Is it the done thing to poor hot oil from on high onto Trick or Treaters in the mediaeval fashion, to try and get rid of the grasping tykes? Just wondering...

My mum bought loads of sweets and not many takers yet....
food for me perhaps...

HK

Boy, don't I know it

My piano teacher has just called them cheeky little b*ggers! She is NOT the kind of person to say that lightly!

One of the study supervisors at college today was baffled when I asked her if she was going trick or treating. She asked what actually happened and so I told her that people give out sweets and sometimes a bit of loose change! Never has she been trick or treating or even got any trick or treaters knocking on her door!

Shocking I tell ya!

A physics teacher from my school lives just up the road... I suspect he might be getting a fair amount of business tonight! I wouldn't be surprised if he were to go and visit his mother for the night...

I think it's cute!

"What's the difference between a train and a teacher?"

"A teacher says "spit out your gum", a train says "chew chew chew!""

AWWWW!!

If you lived in my village your opinion of children would be much different...

Yeah, but it's still really cute!
I don't like the ones who are like 15 and don't dress up though...they don't even attempt a good joke! grr...

They're the ones that we have. My mum says 'trick' and squirts them with a water gun.

Haha, seriously?!

I went out last year, and this old guy forgot it was Halloween, so instead gave me a £20 note!

And yes, I did go out when I was 15, because I AM cool...

If you are ever coming to stoke on haloween then always go for the treat, otherwise no doubt most kids will just stab ya

Oh lord.

HK

Fancy coming round sometime HK?

Oh, and if they say trick or trick...then RUN!!

A couple rang the doorbell at my piano teachers house during my piano lesson earlier, which was quite annoying!

I've never been trick or treating, and we don't answer the door to them

Sounds pleasant where you are...

Oh it's lovely really! After all, me and Soph are here

###### yeah! Bring it on!

HK

Well that's not very nice!

I've just given someone an apple, s'all we have...by the looks of them it'll do some good

Well, i'm just not a very nice person!

"This should suit that greenish complexion of yours, young hag! " Halloween is the perfect opportunity of getting rid of anything that you don't like, and anything that is several years out of date. We used to get rid of those awful liquorice sweets that none of us liked, and I recall we once gave away Cadbury's chocolate with a picture of a Santa on the front, from a Christmas many years before!

Well, you have to take every festivity for its advantages, even if at first appearance it looks like you stand nothing to gain!

~Wobby~

They wouldn't have my sister off me last year

Somewhat uncannily, we haven't had anyone call this year.

And that's despite stocking up with apples and oranges to give out....

Well, it's not as if they can eat her, is it? That would be taking the idea of embodying wild creatures and spirits a little too far...

Strange how none turned up last year! Maybe they got food poisoning from the previous time? And if so, it seems they are back for more! But alas, we have run out of stuff we want to get rid of!

~Wobby~

That's possibly why then . My wife bought two large bags of funsize Mars and Milky Way. Looks like I know what I'm eating for breakfast tomorrow... *burp*

I have two cups of water on standby but we don't get many trick or treaters. My mother read somewhere that you should give them satsumas because the little children won't mind but the big children won't come back.

We've had just one so far - the younger sister of one of my pupils.
A very effective costume too - we were suitably scared.

I'm pretty safe up here

Car Expert

I jokingly said to three teenagers who called last year "No treat till you sing me a Christmas carol" and to my surprise I was rewarded with a fairly rough but nevertheless instant rendition of Once In David's Royal City. Not bad singing really considering two of them had lip and tongue piercings. They haven't come round this year, but I think that's because they're too busy racing round the streets of Sussex in their Vauxhall Corsa!

We've only had two trick or treaters and both were quite young. the girls went out with their friends and one of them brought their younger brother and sister. I think the neighbourhood emptied all the sweets they could find into their bags given the amount of stuff they got.

Lights out at the front of the house, and retreat to the back. And when they still came to bother us, I unscrewed the doorbell. It's never been part of my culture or upbringing, and last year the kids made such nuisances of themselves that I'm quite happy not to have anything to do with it. Made more irritating this year because one of our sprogs' mates were going to go, and since I don't receive them, I'm also not prepared to let my kid go and annoy other people. I also know one batch of kids go back into school the next day boasting of the cash they've gathered from the practice - I very much doubt offerings of fruit would be deemed a treat by that lot, and our house would get egged just the same .

You cynics, the lot of you! It's a good laugh to go trick or treating! If I was 8 again I'd do it myself. Being allowed to go out in the dark with dubious older friends, getting all dressed up and wondering what sort of witch was going to answer the door, and then going home into the light to investigate what sort of goodies you've got. And remembering who gave you what, and which of your company said the most idiotic thing on which doorstep. And fighting over who gets the Heros and who gets the nuts while you slag off that other group ahead of you who got the best takings. You're only young once!!!

Bagpuss and I have only two words to say about Trick or Treaters.

BAH.

HUMBUG.

True - I was never allowed to go rhyming either, although I don't recall ever wanting to. Who knows whose door you might be knocking on?

I don't open the door because along with fireworks, constant door knocking is driving the dog (and me) crazy...so they leave with nothing

This has sort of crept up on us over the years with the youngest two going out with friends & a suitably willing adult. However every year we forgot to buy sweets and would have to run around the house to find some small change to give to ONLY those in costumes. Initially I couldnt stand it, but decided I was being a real humbug

So yesterday I was determined to be a 'super' mum and went to S...b.s, bought loads of sweets and chocs place them sky high in a bowl in the hall and waited for the door bell to ring.

Still waiting...

Kids informed me that I had forgotton to put either a pumpkin in window or garnish the door knocker indicating that trick & treats were welcomed!

I don't do that and we still get hoards of them, they all seem to be bussed in from other areas because we are a housing estate with quite large houses so are obviously seen as easy pickings. I

Well I stocked up on a lot of extra fruit to give out...and no-one came.

My elderly parents don't answer the door at nights to anyone. And two separate gangs of louts decided when the door wasn't answered to throw eggs at their windows. How can people behave like that - frightening harmless pensioners?

Glad it's over for another year.

One time (a few years ago now) we had a visitor's car damaged. It's crazy when it goes this far.
And this was a group of older children in the company of adults who should know better.

When I was young, there was no trick or treating, but we did have Mischief Night, which I suspect was worse in some ways. I vividly remember looking out of my window the morning after to discover that someone had removed the neighbours' front gate and wedged it high in a tree!

We are lucky in our area - the kids don't even say "Trick or Treat?", they just turn up in costume and look hopeful. We had just three lots last night, and gave them all a fun-size pack of sweets.

Throwing eggs at windows and covering cars in flour is just not on - I don't wonder you're cross about that.

That really isn't on. The thought of someone (from my own generation ) being heartless enough to do that maddens me. If anyone dared act towards my own Nan in that way I'd be horified.

Thankfully, where we live there generally isn't much trouble at any time of the year, and Halloween isn't really any different. I went out with a friend and her mum once, but just to people who had invited us. I can see the fun in it, to young children, but once you're a bit older I think the novelty wears off a bit anyway. We don't usually answer the door, unless it's friends. This year we weren't at home so have no idea if anyone even made the trek up our drive.

We usually buy something to give out if anyone turns up, but didn't this year as we thought we'd be out that evening; only in the end, AP went out but I stayed in as my back was playing up. So the only thing I had to hand were opiates, and I didn't think that would go down well with their parents . I made sure the door was locked and the curtains closed, and in any case it was half-way plausible that no-one was in as the car wasn't on the drive.

"Bah Humbug", C? I don't think those were the two words I uttered last night. If my memory serves me correctly the second word was definitely "off"........



(Grumpy Old) Bag x

Yes - Bag and I stopped for our ritual chips-after-choir at gone 10pm last night and some child of what looked like primary age came bashing on my car window and yelling 'TRICK OR TREAT? TRICK OR TREAT?' in my face - to which, yes, we uttered two words of which the second was 'off'.

BAH. BAH. BAH.

A very unwelcome import from the USA, IMO...

That is just despicable - those seem to be the kind of people who just use halloween as an excuse to cause mischief. Whenever I or my friends used to be out we only went to houses that had decorations. But some people take it too far, and ruin it for anyone else, and give us kids a bad name too

But I did like the very sweet little kid climbing up our steps to say 'twick or tweat' and 'thank - you' with thier parents

We all get dressed up last night with no idea as to what to do...

And went out on the town instead!

LOL, yes, I was at the pub last night, and it was absolutely packed. Loads of people in fancy dress, too, it was quite surreal...

My mother reports that over 600 people were arrested in Bristol last night for Halloween misbehaviour.

Good grief! I think I've been the only poster so far who's defended trick or treating, but I had no idea that all this type of thing was going on. (Don't read papers or watch much TV.) I didn't let my kids go out this year because we've moved, but in our other house (a newish development) all the kids went out and all the neighbours were great, cos most had kids themselves. It was like a big outdoor party. Nobody got 'egged'! Mums hid at the bottom of the driveways while the kids thought they were out alone, and sneaked into various houses en route for wine and apple pie.

Where has it all gone wrong?

Sad, but I'm not at all surprised at that, knowing the area...

There are people who, sadly, consider Hallowe'en to be an excuse to throw eggs/throw flour/cause general mischief, and for that reason, I'm with katyjay, I'm glad it's over for another year.