For years now, I’ve been watching most of the trick-or-treaters go to the house on one side of me, take one look at my house and walk right past it, and then go to the house on the other side.
I had no clue why. Maybe they were scared of my house or thought I’d give cheap candy (my house is a bit of a fixer-upper)? I completed my “curb appeal” projects; didn’t help.
Maybe they thought nobody was home? I not only have the porch light on, but also have the living room TV on, clearly visible through the (open!) front window, and it makes no difference.
Maybe they think I’m not participating (despite the clear signal of the porch light and jack-o’-lantern)? I put up a bunch of Halloween decorations this year, and it still didn’t help!
Well, I finally found out the reason, after hearing one kid scouting ahead yelling to tell his friends to skip my house: “there’s no bowl on the porch!”
…You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Yep, unlike my neighbors, who had apparently just left unattended bowls of candy on their porches, I was actually sitting there inside the house, with the bowl of candy, waiting for kids to knock or ring the doorbell before I opened the door and handed it out. You know, like how trick-or-treating is supposed to work.
This is ridiculous. Kids these days are skipping viable houses with candy because they can’t be bothered to actually knock on the damn door and say “trick or treat” to the person who answers? Residents are expected to be too lazy to answer the door, and just put out the candy without even receiving the traditional threat first? With no actual interaction with the neighbors for the kids to show off their costumes, what’s even the point‽
I finally stuck a sign on the door saying “yes, you have to knock or ring for candy!” and that helped, but even then, some kids are still skipping my house because they apparently can’t be bothered to read the sign.
That’s just how economy works. Anyway I always hated to interact with strangers and still do.
No candy for you!
We just finished. We were 0-10 on knocking on doors. Eventually they gave up and kept on trucking.
I took my kids last night and every house had people sitting on the porch with a bowl. None of the houses they knocked on opened the door. There were hundreds of kids around us and I didn’t hear anyone say trick or treat.
Where is the home owner hiding in the bush with a garden hose?
There used to be more trickery. Or Boomers are twisted.
Ours were both types, but people in lawn chairs with a bowl got more attention for sure
I used to live in a townhouse and no one would bother going along the row. Finally we got together with other residents and set up a table in the parking lot next to the street. That was a lot of fun hanging out with the neighbors all evening, handing out candy
Pre-COViD we used to take out the screen in our storm door (and after put in glass for winter). It really freaked some people out when we reached through to hand out candy! Even better when someone didn’t keep a good hold on the dog and he leaped through! Of course today I have a pit bull instead of mini poodle so that wouldn’t go over as well
It is because all you had was those weird black and orange taffies. No-one can eat those.
Ok Boomer.
We sit on the porch and pass it out.
This year we offered candy or pickle. We went through a gallon jar of pickles!
WTF really? My parents were super anal about anything not prepackaged.
Mine were too. And my wife is usually skeptical of strange baked goods, but a pickle straight out the jar with tongs and tissue paper can’t get much safer!
But what if someone hid a Bat’leth inside one of them?
(The reference, in case anybody missed it: https://lemmy.world/post/21493783)
Yeah, I hear that’s a thing now. People these days.
That wouldn’t be very warrior like, but let’s ignore that. If a klingon wanted you dead, then i think something hidden in the pickle jar is the least of your concerns
A few years back, I handed out candy for friends while they took their kids around the neighborhood, and a group of kids jokingly asked for potatoes. I obliged and grabbed them each a potato from the pantry.
When my friends came back, the potato house was apparently the talk of the kids in the neighborhood.
Kirkland pickles
The pickle thing is weird. I also would be concerned about contamination.
Do you at least make them say “trick or treat”
Maybe meet them half way and sit on the porch and hand out candy? I used to go to my parent’s house to help them hand out candy and I noticed it took a bit of effort for the smaller kids climb the stairs. There’s no railing and knowing how dangerously slick their steps got if they were damp, i started sitting at the bottom to hand out candy.
It seems trick or treating isn’t as popular with the kids as it used to be. Ironically, it seems more popular than ever with adults. Some houses I’ve seen look like they must rent a storage unit to keep all the decorations they put up. We used to fill a set of dad’s old clothes with leaves, splap a plastic punkin on top for a head and call it a day
Is it only me who is surprised that they have a scout to optimise the process?
Candy is serious business
Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply it was an organized operation. I think it was more just one kid who was faster/more eager than his buddies. Or maybe just standing next to them but loud, for all I know!
I live at the end of a cul de sac with a bunch of killjoys who never give out candy, so kids wouldn’t visit my house.
So I take my bucket of candy and go walking around and deliver it to the kids. Plus this means everybody sees my costume.
Ah yes, let’s skip the social part and get right to the obligatory consumption.
I don’t really care for Halloween, but I don’t actively hate it either. I like seeing kids and parents in cute costumes walking around. To me, the whole point has always been one of social activity, of walking around the neighbourhood and showing off your cool costume and such. You know, the whole “reinforcing horizontal social ties” deal we’ve done since forever.
Most of our neighborhood sits outside with the candy and to hang out and see everyone’s costumes. They make it very obvious they’re handing out candy so when it’s knock houses, we’re less likely to go
They go for the unattended bowls so they can just take it all for themselves. I dressed up as a decoration scarecrow one or two years after I was too old to trick or treat myself and held a bowl of candy in my lap out on the porch. Every kid that attempted to take the entire bowl, got a scare as I stood up and shouted scary things like “TAKE THE BOWL, I TAKE YOUR SOUL!”
This is the way. I vote op does this next year!
We don’t get many trick or treaters in my neighborhood so I usually do just a leave a bowl out because I can’t be bothered to wait by the door for a couple of groups.
Never had a problem with it until this year when some little shits clearly took all of the candy for themselves shakes fist at the clear downfall of society
You gotta be outside chilling shooting the shit with neighbors at the end of your driveway these days. My door would fall off the hinges if I had to open it for every kid
