Do you celebrate Hallowe'en?

[razz]

It's October 31st, I have the pumpkins in place of my entryway, 2 boxes of small bags of potato chips for handing out this evening so ready for the 100 young people to make their rounds. Last year was my first year in town. A friend who had never seen the trick or treaters joined me and had great fun handing out treats and visiting with all the kids. I had more fun watching her than the kids. In the country, I had very few visitors so it was a real change. Some warm evenings, there have been up to 125 kids, a neighbour advised.

Do you celebrate Hallowe'en? Dress up? How many kids come to your house?

[Lainey]

Yes, we're giving out mini-bags of pretzels and mini candy bars. Expect about 30-40 kids. I've taped "A History of Halloween" from cable TV to watch tonight too. I'm happy to participate in something which I enjoyed so much as a child and my own son enjoyed so much growing up.

[iris lilies]

Went to a Halloween party last night, will go to one tonight.

I am going to pass out tiny pumpkins that DH grew. Our neighborhood kids meet in our park that sits in the middle of this neighborhood. Adults with treats stand on either side of the path, and the kids walk down the path in their costumes, taking each treat.

i don't know if they will like these little pumpkins in general, but there are probably a few who would like to have a tiny pumpkin of their own. After that, we will chop the pumpkins up for the swans in the park to eat. It is a chore to get rid of these 100+ Pumpkins.

[IshbelRobertson]

In Scotland, our tradition was that kids dressed up to go 'guisin' ', ie disguised themselves. They toured the neighbours and either sang a song, recited a poem or did a dance. We were rewarded with an apple or a tangerine or a handful of nuts pr perhaps a penny toffee or home made butterscotch or treacle toffee. One or more of us had Guisers' parties, where traditional games like 'dookin' fur aipples', apples in a large bowl of water, or trying to take bites out of toffee apples or honey smeared drop scones suspended on string.

Sadly, the traditions that we exported via our emigrants seem to have returned here as trick or treating, where children expect sweeties or chocolates in return for precisely no effort!

[Gardenarian]

We usually do parties and stuff but I haven't been feeling well. It's a huge deal in Ashland, with many houses extravagantly decorated and a humongous parade today (I'm at work >:(

First Halloween in our new house - I don't know how many trick-or-treaters we'll get. We've got the jack o'lantern cut and the skeleton hung in the old oak tree. We're stocked with Hershey's and Kit Kats.

Iris lilies, I love the idea of the little pumpkins! Maybe next year.

[lessisbest]

I decorate outdoors for Fall, not Halloween, so I get the change of the season covered all the way until December. For Halloween, there are so many community, business, and church options, we don't get many kids going door-to-door these days. We had one person stop last night (actually it was the "early bird" at 3:30 in the afternoon), so I think this will be our last year for handing out treats.

[razz]

This year, the number coming to the house was down to about 55 so I have a large box of potato chips in individual bags to dispose of. Don't want them in the house to tempt me. I like them as a very rare treat about once a year at a friend's house but that is it.
I'll take them to the next group events that I attend and see if I can give them away.
I have noticed that many organizations are doing group events in advance where the kids have to dress up so that may decrease the number coming around even more.

[SteveinMN]

We don't. No kids to take (that may change when granddaughter is of trick-or-treating age). Too lazy/cheap/simple to decorate for just a few days (that may change in a few years, too).

It's fun to see the excitement of little kids as they go from house to house, though there are only so many Princess Elsas one can ooh and ahh over in one night. :) But the teenagers who don't even bother with a costume (c'mon, play the game!); well, that's no fun. And the creeping commercialization of the holiday (holiday lights? more cheap décor? Halloween-colored Oreos?) is disappointing. Halloween has become a public consumption holiday like Santa's Christmas but in orange and black.

Ask me again in a few years.

[Tiam]

In Scotland, our tradition was that kids dressed up to go 'guisin' ', ie disguised themselves. They toured the neighbours and either sang a song, recited a poem or did a dance. We were rewarded with an apple or a tangerine or a handful of nuts pr perhaps a penny toffee or home made butterscotch or treacle toffee. One or more of us had Guisers' parties, where traditional games like 'dookin' fur aipples', apples in a large bowl of water, or trying to take bites out of toffee apples or honey smeared drop scones suspended on string.

Sadly, the traditions that we exported via our emigrants seem to have returned here as trick or treating, where children expect sweeties or chocolates in return for precisely no effort!

I don't look at it as something to 'expect' for no effort. I prefer to look at it as a ritualized enactment of asking for hospitality. I like Halloween myself. My favorite of the holidays. There are lots of ways to celebrate and not all are to my liking, but I like it. It's my favorite from childhood too. Something mysterious and exciting about it. We would go out sans parents back then, which made all the more exciting. I read this sneering article today: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3296877/Etiquette-expert-explains-Hallowe-en-Britain-s-distasteful-celebration.html

[IshbelRobertson]

I have no idea who that snobby man is... But then, I don't read the DailyWail!


ETA.
Oh and he's obviously ENGLISH and I'm talking about the Scots celebrations, which I love!

[rodeosweetheart]

Ishbel, your Scotland childhood sounds like my American childhood, complete with bobbing for apples and the string game!

I used to take my kids trick or treating with my friend, and that was a fun tradition. Imagine they will do that with their children in a few years.

[IshbelRobertson]

I think the Scots and Irish immigrants to the USA took our traditions with them!