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A scary thought: no trick-or-treaters on Halloween
October 26th, 2009, 3:19 pm · 10 Comments · posted by Theresa Walker, Editor
My son is long past his trick or treating days — as far as I know anyway, given that he will turn 18 in less than two weeks.
I miss the fun of helping him put together a costume. We never did the store-bought thing; we cooked up his costumes together, with me putting my limited but adequate sewing skills to use.
Movies influenced him quite a bit: He was Zorro, Ash from Pokemon, a wizard from Harry Potter, the Mummy — costumes he also wore to see these films. What a hoot!
The crowds outside my house on past Halloween nights. Not!!!
As he got older, he gravitated toward more gory stuff, but I played make-up artist then, too.
After my son stopped trick or treating, we would get a steady stream of kids at our door Halloween night, so I at least got to enjoy seeing other youngsters dressed up. Then, one year, only a handful of kids came. And even fewer the following year. I had to bring those big bowls of candy to work so my husband and I wouldn’t go on chocolate binges.
Last year, I didn’t want to be disappointed again so we turned off our porch light and didn’t hand out candy. How depressing is that?
Now I’m contemplating whether or not we should continue to give up on Halloween trick-or-treaters. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday night, so maybe more kids will be out and about. But then again, if I buy candy and nobody knocks on our door, my poor co-workers will be stuck having to eat any leftover chocolate. Is that fair to them?
It’s a tough decision. Where’s the Great Pumpkin when you really need some good advice?
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Weird. We’ve had the opposite experience. Five years ago we had almost no trick or treat-ers, but the last two years we ran out of candy.
I think it could go either way. We might see more kids out this year, because they can go out before it gets dark because their parents won’t be stuck in Halloween traffic on the way home (or are we the only ones with this problem?) OR there will be less because more people will go to the bigger Halloween events like the one in Anaheim, in liu of canvassing their own neighborhoods.
One thought - have less people on your street invested in halloween decorations? I’ve notice our number of little visitors has increased as the decorations around the neighborhood have increased. I know we avoid areas with very few decorations because we assume that those folks are trying to tell us something.
Yes, there are fewer homes with Halloween decorations. I wonder if kids in the surrounding neighborhood have just gotten older, like my son, and don’t trick or treat anymore.
Don’t know what to tell you. Here in Lemon Heights we get anywhere from 75 - 100+ trick or treaters. So much fun. Our neighborhood is all decorated. I can hardly wait for the spooks!
That is sad ~ no trick or treaters. We get alot of kids. The gates are left open until 9:00p.m. and its a joke around here that the kids are bused in for goodies. Our streets are all decorated with pumpkins and halloween fun. Good times!
I’ve lived in an apartment or condo complex for the past 10 years of my life, so trick-or-treaters are pretty much non-existent.
When my parents lived in La Mirada, I’d go there to hand out candy, and they’d have tons and tons of kids, and the whole neighborhood would just sit outside and make a night of it. It was always so much fun to watch my dad scare the crap out of the older kids, and make the little kids laugh. I do miss that a lot.
I was always disappointed when I lived in an apartment and had no trick or treaters. Since I got kids and started decorating my house every year, I get a steady stream. They come really early now, though, so I wonder if you don’t get home until later, if you missed them all. I do think more parents are taking their kids to carnivals etc. rather than individual houses, which is just sad!
By the way, I am willing to do my painful duty and help you eat any chocolate you have left over this weekend.
I always know I can count on you Marla.
When I lived in Old Town Orange, we had tons and tons of trick or treaters! My next door neighbor would make a haunted house in his yard that was written up in the Register one year. It was lots of fun and one of my best memories of a double date with my BFF and our hubbies. But, where we live now in Cypress, not so much. Even though I lived in a diverse community in Orange, people participated or at least were into community. Here, we have a lot of people who don’t participate in American traditions like Halloween and Christmas. Only about 50% of our street decorates for holidays. Our neighbors are very nice, don’t get me wrong, but since they don’t observe these holidays, their kids and their dark houses affect the number of trick or treaters. It’s a bummer, especially with a 2 year old dressing like Tinkerbell this year.
I don’t take my 6 year old out on halloween.. Too many drunk drivers.. I decided to throw halloween parties and have been doing so the past 3 years.. We have a great time and many our family & friends come over or at least stop by.. So much safer.. Plus, it’s not expensive since I reuse the same decorations