Hallowe'en

[ailbhe]

I think I'm going to make up a bunch of Trick or Treat flyers and post them through doors on this street, on about 26 October. Each house to get one each of "NO TRICK OR TREAT" or "Trick or Treat welcome" - or something. Something about right to stick in the window or on the door.

I really love Hallowe'en and trick or treating, and I hate hate hate the idea of bothering people who don't want to be bothered.

Suggestions for wording or design welcome.

Comments

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

In the US, as I understand it, the convention is to put a jack-o-lantern on your front doorstep if you welcome trick-or-treaters, and not if you don't. Maybe you could do something like a jack-o-lantern with "Welcome" on it for those who would like, and then on the reverse, the jack-o-lantern crossed out with "No thanks!", so your neighbours could show whichever side they chose.

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

That's a great idea! You could print one on each side, or on each half of the paper so it could be folded appropriately, then they could stick it up the right way round.

I think I'd go for something a bit gentler than "NO TRICK OR TREAT" for the negative one - maybe just "No trick or treat please" or similar.

[gloriap.livejournal.com]

In some neighborhoods, perhaps. In other places as soon as pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns are put outdoors, mean kids smash them in the street. It's very sad when they belonged to little kids.

We used to live in such a neighborhood and ever since we have put our "jack" in the front window.

In many neighborhoods it's more common to turn on an outdoor light in front of the house (porch light) if you welcome trick-or-treaters and leave the house darkened if you do not.

[myfirstkitchen.livejournal.com]

None of that really applies in the UK, there isn't a code as such that kids adhere to. I wish there was. We don't mind the little kids coming round but tend to go out once they've done their rounds, before the teenagers wanting cash go out with eggs etc.

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

Please don't call it 'Trick or Treat'.

Can you please call it by the 'home' word? I know it's only left in some parts of Scotland & Ireland, but the term is 'guising'.

Are guisers welcome, or not!! ;-)

And that's guisers as in 'disguise'. You put on a 'guise'

The other good thing about Guising, as opposed to Trick or Treating, is that Guisers have to _earn_ their reward. Not expect it.

"The sky is blue, the grass is green, please may I have my Halloween?" is the littlest contribution expected, to earn your treats.

But any song, dance, or piece of poetry will do.

But you have to WORK for it!!!! :-)))))

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/guising

http://krisalis.org/weblog/?p=237

[ailbhe]

Not where I come from, it's not. The main tradition was adults in disguise showing up completely silently and being fed and going away again. No-one earned anything. As children we went trick-or-treating and did a trick and got a treat. "Guising" is not an Irish word. "Guising" is a British word for a similar thing, but definitely not for the traditional Samhain thing as done by adults, which was silent, menacing, and involved no earning of any kind.

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

You did ask for suggestions...

[ailbhe]

"Guising" on the signs instead of something people might understand? Interesting idea...

Edit to add

That came out nasty, sorry, that's not what I intended.

I think that setting up a tradition revival of Guising would be a good idea but it would need much more general education and publicity than I can achieve. I think turning trick-or-treat on this street, maybe ten houses or so, from a tedious menace to an enjoyable costumes-and-singing event is all that I'm able to do, given the broad public perception of trick-or-treat here.

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

I just thought you could put it down on the cards, since you were pre-approving people as such.

Lots of people don't like 'trick or treat' as a concept, as they feel it's some new fangled USAn thing. Exlaining it's also 'old fashioned' might help.

Or not. :-)

[buzzy-bee.livejournal.com]

Guisings not really local to Reading though as it never really reached further than the very far north of England (and its never been common in Ireland apart from amongst Scottish immigrants in the North) so its really no different from the equally "foreign" term trick or treat. Its just imported from somewhere a bit nearer.

[ailbhe]

I think I'd like people to feel that I'm not trying to influence their decision, or something.

[myfirstkitchen.livejournal.com]

I'd probably go for just the positive sign, but I don't know because I don't know if given the option I'd display either. It's so hard. If they're under 8, I don't mind kids coming to my house, but if they're older they always seem to want more - LOTS of sweets rather than one or two, or asking outright for money - and if they're of secondary school age then there tend to be more "tricks" whatever we have to offer.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I love this idea. (Everywhere I've lived in the US, the front light on or off is usually the indicator - but a sign would work nicely too!)

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

We only knock on doors that are decorated or have a pumpkin on the doorstep. Or are friends of ours.

[(Anonymous)]

In our neighbourhood - a (supposedly) 'nice' suburban area - the rule seems to be "Give us a treat or we'll play a (mean) trick on you!" rather than "If we do a (clever) trick, can we have a treat?"

For several years we had eggs thrown at our house and car without the kids even knocking and asking for a treat! One year I even went to the local corner-shopkeeper and asked him not to sell eggs to 'kids' (some of them well into their teens!) who came in wearing Halloween masks, and who were clearly just buying them to throw. He told me if they came in with money they got eggs - it wasn't his business what they did with them! The police who called on him the next day and asked to see his CCTV to see if they could identify the vandals who had littered the streets and 'egged' houses and cars for some distance around, didn't seem to manage to persuade him otherwise! These days we keep the front curtains open on Halloween so at least we can see them coming and maybe stand a chance of identifying any wrongdoers.

Needless to say, I can't help feeling that going out to 'Trick or Treat' in celebration of Halloween is one of the less desirable 'traditions' we've borrowed from the US.

Elaine

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

I agree; quite apart from anything else, whatever happened to "Never, ever, accept sweets or anything else from people you don't know"? I know that mostly people don't go go strangers' houses, but....

Anyway, our tradition, surely is "Penny for the guy"!

[ailbhe]

I'm not comfortable teaching my children to burn Catholics in effigy, really.

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

I take your point - although many modern guys are effigies of unpopular politicians, or whatever....

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's an excellent idea. A foldable notice would enable people to alter their status, too - eg, turn it to 'no thank you' at bedtime.
In Morecambe we had mischief night on 4 November, tho I've never come across that anywhere else.
When my kids were little we used to bake Halloween biscuits - witches, bats, etc, dress up, knock on friends doors, make scary noises, then give them the treats - much nicer than begging - tho, of course, we'd always be given something in return.

Last year

[(Anonymous)]

we saw plenty of 'no thanks' signs that were (I think) out of the free paper. Trying to remember the actual wording. That one only works for people who actually look through the paper of course. Good idea.

I don't think we knocked at any unwelcoming doors last year (various streets between our house and Layla's as that's where we were heading) - we didn't knock at any that were dark, and mostly knocked at ones that had some sort of pumpkin/spooky sign outside so we could be sure.

asilon