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Trick or Treat - Jane Stow (24th Oct 2011 - 16:53:58) Is it OK to let children go trick or treating? When I was at school (a couple of decades back!) it was really discouraged - the local vicar came in and told us how evil it was etc etc, but have times changed? My kids are desperate to go out on halloween night and I just don't know if it's accepted locally or not. I always put a pumpkin out front which to me welcomes trick or treaters. Thoughts and opinions welcome ...

Re: Trick or Treat - May D (24th Oct 2011 - 17:51:45) Hiya for the last few years we have put a sign on the door saying no tricks or treat please small child asleep initially he would have been very likely to be asleep now that he is a little older he may not be asleep but it can still be quite frightening for a small child i am pleased to say that the signs have been respected - thank you but i have heard of people putting pumpkins out to indicate trick/treats welcome personally i would not encourage our child to go out trick/treating but hey he is still quite young and i am not under pressure just yet!

Re: Trick or Treat - Barbara (24th Oct 2011 - 18:04:24) We aired this debate on here a while back and it got quite heated- my opinion is that it is unfair to knock on the door of a complete stranger and demand sweets or a trick-particularly think of the elderly? it is dark by 6.pm now. It is in my opinion ok if it is between friends houses and if they expect you to come, or have a halloween party in private.

Re: Trick or Treat - Susie (24th Oct 2011 - 18:35:03) My boys had a great time last year trick or treating in our street and we're planning some horrible "treats" ourselves this year for those who come around. If you don't want anyone to visit, just put a notice up and we'll leave you alone.

Re: Trick or Treat - Cath (24th Oct 2011 - 21:21:01) Was at the library today and the police have dropped off some signs you can put in your window asking people not to come trick or treating.

Re: Trick or Treat - Eb (25th Oct 2011 - 10:26:59) Hampshire.police.uk have a poster that you can print out

Re: Trick or Treat - helen (25th Oct 2011 - 13:23:50) I am sure elderly people know how to do that! some will not even know what trick or treat is, and the onus should be the other way round eg if you want this, put a sign to welcome it. l

Re: Trick or Treat - Eb (25th Oct 2011 - 15:34:19) Gosh I'm so sorry I made a suggestion, didn't realise it was only the elderly that might want one!! Got nothing better to do than pick holes! P.s there might have been a few silver surfers out there

Re: Trick or Treat - Susie (25th Oct 2011 - 19:02:02) Why not just write it on a bit of paper!

Re: Trick or Treat - helen (25th Oct 2011 - 23:52:50) I am bewildered here because for elderly people, to whom trick or treating is not something they expect to happen, it should not fall to them to say I do not want this? many of them will not realise it is happening when it does! Why should they be scared for other peoples amusement? I was in sainsburys yesterday turned around to an adult with a ghoul mask -good job I do not need a pacemaker!

Re: Trick or Treat - rita (26th Oct 2011 - 13:32:28) i am sorry but i do not agrea with this practice of knocking on peoples doors and asking for sweets or money. a few years ago i was disturbed all week and it upset my dogs when every evening kids were ringing my doorbell and banging hard on the door. why the hell should i print a poster to put on my door to say no to trick or treating when you should not be knocking on strangers doors in the first place. i do celebrate halloween but in my own way and not by disturbing other people. i am not a children hater either i just like a quiet life.

Re: Trick or Treat - helen (26th Oct 2011 - 14:19:12) Hear Hear Rita why should we be disturbed? It may just be for children's benefit but we live our lives now it seems without proper concern for other members of society. Would it occur to the same people who want to disturb the elderly to think I could help them rather than just disturb them- probably not! If you have the time to go trick or treating why not instead offer to help your elderly neighbours? Oh yes we explored that too and got a lot of replies on how well our children do in their ballet and music classes instead.

Re: Trick or Treat - John (26th Oct 2011 - 15:21:17) Isn't Halloween and Trick or Treating an American thing? Why are we copying this?

Re: Trick or Treat - Jane G (26th Oct 2011 - 18:05:09) At the end of the day we are not going to stop the kids trick or treating...it seems to have become an ingrained custom that we have inherited! But all parents have a responsibility to make sure that their kids do not make pests of themselves, and they do not disturb elderly neighbours. My advice to anyone would be to only go to those houses where there is a pumpkin, or other clear signs of Halloween paraphernalia, as my children found by experience that these people usually welcome trick or treaters. I really object to those trick or treaters who make no effort at all and turn up just wearing a mask. The ones I love are the little kids really dressed up with a parent standing at the end of the path looking out for them.

Re: Trick or Treat - Anna (28th Oct 2011 - 21:08:47) Any children who dress up and come to my door are welcome to a few sweets.

Re: Trick or Treat - Paul (29th Oct 2011 - 15:36:49) Each year we have welcomed trick or treaters, and as we have young children we do also go to a few friend's houses ourselves. Last year, we had 2 distinct groups of callers at Halloween. The first were young children, enjoying the experience and safely accompanied by a parent (many of whom also dressed up!). This group came around between 5pm and 6.30pm - ish. The second group was very different, starting around 7pm or later. Older teenagers, not one of which we knew. A lot were loud, many were demanding and grabbed as many 'treats' as they could carry, and it got out of control to be honest. We overhead one guy tell others to try certain properties in certain roads, his theory being some larger houses or those with certain cars were 'rich pickings'. That was not on. Forget trick or treat, we just spent hours having people beat on our front door, shouting at us, and generally being a nuisance. We had the obligatory egg throwing too, so spent the next day hosing down doors and windows. Despite all that, we were pleasant for each group regardless. So, this year we are going for middle ground with a curfew. All the folk we know have young children, so we will welcome them in the evening. But, later on we will 'shut down' and pop up the 'sorry' notices as we are not there just to be hassled by rowdy folk we've never seen before. Hopefully that sounds a balanced stance!

Re: Trick or Treat - JanetA (30th Oct 2011 - 01:05:02) Jane G has it right. When we lived in the USA it was customary for those people who were joining in with the whole Halloween thing to put a jack-o-lantern lit up pumpkin thingy in their porch, or some orange and black Halloween decorations, play scary music, have lights flickering in the porch etc. That way, the kids knew which houses to call on. Houses that were dark (i.e. no light on in porch, no pumpkins etc) tended to be left alone.

Re: Trick or Treat - jenny (30th Oct 2011 - 08:56:33) It is a pity that Hallowe'en has become so commercial, with every supermarket selling everything from costumes to scarey spiders that wind up - forcing parents to have to spend when Christmas is approaching and they might need those precious pennies for stocking fillers etc. Twenty years ago our children used to dress up and just visit neighbours at a pre-arranged time. We had "bobbing for apples" and toffee apples and home made goodies. Like everything, commercialism has ruined the fun; I wonder how many of those Hallowe'en revellers realise that Hallow'een is the evening when it is thought that all spirits wander, prior to the next day - Hallowed Evening was an all night vigil welcoming the following day - All Saints Day. Then the day after that, is All Souls Day (I never could understand why Vicars don't like Hallow'een though!)

Re: Trick or Treat - maxine (31st Oct 2011 - 19:30:30) Blimey you lot can be so miserable! It is a bit of fun. There are only a few times a year that we can celebrate. The kids love getting dressed up. My grandparents always tell me of how children would play in the streets-how they were welcome to go and play in other children's houses, how the area you lived was a community and everyone welcomed everyone else in with open arms. Have we really become a society that has a problem with a few children knocking on the door ONE NIGHT PER YEAR? I think it is fantastic that the American's make such an effort to celebrate halloween and christmas etc. Shows how stuck up/snobby and boring us British are. I have just taken my 2 children (one is 2yrs old, the other is 5yrs old) out trick or treating in manor fields and the maltings. We only knocked on doors that had pumpkins or decorations and my girls were greeted with smiling faces and people that made a lot of fuss over how fab they looked in their costumes. We knocked between 5-6pm and then went home. I appreciate some trick or treaters are teenagers and scare the elderly or knock vey late-but in that case, after a certain time of night put a note on your door saying 'no more trick or treaters please' but as for young children knocking early in the evening...for god's sake find some community spirit and make a child's night. Children grow up so quickly nowadays...let them just be children for one night!!!!

Re: Trick or Treat - Maureen (31st Oct 2011 - 19:55:49) Well had around 40 children round trick or treating, what fun they are having all well behaved. See you all again next year x

Re: Trick or Treat - Carolyn (31st Oct 2011 - 20:18:23) Totally agree with you Maxine. Our kids (6&8) went out this evening at 6 - we were home by 6:45 - they knocked at houses with pumpkins or outside lights on and were polite to everyone they saw. They had a thoroughly lovely time and judging by the number of houses that had packets of sweets and chocolates at the ready not many people had an issue with it!

Re: Trick or Treat - Ceri (31st Oct 2011 - 20:39:11) Have read all of these comments, and i agree with Maxine entirely, surely one night a year doesn't matter? Just put up signs and such if you don't want people coming, but there is no need to complain about it! I know I am probably biased considering my age (16) however when i was younger i remember always loving to go trick or treating, and as for your comments about teenagers going as well- why the heck shouldn't we! We're showered with gcse work and college work etc. that whenever we get the chance to dress up its so exciting! I went last year, and this year around Liphook, me and my friends left the houses without pumpkins and decorations well alone, and just went out to have some fun! And as for people egging houses, I think that that is completely stupid and I personally hate the teens that do that, because all it does is make adults stereotype ALL of us- when you really mustn't- we're alright really! :) Lighten up and take a leaf out of America's book, its just a bit of fun! I reckon that some adults are so sour about it all because they're jealous they never got to go as children! :P

Re: Trick or Treat - Mick (1st Nov 2011 - 01:03:17) Whilst I appreciate that it is very nice for young children to partake in "Trick or Treak", please consider this. My 86yr old mother has been terrorised this evening by morons knocking and kicking her front door in Manor Fields. My mother lives in a top floor flat in wardened accommodation and doesn't have access to the internet, modems, printers etc to download posters etc. I have driven over 120 miles tonight to calm her. WHERE ARE THE PARENTS OF THESE "CHILDREN " WHO SHOULD BE CONTROLLING THEIR OFFSPRING AND PREVENTING THE TERRORISIATION OF VULNERABLE PERSONS ....

Re: Trick or Treat - Kath Harvey (1st Nov 2011 - 08:24:53) I had 4 lots of trick or treaters at my house last night, all of them dressed in great halloween costumes/masks etc and really enjoying the evening. Every one of them was polite and well mannered, so well done to them.

Re: Trick or Treat - gwenda pate (3rd Nov 2011 - 11:40:35) As a well qualified member of the \"Older generation\" - we like to think of ourselves as being in late middle age - I would like to respond belatedly to the subject of trick or treat. We had between 60 and 70 young people call on us on Halloween, and without exception they were polite and well behaved. All said thank you and no litter was left in our area, so, very well done to the youngsters of Liphook, their attitude makes living in Liphook even more pleasurable.

Re: Trick or Treat - Charlie (6th Nov 2011 - 11:41:37) Hello, What a load of old moaners! Surely us kids having a bit of fun is not a crime, but a lot of these comments are double standards to me! What if we same kids knock on your door Carol Singing this Christmas, or visit you with a gift for Harvest Festival. Will we be looked upon the same way? I think NOT! Many Thanks, Charlie - Aged 11

Re: Trick or Treat - Toni (6th Nov 2011 - 18:43:05) I find it hard to believe that the previous post was written by a "child". If it was the standard of local education is improving - perhaps he or she could give English lessons to some of the older generatioon who post.

Re: Trick or Treat - Charlie (6th Nov 2011 - 20:03:50) Many thanks Toni, for your kind words. For your information I am not a child, I'm nearly 12! I have been educated all my school life in Liphook, and you're right, education is improving. P.S. There's only one "O" in generation! Charlie

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