Halloween - Not like when I was a kid ...

[Devilneck]

I got home from school to see about a dozen cars parked all up my street, with children piling out of them to go trick-or-treating in the "good" neighborhood. Out of the 20 or so kids I saw coming into my house, I did not see ONE costume, nor did I see any of my neighbors or their kids out.

To me if you're not in a costume you shouldn't get the candy. These children are being taught that this holiday is "go get candy from the white people day".

And this pisses me off. I have NO prejudice against any race, religion, or what ever, but I DO have a dislike of TRASH. It's not about being poor, because I grew up very, very poor. Yet every halloween I got dressed up in some way, not with a store-bought costume, but SOMETHING. It doesn't take money to get your kids prepared for Halloween, it just takes PARENTING.

Maybe it's an I-20 corridor thing?


As a kid, I remember seeing a kid with a garbage bag on his body, tin foil on his head, and paper cups on his ears. He was a "robot." I'm guessing it was because his folks couldn't afford a costume. Bring that kid to my house and I'd give him double the candy of anyone else.
It's not about having the best costume, but damn people, make some kind of effort...
I know what it's like to be dirt poor, and I can be very sympathetic. Just show me an attempt is all I'm asking. It's a "holiday spirit" kind of thing.

Expecting to be given candy just for knocking on my door is 100% pure caca.

 

[Quickdraw22]

I was Evil Kneivel. I didn't go trick-or-treating, but I wore my costume to class. I think that was more enjoyable than actually asking for candy.

On a side note, we used to have crazy amounts of people come to our house when I was a "kid" (10 years ago). We didn't have a single one this year

 

[Cat]

We saw very young teenage girls who spent hours hand painting tramp stamp slut stickers on their backs. Now, I'm not knocking tattoos, obviously, but COME ON!!! The skirts were as long as their not even mid drift shirts. Where were these girls parents?

And some kids, they wouldn't even dress up, holding out walmart plastic bags. Not a "Trick or Treat", not a "thank you", not a "Happy Halloween". We were at a friends house but I really wanted to say "No, I'm sorry. You're over twelve years old, you aren't in a costume. Please come back when you learn to be polite and the proper Halloween verbiage."

 

[Cat]

We had some that were very polite, we had some young ones whose folks were training them to be polite, we had some that were pretty rude.

Guess which ones got more candy.

Ding, ding, ding. Unless the young kidlets have hit one of those very shy stages, and those are obvious where they hang behind Mom's legs peeking around a hip. That's usually when they get asked what's their favorite, and they get to pick several pieces from the bucket.

And I tried that drinking while in a lawn chair last year. Sangria and I were best of pals and I had NO FREAKING CLUE how bad I was while stationary for several hours until Jody and I got on the golf cart zooming around the neighborhood. My husband said I was extremely friendly.

 

[CrkdLtr]

Saw a few waves of hood rats in our neighborhood as well as the slutty teenagers. What irked me the most were the teenagers that were smoking... no candy for them.

 

[WiLieR]

I was in the shop when a group of just barely pre-teens walked down the driveway. To keep them from knocking on the shop door, I turned out the shop lights and watched out the windows in the door. They were semi-costume dressed, sort of a "ehhh, let's try to do something, but only if we can do it in 2 minutes or less". They got some candy and as they walked up the drive, one of the snots ate his candy and stuff the wrapped in my hedges. This peeved me and I grabbed a chainsaw. Remember, I am in the shop with no lights on, they have no idea I am there. I kick the shop door open and, for once in its life, the old saw started on the first pull. I ran towards the kids screaming, they screamed and took off running. I stood beside my hedge, turned off the saw, removed the wrapper and yelled "Don't stuff wrappers in my hedges again kid!" Maybe next year they will think twice before stuffing a wrapper in some hedges or some fat guy with a chainsaw might come after them.

 

[Cat]

I was in the shop when a group of just barely pre-teens walked down the driveway. To keep them from knocking on the shop door, I turned out the shop lights and watched out the windows in the door. They were semi-costume dressed, sort of a "ehhh, let's try to do something, but only if we can do it in 2 minutes or less". They got some candy and as they walked up the drive, one of the snots ate his candy and stuff the wrapped in my hedges. This peeved me and I grabbed a chainsaw. Remember, I am in the shop with no lights on, they have no idea I am there. I kick the shop door open and, for once in its life, the old saw started on the first pull. I ran towards the kids screaming, they screamed and took off running. I stood beside my hedge, turned off the saw, removed the wrapper and yelled "Don't stuff wrappers in my hedges again kid!" Maybe next year they will think twice before stuffing a wrapper in some hedges or some fat guy with a chainsaw might come after them.

WIN!!!

 

[LongGoneDays]

If a kid would have came to my door like that he would have gotten a lesson in manners.
Same thing as the cashiers now a days with their cellaphones. Yes, I said cashiers, not customers.

 

[Hattrick 22]

Had some last night that were in full street cloths and had back packs on...They would walk up and turn around not say hello or anything and expected me to put candy in thier bags.. I just pretended to too old much less rude as hell seems like very few have manners much less parents that care enough to stop it in the first place...

 

[Golden-Eagle]

Last year we had zero Trick or Treaters (remember the Saints game). This year we had seven, all young, costumed, and well behaved. It was a blessing. Most of the kids in our neighborhood have grown and moved on. It was great seeing good parenting and the innocence that brought back memories of my childhood experiences at Halloween.

 

[belmor]

We do a big halloween deal every year, with tons of props, actors, etc. This year we had an ambulance with stuff in the back, an old school bus for them to go thru full of stuff, fire engine, actor with a chainsaw, graveyard, it gets bigger every year, we give out loose candy at one station and little bags with all kids of halloween stuff in them at the other end. This year I estimate well over 1000 people thru, most were imports from the hood but I really don't mind because we get a laugh out of scaring the hell out of them, over 50% didn't get the bags at the end because they ran away before they got all the way thru.

~B~

 

[Crimson]

We do a big halloween deal every year, with tons of props, actors, etc. This year we had an ambulance with stuff in the back, an old school bus for them to go thru full of stuff, fire engine, actor with a chainsaw, graveyard, it gets bigger every year, we give out loose candy at one station and little bags with all kids of halloween stuff in them at the other end. This year I estimate well over 1000 people thru, most were imports from the hood but I really don't mind because we get a laugh out of scaring the hell out of them, over 50% didn't get the bags at the end because they ran away before they got all the way thru.

~B~

That would be fun. Once I turned 13 I stopped trick r treating and started going around my neighborhood scaring anyone I could. Our neighborhood was one of those everyone went too to get candy. It was always packed and I always had a blast. Once I turned 16 got my motorcycle endorsement and road my dads harley around the neighborhood dressed as ghost rider. It had led's and strobes. Always fun. Kids got so scared of it the loud exhaust probably didn't help any.

 

[RyanW]

A kids costume cost as little as $15 at walmart, we saw a few inmates in training piling out of C-class mercedes, charga's, 3-hundeds, just running around reckless. It was a small few, and the neighborhood had a very large nice turnout. I get pretty upset when people drive down the street, back hatch on the SUV open, dropping the kids at every house. Cars shouldn't be in the streets during that time, it just causes problems. I can understand people who live there and need to come and go, but driving while trick or treating is a no-no in my book.

 

[Cat]

OH OH OH!!!!

I had absolutely freaking forgot the absolute BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUME I'VE EVER SEEN!!!

A thug 15 year old boy showed up in an orange jumpsuit with DC2 sharpied on the back. We laughed so hard when he left. He was one of those that didn't say squat, just held out his bag and walked off.

Our five year old is watching Capt American again for the second time... He's announced his next year's costume.

 

[Devilneck]

We do a big halloween deal every year, with tons of props, actors, etc. This year we had an ambulance with stuff in the back, an old school bus for them to go thru full of stuff, fire engine, actor with a chainsaw, graveyard, it gets bigger every year, we give out loose candy at one station and little bags with all kids of halloween stuff in them at the other end. This year I estimate well over 1000 people thru, most were imports from the hood but I really don't mind because we get a laugh out of scaring the hell out of them, over 50% didn't get the bags at the end because they ran away before they got all the way thru.

~B~

That's great. It's a shame that some parents aren't giving the kids proper education into the traditions that we had so much fun with.
I don't care who the kids are, what their background is or any of that, my only gripe is the ones that can't be bothered to even make an attempt at a costume. It is 100% poor reflection on the parents too.

Well, the rude kids annoy me also.

 

[herohog]

When I was a kid growing up in Lafayette, LA, we always had tons of people come to our house on Halloween as the whole family got involved and we made it fun/scary for the kids. Dad would do sound effects (chains, moans etc), Mom would dress up and do her makeup to look like a witch/ghoul and I would be a body/zombie and look fake then when someone said "aw, that's fake" or get too close, I would groan/move/grab their leg. We had LOTS of kids RUN out or the carport and up the drive leaving their bag behind and refusing to come back and get it! Their parents or a friend would have to get it for them! Our dog also had a reputation as being one bad sucker (he WAS, MANY stories to back that up) and he was chained up several feet back away from where you had to go to get to the front door to get your Trick or Treat. That big steel grey mutt hitting the end of that chain with a low throaty growl was enough to send more than a few away alone! We had people drive over from all over town to see our house...

One year, mom was getting tried of all the greedy kids grabbing hands full of candy out of the candy bowl so she boiled up some spaghetti/pasta and eggs, dyed them brown, red and green and let them cool. When it was time for the kids to get their candy, she would hold the bowl just above their eye level and let them get what they wanted. The kids thought they stuck their hands in a bowl of guts! It didn't hurt that I was laid out on the floor with a huge knife sticking out of my bloody/gory chest right there in front of them. Those that stayed/came back THEN got the Treat now that they had their Trick.