Well, I have loaded up a bowl of funsize chocolate in case we get any “visitors” this evening, although I shan’t be encouraging with doorlights or pumpkins. Hopefully we won’t get too many and I can scoff the remains later.
I hate Halloween. It is not a tradition done well here in the UK. I could see the point of it if I lived in the US – from all accounts it seems really fun there and everyone seems to get into the spirit of it. I love reading the sites with creative suggestions for costumes and DIY haunted houses.
Here in the UK, though, Halloween is groups of teenagers knocking on doors, occasionally buying a cheap “Scream” mask from Tescos and mumbling “Trick or Treat” unenthusiastically before putting their hands out for cash. All with the underlying threat that with lack of co-operation your property is likely to be floured and egged. (They’ll also be back for “penny for the guy” in a few days time (Bonfire Night) and in a month with a crappy rendition of “Good King Wenceslas” again expecting monetary reward) Understandably, many vunerable pensioners in particular find this a frightening time of year – effectively a license for doorstep mugging.
Unsurprisingly, I will not be taking my two boys out begging for sweets, although they’ll both be getting a funsize treat after dinner and maybe when they’re older, a Halloween party – but only to minimize the peer pressure.
I guess that makes me a killjoy.
17 responses so far ↓
1 Dom // 31st Oct 2006 at 7:30 pm
You’re not a killjoy. “Trick or Treat” around here consists of gangs of kids randomly throwing eggs and breaking windows. There’s a gang outside my house right now. :(
2 paula // 31st Oct 2006 at 7:52 pm
It is more a tradition here in Scotland I suppose. Depending on the weather that is. Tonight has been quite busy really, for the first time the hobbits went out, supervised by their dad. They loved it, especially the ton and a half of sweeties they brought back!
The Scottish and Irish took the tradition to America, and they gave us pumpkins. A lot easier to carve than turnips!
3 sylvia // 31st Oct 2006 at 8:21 pm
I’m with you 100% on this, and I love Halloween. We’ve had 3 kids come to the door, despite the lights being out. One at least had a decent mask. I simply refused to answer the door, though.
You can’t just grab a bit of tradition like that. It needs the whole set up. :P
4 mad muthas // 31st Oct 2006 at 9:10 pm
not much going on here either. two little kids dressed as harry potter and sundry witch with their mum. that leaves us with loads and loads of bite size to eat ourselves. hooray!
5 Linda // 31st Oct 2006 at 11:33 pm
No not a killjoy. My daughters were busy doing other stuff.
I was never allowed to go trick or treating and was always given a book instead – I can remember some and how much I treasured them. We had three knocks on the door tonight, all little boys and their dads, as menacing as you can be after a quick trip to Woolies. :)
They were given the massive treat of a rummage in a carrier bag full of sweets left over from a birthday party.
6 zip // 1st Nov 2006 at 10:04 am
This was the first year I actually ventured out with H and his friends to go a-trick-a-treating.
Usually I take H and a friend to the cinema but this year there simply wasn’t a film suitable for them.
Watching the two 10 year old boys getting ‘ready’ for an hour was a real experience. Lordy help them when they start getting ready to go out to clubs etc. – does this blood look real? does this cape go with the green hair?
Admittedly I’d have done anything to get out of going, but, with hindsight I’m so glad I went.
I joined up with a friend and so between us we had 5 little monsters. I complained of being cold a lot but watching the kids have so much fun warms the cockles of your heart :)
There was a distinct lack of teenagers around here last night, which is odd considering they roam the street manacingly every other night of the year. We bumped into other groups of tiny devils who stopped to chat and tell us where the best houses were. A few houses were decorated brilliantly with grown up witches and corpses answering the door to hand over the goodies.
It has to be said though that the people who seemed to enjoy the night as much as the children were the elderly. Many took such great delight in pretending to be scared by the young vampires and werewolves.
Like I said, with hindsight, I’m really glad we all went out.
7 GoodTwin // 1st Nov 2006 at 10:08 am
If people in the UK could follow the US traditions properly (small children, proper costumes) I might be more in favour.
As Dom says, too many teenagers think ‘trick’ means they have a licence to run riot and inflict vandalism without a backward thought, which round our way usually means eggs, flour and flourescent paint.
8 Ellen // 1st Nov 2006 at 11:39 am
I lived in the States 29 years and LOVED Halloween – but it isn’t all joy and small children with beautiful costumes (it’s just relatively better I’d say). Now here in Switzerland it is small children in bad costumes going only to the doors of their friends – better for the elderly, but also a bit of a let down. Still – if you ask your average American – I’d bet the majority would say Halloween is their favorite holiday…
9 Lisa // 1st Nov 2006 at 11:40 am
Did you get any? We had one ring on the doorbell, which i didn’t answer as I was bathing M. That was it. Just spoke to a neighbour who had bought lots of sweets (wish I had as I could scoff them now!) and didn’t get anybody round at all. Hoorah, I say, and bring on Sunday.
10 Alley Katt // 1st Nov 2006 at 1:07 pm
It doesn’t make you a killjoy as that is your opinion, and how you feel about, and I can understand why you feel that way.
I didn’t take my kids out, but my wife did. I had heard that there had been a spate of burglaries in this area. There was no way I was going to advertise my house as empty.
My feelings for it are on my blog.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mondrak662207/mondrak/
11 Tami // 1st Nov 2006 at 2:41 pm
I’m glad you wrote about this. Call me naïve, but I am shocked to hear of “doorstep muggings”. I grew up watching teenagers on television egging people’s houses and cars and toilet papering their trees, but honestly that doesn’t happen much around here (I am knocking on wood now). I didn’t see a lot of teenagers out last night and I’m glad. This should stay a fun night for the kids. I don’t think people around here are scared to open their doors, but if they are in the UK, that is reason enough to not participate.
12 cassie-b // 2nd Nov 2006 at 12:18 am
I live in the U.S. and have most of my life, and also don’t like halloween. for the life of me, I can’t understand what we’re celebrating.
13 Jane // 2nd Nov 2006 at 8:09 am
Nah, you’re not a killjoy. I wasn’t really looking forward to it either.
In the end we had about 5-6 groups of smaller kids (with parents in the background) come round in the early evening, and my kids had a brilliant time opening the door, handing over sweets and marvelling at the costumes. So actually it was fine. I’d feel strange taking my kids round trick or treating (“begging”) though – I think a party is a much better idea.
An American friend of mine, btw, was saying how nice she thought Halloween is in Germany, because in the US it’s got so nasty with egging and toilet-papering etc. She said that some houses of local “personalities” (headteachers of local schools and so on) were even given police protection. I guess it depends on the area though.
14 Purpleelephant // 2nd Nov 2006 at 7:32 pm
The thing is we spend the whole year drumming it in to our kids not to talk to strangers and then for one night a year we encourage them to go knocking on doors.
Littleone wanted to go trick or treating this year and I told her that the police say that you’re not allowed to go until you are six.
Now I’ve got a whole year to think up another excuse. Or maybe a compromise where we only go knocking on the doors of people we know.
15 Pewari // 2nd Nov 2006 at 8:43 pm
Wow, wasn’t quite expecting this many responses! Seems like Halloween is an emotive subject both side of the pond.
Do you guys think that Halloween is suffering the same fate as Christmas – too commercialised and too high expectations?
16 valb // 3rd Nov 2006 at 1:27 am
Commercialised – definitely! Did you venture into Asda this year? It’s recognisably an American company by the sheer volume of Halloween novelties it stocks – our local store (not a big one either) had two whole aisles stuffed floor to ceiling with varieties of tat, and that’s not mentioning the costumes which were sold elsewhere in store.
Mad…..
BTW, as far as trick or treating goes, I take my kids around our street only (about 16 houses), although the 9 year old is beginning to complain that all his friends at school go around “loads” of places. I just say tough!
17 Pewari // 5th Nov 2006 at 12:55 pm
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we don’t have an Asda near here, but Tesco had a fairly impressive range for a small store too.
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