well. The rest either had the lights on and were handing out candy or had all their lights off.

 

[Denine]

Our neighbors across the street are like that. We are a new neighborhood. Their house wasn't even there last Halloween. The didn't decorate and didn't even put up their "Boo" sign when they were "BOO'D", they did not hand out candy. But, guess who showed up at my doorstep TOT?