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I don't get the angst about ti being a school night.
Young kids can be done relatively early. How late, practically speaking, is a 13 year old trick or treating? 9? So they come home and are in bed by 10 at the latest? Big whoop.
The town where I used to live has trick or treating every year from 3-6 PM. That's pretty pathetic on years when Halloween is during the week since school doesn't get out till 3, then, with the school bus ride home, some kids don't get home till 4:30 or later. And that town went with Saturday this year.
It was Sunday in the town where I live and, according to my next door neighbor's count, we had 451 trick or treaters in 2 1/2 hours. I went through 1000-1100 pieces.
My township -8 years ago , stopped the house visits for trick or treat. Due to some very sad deaths. Kids got hit when crossing the streets. Two things happened. Cross walks with yields signs to vehicles, and now kids or any pedestrian are once again priority in cross walks.
The fire stations now have fun houses for the kids, prizes, and treat bags.
It's still done on Halloween , between 5-7.pm
Our area ( thankfully) doesn't have the house egging, toilet paper tossing or the corn kernels plastered on driveways. That ' trick' is pretty much common most nights in certain inner developments.
The township next to us still has the travelling caravans of folks piling kids in , then picking them up with bags filled with treats. I miss the days where neighbors knew neighbors and the children had manners. My sons ( 1980's era)
Spent days plotting the route. We usually did a four or five block radius in Our neighborhood. Only stopping at the houses of the neighbors we knew . The folks loved seeing the kids, treated them kindly. Though the best was the one chap who handed out candy in his werewolf outfit. My youngest didn't like that one bit! I loved seeing the neighborhood little ones giggling or sharing stories of their costume choice. Passing them by or getting the scoop that Mr Smith was giving out king size candy!!
The idea that some cities/neighborhoods "tell" people what day and time they can trick-or-treat blows my mind. Halloween is Oct. 31. Period. What's next, telling people when to celebrate Christmas or the Fourth of July??
There are no set hours, just the common knowledge that no trick-or treaters are expected to set out before it starts getting dusky (so, around 6:30), and everyone shuts up shop by 9. At our house this year, we ran out of candy at 8:15 and turned off the lights, but my recollection is that it's basically over by 8:30 anyway with only a few stragglers after that.
Halloween should be observed on October 31st, regardless of school night, or whether it's on a Sunday or what.
I personally don't acknowledge Halloween, not because of Religious reasons but it seems to the one day in the year that everyone can make light of death, the types of deaths (axe in head, etc.) and the decomposition of bodies after death. It's nothing to see zombies, mummies, and even medical drainage bags used in hospitals.
I just can't make light of illness and death, there's nothing fun about it (to me).
When you've lost someone to cancer or other horrible diseases that have the need for blood and drainage bags, it's not amusing or interesting at all. It's a reminder and I just don't like it.
That's my opinion, and I wasn't always like that. My kids went Trick or Treating in our neighborhoods and went to festivals and school parties when they were little.
As for now, I live in the country and nobody ever comes around at Halloween so it's just not a "holiday" at all for me and it just comes and goes. Very indifferent towards it, can take it or leave it.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I don't see the problem. We had maybe 40 kids come by, and closed up at 8pm. That's early enough for going to bed on a school night. My game camera caught those after 6pm when I have it come on, and only one group of two (older) kids came by after 8:00, and that was 8:20. It's up to the parents to have the kids go out early, and apparently the parents here do just that. Since it's dark by 6:30pm this time of year they have plenty of time to cover a lot of houses.
When I was a kid in the 70s/80s, we didn't overthink it. Trick or treating was done on Halloween, October 31st. Rain, snow, or shine. Heat wave or cold snap.
Trick or treating should be done by 8-9pm at the latest anyway. Kids can trick or treat, go home, go to bed, and go to school the next day. I do seem to recall having a teacher in 3rd grade who had the gall to give us homework on Halloween which most teachers did not do.
That's disgraceful - really! She'll always be remembered and not in a good way.
And btw, trick or treating should happen on Halloween no matter what day of the week it fall on.
My township -8 years ago , stopped the house visits for trick or treat. Due to some very sad deaths. Kids got hit when crossing the streets. Two things happened. Cross walks with yields signs to vehicles, and now kids or any pedestrian are once again priority in cross walks.
The fire stations now have fun houses for the kids, prizes, and treat bags.
It's still done on Halloween , between 5-7.pm
Our area ( thankfully) doesn't have the house egging, toilet paper tossing or the corn kernels plastered on driveways. That ' trick' is pretty much common most nights in certain inner developments.
The township next to us still has the travelling caravans of folks piling kids in , then picking them up with bags filled with treats. I miss the days where neighbors knew neighbors and the children had manners. My sons ( 1980's era)
Spent days plotting the route. We usually did a four or five block radius in Our neighborhood. Only stopping at the houses of the neighbors we knew . The folks loved seeing the kids, treated them kindly. Though the best was the one chap who handed out candy in his werewolf outfit. My youngest didn't like that one bit! I loved seeing the neighborhood little ones giggling or sharing stories of their costume choice. Passing them by or getting the scoop that Mr Smith was giving out king size candy!!
That was the best! When my kids were trick or treating ages there was an older couple in the neighborhood whose kids were adults and lived far from their parents. The older couple got such a kick out of all the neighborhood kids and always had the biggest and best (and very expensive!) candy bars to hand out. Most older couples just turned off their lights but this couple really got in the fun and decorated their house too.
I just realized this forum is Great Debates so I probably shouldn't have commented. Sorry Mod - I understand if you remove my posts. I really didn't realize where I was
That was the best! When my kids were trick or treating ages there was an older couple in the neighborhood whose kids were adults and lived far from their parents. The older couple got such a kick out of all the neighborhood kids and always had the biggest and best (and very expensive!) candy bars to hand out. Most older couples just turned off their lights but this couple really got in the fun and decorated their house too.
I just realized this forum is Great Debates so I probably shouldn't have commented. Sorry Mod - I understand if you remove my posts. I really didn't realize where I was
No worries. This Halloween topic made for a pleasant change of pace.
It seems that the consensus is: "Don't change the date for Halloween."
And now that's settled, and Halloween is over, we'll give this topic a rest.
I hope everyone had a Happy Horrorday!
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This Halloween topic made for a pleasant change of pace. 