What's with Halloween Scrooges? (Santa Clarita, Brea: home, schools, live in)

[Americasman]

Some people just dont celebrate Halloween. It is their right not to participate. If you do, great, but dont hate on those who dont.

[Miss Pip]

Originally Posted by Americasman

Some people just dont celebrate Halloween. It is their right not to participate. If you do, great, but dont hate on those who dont.

Yeah exactly. I hear many American's saying "It's America, free country, if you don't like it you can leave" haha.

[Ceece]

Last year Halloween was my first night back home after having surgery. I did have my 20 yr old son here to give out candy but if I hadn't I would have kept the lights off too. I know many elderly people who just don't want/can't keep getting up and down and don't want to spend the evening sitting by the door. It's not that big a deal. I light a pumpkin and keep the porch light on to indicate I'm participating. Then go dark when I'm done. I would never go to the door of a house that didn't have SOMETHING out, even 40 years ago when I was a kid.

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by Visit a Library

Some of my neighbors left all their porch lights off, drew their front drapes/curtains/blinds/ and turned off all their front room lights -- presumably to discourage trick-or-treaters. Come on, who can't afford a few dollars for a few bags of candy from a 99¢ Store? I have one neighbor who drives a new Cooper Mini S and recently had thousands of dollars of landscaping done to his home, yet this jerk is one of the people in my neighborhood who stayed hunkered down, pretending to not be home. What's the matter with these people? BTW, remember the good old days when kids took care of these sorts of people with a few eggs and TP?

It has nothing to do with being unable to afford candy. It's because I have better things to do.

[like party with my friends]

[Harrier]

Maybe some of these people are dissillusioned by the little kids going to the malls to T&T and they are opening their doors to 16-17 year olds who don't know the meaning of "grow up". On Monday I handed out a handful(about 6-7 candy bars) to the Trick or treaters who were of appropriate age and gave one candy bar to the overgrown kids who should be handing out candy instead of collecting it. Next year I think I will give them each a carrot.

[LexusNexus]

Who cares what others do? Mind your own business and enjoy the tradition.

Live and let live.

[Coldjensens]

If we had something going on or had to leave, we woudl just leave out a bowl full of candy or whatever. Some years we do not give out candy, becasue it really is bad for you. But you can order a gross of superballs, crayons, silly putty, fake mustaches, even frisbees for next to nothing from that catalogue called ______ trader. Often he kids really like the alternate prizes.

Some people are just cheap. Some people do not like the sleezy or gruesome costumes . (They can always give out candy only to kids in decent costumes - We have done that. Just say I am sorry, that costume is offensive. I am not giving you any candy). Some people hate children. Some people hate everyone. Some are super shy and reclusive. Some are completely governed by fear. There are lots of reasons that people will nto give out candy or a prize of some kind.

When we lived in Santa Ana we would get 600-700 T or T kids (and some adults). We had 2 bags by the door. 1 was "good candy" or whatever treat we had for the actual kids with decent costumes. The other bag was cheap hard candies for the adults, or offensive or inappropriate costumes. Some years we also had packets of baby formula that we gave out to people with babies in some sort of a costume. It was wild, we would have a line at our door and kids would wait 10 -15 minutes to get to our porch during the peak of T or T time. When we ran out of candy I would make animal balloons. We would often go through several hundred balloons. I think that many of the kids came back again when we started making balloons. It was fun and we always looked forward to halloween. I miss it now. We get only 0-6 T or T kids.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Let's face it, Halloween, as in Peanuts / Charlie Brown / the way anyone experienced it growing up prior to 2000 type Halloween, is dead. If you live in a place where it still happens like the old days, cherish it, it won't last.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Let's face it, Halloween, as in Peanuts / Charlie Brown / the way anyone experienced it growing up prior to 2000 type Halloween, is dead. If you live in a place where it still happens like the old days, cherish it, it won't last.

Exactly. Where I live, the local school districts schedule a "fall break" around Halloween weekend to avoid letting kids come to school in costumes (that, and this time of year ironically coincides with when the ski resorts usually open....).

[agnt.starling]

They have events planned way in advance for families to plan to attend, (Oak Glen Haunted Farm, Live Oak Pumpkin patch one example & yes far away, but each city always has something going on, Harvest festivals at church that hand out candy, etc)...so what if people don't want to participate, like one poster said, its everyones' right to do whatever they want to do, participate or not, when it was my turn when my kids were little, we went only the houses that were obviously handing out candy, lit or not w/haunted themes, music & people even going far as dressing up in costume handing out candy, and passed the houses that were dark and obvioulsy didn't want to be bothered, there would be lots not pariticipating, whereas we reached a row of them that were, and then called it a night, I'm so glad those days are over, it stressed the hell outta me, I'd have to sift through their bags looking for blades & skunked candy, but I glady did my duty as a parent and now look forward to having the choice to do something else on that day, like get ready for work the next day and go to bed, or take the husband out for pumpkin ale.....to each is own as they say.....