Never been trick or treating with the girls as didn’t really like to bother people but they are 5 & 9 now and desperate to do it. The neighbourhood seems pretty busy with kids doing the same on Halloween so I’d like to take them this year.

Is there an etiquette to it? Does anybody take their kids to do it?

Be polite and don’t be persistent with knocking/ringing.
Do make an effort to dress up.

Have fun.

That’s pretty much it I’d say

round our way people put a pumpkin or something outside to show they’re taking part.

I didn’t know this the first time I took our kids out so we just knocked on random doors. It turned out alright as at one house they only had a whole fruit cake to give away 🙂

I’m not looking forward to being emotionally blackmailed into this bullshit when mine get to that age.

Actually **** that, the wife can do it.

No, I’m 48 and think it might look a bit menacing if I rocked up at people’s front doors wearing a hockey mask and demanding Haribo.

[video]https://youtu.be/K6KyM193K_o[/video]

This piece by David Sedaris is brilliant;

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2004/jun/sedaris/usandthem.html

can’t find a recording of him reading it so you’ll have to imagine the voice.

Asking for candy on Halloween was called trick-or-treating, but asking for candy on November first was called begging, and it made people uncomfortable.

keep ’em healthy when they come a knocking, dish out satsumas and little apples. 😀

Chocolate coated sprouts.

Yes, it’s fun. At least round here where most people seem to be into it and lots of people put effort in. Busy resurrecting my RPi powered animatronic skull.

Bloody hell, no pompous anti american diatribe? Is this STW or the tufty club?

We do it, it’s ace! Might buy my pumpkins this lunchtime now, make sure I get some good* uns!

*should’ve gone with smashing

No American crap in this household, and we hollow out turnips, not pumpkins 🙂

Penny-for-the-guy on bommy night …

Is there an etiquette to it?

As wwaswas…

Around our way if there’s Halloween decorations outside a house they are in on trick or treating. We never go to any other houses.

and we hollow out turnips,

…with your bare hands I hope!? 😀

Around our way if there’s Halloween decorations outside a house they are in on trick or treating. We never go to any other houses.

But lots of people don’t know about this etiquette, especially those without kids.

Knock on whatever door you like. You’re unlikely to get beaten up.

Yes we do, in fact our house, the next door neighbours and the family across the road all go out together.

Great laugh and most importantly the kids absolutely love it. Mini Dutch has been changing his mind on what outfit for weeks!!

Etiquette was easier before the kids grew up slightly and now want to knock EVERY door! Usually its the decorated ones.

…with your bare hands I hope!?

Aye, growing my fingernails as we speak … 🙂
Off to farmers field to steal a tuggy*

*Sunderland speak for turnip.

🙂

and we hollow out turnips,

We did that one year. Left it late and no pumpkins left so we drew straws on a melon, pineapple and turnip. I got the turnip and it was very tricky. I’ll see if I can dog out a photo of them.

Not done trick or treat but with a wee chap coming up to three, may get involved this year. He’ll enjoy it.

I’ve never understood the trick bit. Does the person knocking do the trick if they don’t get a treat or is the householder meant to trick the knocker?

Didn’t do it as a kid and don’t live in an area with much potential passing trade so feel trick or treat deprived.

Off to farmers field to steal a tuggy*

Although it’s not a phrase I’ve ever heard before it infers something very different outside of Sunderland, probably involving a restraining order at the very least.

I appreciate this probably makes me sound like a killjoy, but it’s never sat comfortably with me.

Getting all dressed up and telling spooky stories I can totally get behind. But the concept of extracting treats from strangers by threatening them with having “tricks” played on them always struck me as a poor life lesson to be teaching kids. You want treats you can wash my car.

Checks above for mentions – no, @Cougar, it was ‘guising (as in, I assume, going in disguise) round our way and threats weren’t part of that (that was knock-a-doory night), turn up dressed up, do a turn, get some pennies / sweets / fruit..

Still got the little bag somewhere I used to take round..

Yay kids, it’s international wash the miserable bastards car day, that sounds FUN!

I’ve never understood the trick bit.

Chocolate covered sprouts!

Although it’s not a phrase I’ve ever heard before it infers something very different outside of Sunderland, probably involving a restraining order at the very least.

Yep, standing in field to have a tuggy before turning a few tricks with the kids. All good healthy stuff.

Although it’s not a phrase I’ve ever heard before it infers something very different outside of Sunderland, probably involving a restraining order at the very least.

😆

Yeah, now that you mention it!
Tuggy – tug, as in pull

It’ll make me think next time I use regional words …

But the concept of extracting treats from strangers by threatening them with having “tricks” played on them always struck me as a poor life lesson to be teaching kids.

That’s how i remember it from when i was a kid. Was quite horrible really, if you didn’t get a treat kids would egg and flour your car, etc. Then quite sensibly the schools and police got involved, asked shopkeepers not to sell eggs and flour to kids (bastard if you genuinely wanted pancakes that night) and the (I thought) widely known convention of putting a pumpkin outside or decorating the house began. The schools pushed that when I was still at school, and my kids school pushes it now.

So now, the concept of ‘tricks’ is essentially redundant, because you only go to houses that have already indicated they’re going to treat and the unsavoury side is out.

Whether it’s another example of american culture taking over or not, around my way it’s harmless fun. The littl’uns dress up, a few houses round my way go to town with decorating their front porches, and you get to speak to your neighbours which is no bad thing in my book.

Or you could sit in all night with your lights off being a right grumbleduke.

Ive just spent the last couple of weekends making a mock hogwarts castle including smoke machines and projector lights. Its a fairly big thing round us where all the kids congregate with their parents and everyone dresses up. Its not so much about the trick or treat thing but a social thing where all the kids in the village meet up and have a bit of fun running around. There is certainly no sinister element to it and if people don’t want to be involved that’s fine, it usually finishes by 8pm and unlike bonfire night doesn’t include asshats firing rocket to the wee hours. bring it on…. 8)

Or you could sit in all night with your lights off being a right grumbleduke.

^^^ ME 🙂

Lit pumpkin / decorations = happy to accept trick or treaters on our road. We live on a long avenue, Halloween is a ruddy nightmare, it’s like all the kids in the town are bussed into one end of the road and picked up at the other. It’s the kids that go for a full hand grab of sweets or find it acceptable to walk right into the the house that are the worst. But I have 2 young kids too who love it, so am duty bound to join in with the fun (mum takes takes them out, I hand out the sweets).

Fortunately this year it’s on a weekend and we’ve been invited to a party so are having a year off.

I lived in Houston for a bit and as you can imagine people take it very seriously. Maybe a bit to seriously, the year before one of the neighbours buried himself in the garden and when the first lot of kids knocked on the door came flying out of the earth and scared no traumatized them. One of the parents got mad and a bit of fisticuffs happened and the police were called. The subdivision was leafleted the next year reminding people that it was a “fun holiday”

I went to a great party and had fun with a lady dressed as a cat, Texan girls 😯

You’re a killjoy Cougar. As already mentioned, the trick bit fundamentally no longer exists.

Last year we had a bowl of sweets to give out as treats but also put some tins of anchovies in there as well. Poor kids who picked them out!

Last year I got home from work unseen, hid in the garage in my £5 Tesco mummy costume , and waited for the first set of trick or treaters to arrive. Before they rang the door I nipped out and joined the back of their queue then when my kids and friends came to the door from their hallowe’en tea party inside, i joined in with some convincing ghost noises (i became aware at that point that I didn’t know what noises mummies made)

I was obviously quite convincing because my kids and friends commented that the mummy was quite freaky; even more so when the Trick or treaters left and I continued in true mummy style into the house. At which point my kids sussed who the mummy was (helped by the dog giving me her usual welcome, she seemed to work it out quite easily) and i got the full enjoyment of inflicting the sort of embarrassment on them that only dads with daughters will truly know.

Just debating whether to go for a double this year……..

Whether it’s another example of american culture taking over or not, around my way it’s harmless fun. The littl’uns dress up, a few houses round my way go to town with decorating their front porches, and you get to speak to your neighbours which is no bad thing in my book.

Or you could sit in all night with your lights off being a right grumbleduke.

This. The parents are usually pretty good with checking that it’s ok, and the miserablists who don’t want to take part put up signs on the front doors.

the decorated house thing appears to be working, slowly.

parents be warned tho, calling the householder names for answering the door, but clearly not getting involved, may well result in the kind of language you didnt want your loved ones to hear at that age.

i dont like your kids the rest of the year, what on earth makes you think that a random dark evening is a good time to bang on my door?

a random dark evening is a good time to bang on my door?

If it was random we wouldn’t be having this discussion, would we?

But don’t worry, I’m sure the neighbours all know what a joyless arse you are already.

Trick or treat was introduced to me by my kids, who seemed to know what to do in the face of my disapproval.

There’s always an unaccompanied group of kids who are a bit too old, and go on a bit too late carrying massive carrier bags full of sugary booty. Might get some sprouts in…

On which note, does mischievous night still exist? In Leeds kids would head out the night before bonfire night. There were no treats involved, only tricks, sometimes unpleasant (bangers through letter box, burning bag with dogturd etc), and minor acts of vandalism and criminal damage (swapping garden gates etc)? Parents were not involved.

I just go out killing