posted
When I was growing up, the lady across the street used to make all the kids on the street caramel apples rolled in mini chocolate chips. Mmmm. Now, whenever I see caramel apples, I think of her and Hallowe'en, and I feel like I'm 6.
-------------------- "The little local company I buy from has CHEAP shipping and I have met their goats." (snapdragonfly)
"And that's one lost erection I'll never get back! You hear me Dan! I'm owed an erection!" (I'mNotDedalus) Posts: 2658 | From: California | Registered: Jul 2005
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We had a pretty decent turnout in my neighborhood last night although it seemed that alot of the kids were being trucked in from out of town and only saw a handful of regulars and neighbors. The downer part was early in the evening someone stole some of our decorations that we've had for several years off the porch. I guess the free candy wasn't enough. They weren't really expensive or anything but it's the principle of the matter. Anyway, I think we may take next year off from handing out candy. There were alot less houses doing it as well.
Posts: 19 | From: Redwood City, CA | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by snapdraculafly: I don't EVER remember it even occuring to any of us as kids to "trick", in fact I don't think we were even aware of the word, it was triggertreat and that meant getting candy. Heh.
snap -wtf am I gonna do with all this candy and I'm trying to stick to my diet - dragonfly
(1) Yeah, when I was trick-or-treating, I wondered what I'd do if I said "Trick or treat!" and the person said, "Trick!" But, my mother warned me, "it's against the law to trick," so I never developed the thought.
(serious laughter warning ahead)
(2) And I was told that one neighbor lady actually said "Trick!" and got up and did acrobatic tricks for the kids.
quote:Originally posted by HelloLlama: Has anybody noticed a reduction in the number of houses handing out candy? Back when I was a kid there was maybe one house on a block that didn't have it's lights on. In our neighborhood, there are more people not giving candy out then are. If they aren't home for some reason I understand. But quite a number of these people were obviously hiding in their houses. This is a big middle class neighborhood with lots of little kids. If you have some sort of moral objection to the holiday, fine. But I suspect most of the people were either too cheap or lazy to hand out treats.
I hear ya. Last year was the first year in this neighborhood, and most of the houses had their lights on. This year we would hit one house, then pass by five dark ones... quite sad. A lot of them were people taking their kids out for candy, but giving out none which really bugs me too. It just has such as "Gimme gimme but none for you!" attitude.
We seemed to get mostly older kids and teenagers, too. When I would walk up with my daughter, people would be so excited to see 'a little one' (she'll be 4 at the end of the month) that they would give her extra treats. lol
I made up 150 goodie bags, but we only had 100 kids this year.
-------------------- "Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple." - Willy Wonka Posts: 388 | From: Michigan | Registered: Aug 2004
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We had more dark houses this year, too. But part of that time was because the quiltlet and I were out so she could trick-or-treat. As soon as she was done (it didn't take long) we went home for her favorite part, giving out candy.
We have lots of teenagers, too, but they're polite for the most part. She wanted to hand out the candy by herself so I sat on the love seat in the living room to keep an eye on her. Because we usually have so many kids, she has strict instructions to only hand out two pieces per child. A couple of older boys tried to wheedle more out of her and she stood her ground! I was very proud of her and told her so.
And then, after all our precautions, we only went through one bag and halfway through the second (250 pieces per bag). Oh well.
-------------------- "No Biblical hell could ever be worse than the state of perpetual inconsequence." Beatrice in Dangerous Beauty Posts: 1816 | From: Cayuga County, NY | Registered: Nov 2005
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Last year I made a special effort to buy and hand out something good and useful instead of junky candy: Jack Chick tracts. This year we didn't get a single trick-or-treater. That's gratitude for you ...
quote:Originally posted by snopes: Last year I made a special effort to buy and hand out something good and useful instead of junky candy: Jack Chick tracts. This year we didn't get a single trick-or-treater. That's gratitude for you ...
- snopes
I'm surprised you didn't get egged - with ostrich eggs!
-------------------- So many books, so little time. Posts: 1192 | From: McDonough, Georgia | Registered: Nov 2005
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I had about 20 kids come to my door. They were all great. The thing I don't get is that the adults with many of them also had bags for candy. On the other hand, many of those who did that weren't much older than teenagers themselves, but I thought it was odd, nonetheless. Unless there is some cultural tradition about which I don't know.
I still gave the grown ups candy, though.
-------------------- There are people who drive really nice cars who feel that [those] cars won't be as special if other people drive them too. Where I come from, we call those people "selfish self-satisfied gits." -Chloe Posts: 6995 | From: New Mexico | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by TurquoiseGirl: I had about 20 kids come to my door. They were all great. The thing I don't get is that the adults with many of them also had bags for candy. On the other hand, many of those who did that weren't much older than teenagers themselves, but I thought it was odd, nonetheless. Unless there is some cultural tradition about which I don't know.
I still gave the grown ups candy, though.
I would have been surprised at that too. Usually the adults tend to hang back and let the children come to the door on their own. The only time I've ever seen an adult hold a bag was when they were collecting on behalf of a sick child. Or at least that's what they told me anyway!
-------------------- If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation. - Jean Kerr Posts: 18428 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Nov 2001
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My neighborhood is pretty much starter homes, so we get lots of families with a few small kids. This year was the best turnout with about 200 kids, last year was only about 170.
Of course, my renown for a good scare probably helps too. I've gotten several kids who brought their buddies around so I could scare them too.
PS. I made a high-school treak-or-treater cuss and hit the wall. And a junior-high girl let out a 80 dB or so shriek (it literally hurt my ears).
PPS. You wouldn't think a corpse dropping out of the ceiling in front of someone would be scary, but you'd be wrong.
-------------------- IIRC, it wasn't the shoe bomber's loud prayers that sparked the takedown by the other passengers; it was that he was trying to light his shoe on fire. Very, very different. Canuckistan Posts: 3694 | From: Arizona | Registered: Aug 2005
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A Couple of days ago we were talking about trick or treating at work. Whilst I was saying I don't agree with the blackmail of the "give me something nice or I'll do something nasty to your property" someone else said that the "trick" element was supposed to be that the children do a "trick" (like a song) and get their "treat" reward.
It seemed a bit alien to what I've heard/experienced myself and looking through this thread it seems that my idea that the "trick" relates to malice seems to be the more likely explanation.
Anyways- there were no trick or treaters around on Halloween around here which was just as well as there had been loads of stuff in the local paper about people feeling intimidated by people in masks, congregating on their doorsteps etc
-------------------- The Sqizzle formally known as Lexi Posts: 3231 | From: Nottingham, UK | Registered: Feb 2003
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We got 47 kids - the best count since DD was about 2yo (17 now). It probably helped that the weather was so warm. Who expects Massachusetts to be 60-65 degrees on the last night of October? On a lousy note, my car was egged. Not on Hallowe'en - yesterday. At mid-afternoon. As my dog had her head out the window at the time, she got liberally splattered. Effing asshats!
-------------------- lunchlady
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. ---James Bovard Posts: 71 | From: Massachusetts | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Red Squirrel: A Couple of days ago we were talking about trick or treating at work. Whilst I was saying I don't agree with the blackmail of the "give me something nice or I'll do something nasty to your property" someone else said that the "trick" element was supposed to be that the children do a "trick" (like a song) and get their "treat" reward.
It seemed a bit alien to what I've heard/experienced myself and looking through this thread it seems that my idea that the "trick" relates to malice seems to be the more likely explanation.
There really isn't malice involved in little kids going up to a door and saying trick or treat. It's just what they say. Mostly people who don't intend to give out leave their lights off and don't answer so when a child says trick or treat at an open door it's purely a formality .
The tricks side of Halloween is perpetrated (usually) by older teens and has little to nothing to do with whether someone shelled out with a mini-chocolate bar or not. It is mean spirited no doubt about it but it's not really fair to say if the little ones didn't "trick or treat" the big kids wouldn't be idiots.
-------------------- If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it's just possible you haven't grasped the situation. - Jean Kerr Posts: 18428 | From: Ontario, Canada | Registered: Nov 2001
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We only had a handful of trick-or-treaters. We were gone for about 45 minutes but I left out a small bowl of candy with a note saying 'please take one' & when we got home it looked like it had barely been touched. Our doorbell rang about 3 times & the last time was teenagers. I don't think they were impressed by the mini-granola bars but oh well!
-------------------- I cannot live without books-Thomas Jefferson *~* A child educated only at school is an uneducated child - George Santayana I'm going to pummel you with such zeal, Buddha will explode! *~* Never miss a good chance to shut up - Will Rogers Posts: 6585 | From: Dallas/Fort Worth, TX | Registered: Feb 2002
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When I was a kid, Halloween meant the annual "Harvest Carnival" (so it said on the signs, but everyone called it the HALLOWEEN carnival) at the school, and my parents driving me to a few houses to trick or treat. I didn't get to go from door to door like some kids, we only went to houses where we knew the people (that's why all the driving), but I never felt like I was getting less of an experience than the other kids.
The "Carnival" was a night or so before Halloween, and it was only a carnival in the sense that you could play games to win prizes. There was a costume contest, so everyone who could dress up did so. The kids got to hang out in a safe, well-lit environment, parents got to meet and interact with the parents of their childrens friends, and a good time was had by all.
My parents only ever had ONE trick or treater the whole time they lived in the house where I grew up, and that was before I was born. We didn't have any neighbors with kids living at home.
-------------------- "But what of the golden spider-duck and the squat crimson pig?" Posts: 425 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Dec 2005
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It was my husband and my first Halloween living in a big complex this year, so we thought we'd get at least a few kids seeing as how a few kids live here. So, we got about 5 bags of candy, put on our outside light, put out our carved pumpkin and waited....and waited. We didn't get one kid. Surprising too, because it was like, 70 degrees out. I'm not upset though, more candy for me!
My parents have had in the past a problem of mischievous teenagers egging and silly string-ing their house and cars and neighborhood in general. This year, it wasn't so bad. Their house and car weren't hit at all...just some silly string on the road.
Posts: 1128 | From: New York | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by GenYus: My neighborhood is pretty much starter homes, so we get lots of families with a few small kids. This year was the best turnout with about 200 kids, last year was only about 170.
Of course, my renown for a good scare probably helps too. I've gotten several kids who brought their buddies around so I could scare them too.
PS. I made a high-school treak-or-treater cuss and hit the wall. And a junior-high girl let out a 80 dB or so shriek (it literally hurt my ears).
PPS. You wouldn't think a corpse dropping out of the ceiling in front of someone would be scary, but you'd be wrong.
This is a very stupid question, but I gotta ask: was it a real corpse???
-------------------- "High-Five!" - Borat Posts: 1056 | From: Racine, WI | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by TurquoiseGirl: I had about 20 kids come to my door. They were all great. The thing I don't get is that the adults with many of them also had bags for candy. On the other hand, many of those who did that weren't much older than teenagers themselves, but I thought it was odd, nonetheless. Unless there is some cultural tradition about which I don't know.
I still gave the grown ups candy, though.
I used to live in THE hot neighborhood for trick-or-treating in Houston. We had at least 600 kids every year. And we had lots of adults holding bags for their infant kids. Yeah, I'm sure your 3-month-old will enjoy the bag of chocolate. People asked me if I was going trick-or-treating this year, and were surprised I said no. My baby is 7 months old! I am not going begging for candy from neighbors for me to eat.
One year, we put our dog in costume and asked the kids if they wanted a trick or a treat. If they said trick, we had the dog do a trick. But we still gave out candy no matter what they chose. Since we had a steady stream of kids for 3 hours, they could all see the dog doing tricks as they walked up the sidewalk.
This year, we had maybe 20 kids. I miss the old neighborhood!
Posts: 2115 | From: Texas | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Cervus: The good thing about living in college apartments is that there's no little kids running around ringing doorbells and causing mischief.
Instead, it's the college adults who throw wild parties, vandalize cars and property, and make drunken asses out of themselves.
My Halloween sucked, too. I had to study. That may be why I didn't see any trouble going on. I live in what's pretty much an all-student neighborhood (though there's a school nearby), so we didn't get any trick or treaters. Last year was the same.
Posts: 885 | From: Florida | Registered: May 2004
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I don't remember much in the way of teenage vandalizm going on when I was a kid. There were incidents, but they were usually directed at some unpopular teacher or something rather than random acts of vandalism. TPing or egging were about the worst that anyone ever did -- no spray painting or rocks or anything like that.
One outlet for mischief was that there was a bit of a tradition of the teens trying to scare the living daylights out of the little kids. I remember when I was about 6 or so, two of my then-teenage cousins had hidden on the roof of my uncle's house. They waited until some unsuspecting kids walked up the sidewalk and dropped a homemade "ghost" (a broom covered with a sheet that had eyes and a mouth painted on it) in front of them. It doesn't sound that scary, but I remember it scared the heck out of me at the time. When I was about 13, I was too old for trick-or-treating so a friend and I made up a fake coffin out of a cardboard refrigerator box and put it up in my parent's front yard. Then I put on a vampire costume and hid in the bushes on the other side of the door. The little kids would have their eyes on that coffin just waiting for something to pop out. While they were distracted, I'd sneak out from behind the bush and assume my "scary vampire" pose. At that point, my friend would open the coffin and the kids would scream and turn around (either to run or, if they didn't run I'd say some cheesy vampire line like "I vant to suck your blood!" to get their attention) and see me and scream again. It was glorious. I think we ended up apologizing a couple of times.
Trick-or-treating was always a two stage affair as a kid. Part of the time I went around to houses in the neighborhood, but it wasn't very big so that didn't take long. Then I was loaded up in the car and my parents took me around to visit my grandmothers, other relatives and various family friends. I vaguely recall one year being taken to the nursing home across the street from my primary school. They were having some thing or another where the residents would hand out candy and got to see all the little kids in their costumes.
I don't get trick or treaters now that I live in an apartment. I buy some token candy every year just in case, but always end up eating it myself.
Oh, and I don't go to church but in relation to the question about what churches are saying I heard someone telling the person who sits next to me at work that Halloween is a Satanic holiday, that she shouldn't allow her kids to trick-or-treat and that he'd make kids who came to his house pray.
Posts: 716 | From: San Antonio, TX | Registered: Jan 2006
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