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

[(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....