30 Oct 2009

A HALLOWEEN SURVIVAL GUIDE.

Yes I know HALLOWEEN isn't until tomorrow but due to time differences etc I thought I'd get in a little early - besides which, the weather in most parts of the UK is set to be awful tomorrow so I expect we may well have lots of 'trick or treat(ers)' this evening. So here are some guidelines that Hubby and I (along with a little help from Tim Dowling of the Guardian newspaper) have found useful over the years.

1. Don't pretend to be out, sitting in the dark doesn't work - they KNOW your in, I don't know how but they do. If you don't wish to keep answering the door to hordes of children, go out.

2. If you do decide to stay in - join in. We always find a basket of sweets is a must. NO fruit (or anything else that can be considered even remotely healthy) and Tim Suggests "nothing too desirable, you don't want word of your exceptional generosity to get round".

3. It really doesn't do any good to suggest that 15 might be a touch too old to go about begging for a fun-size Mars bar and besides which they are probably only doing so because they've had one Fentimans' lemonade (see my PREVIOUS POST) too many.

4. Kids love Halloween, they've seen ET, they've heard about the sweets so putting them off trick or treating is virtually impossible. You'll just have to grit your teeth and join in. Tim suggests if need be "Dress your children in costumes that are uncomfortable and hard to walk in and after half an hour, consult your watch and remind them of something they're missing on the television".

5. If, as an adult, you are invited to a Halloween party remember that as far as costumes go - anything goes - and here in the UK, where the choice of costume isn't as varied as it is in the US, a bed sheet over the head will probably do, as will a set of vampire teeth or even a mask. However if your first instinct is to say no, you are probably best sticking with this.

6. You can probably take it that if you haven't seen more than two of the little darlings by 7.30/8.00 you can start eating the sweets. LIKEWISE you can probably consider Halloween officially over for another year if you've (A) eaten the entire bag of fun-sized goodies or (B) the time is now 9 pm.

9 comments:

Bad Alice said...

Re #1, the unspoken rule around here is that you only knock if the porch light is on and/or there are Halloween decorations.

Re #2, so right on. I hated people who gave out raisins. Yick. And there were rumors about apples being poisoned or stuffed with needles and such. Trail mix doesn't cut it either. But, giving out little toys and tattoos and such seems to be acceptable here.

serendipity_viv said...

In our street, the kids only visit the houses that are decorated for Halloween. We have other children coming to our house to visit as our street really get into the spirit of things.

Jenners said...

Love it! Your advice is right on. I'm a huge fan of Halloween. Candy and dress-up -- what is better than that? And my husband is a "chintzy" treat giver -- one little bar per kid. I tend to give 2 or 3. But a $4.75 for a bag of 40 little bars, I'm getting chintzy too this year! (After all, I need some extra to eat afterwards!)

Kelly said...

Great pointers!!

I always loved Halloween as a kid. My two best costumes were Santa Claus and a Mummy. Now I live so far out in the sticks that we don't get any trick-or-treaters. I always have something that would do as a treat on the remote chance, though.

Gina said...

Love it! So funny and yet so true! We are staying in to give out candy...let's see how many we get this year...last year was way under par. Happy Halloween (early) everyone!

Tina said...

Funny! We're going to a ghost tour on the spookiest peninsula in the country..Should be nice and scary

(M)ary said...

adult dressing up here in America has become burdensome!! there are too many choices and expectations are high. i wish a bedsheet over the head would work.

one year when i didn't have time to get or make an elaborate costume i wore brown clothes, pasted real leaves to myself and called myself a tree.

and yes, i will be one of those folks with the lights out pretending not to be home....oops...maybe i will just go shopping for awhile. as i live alone with a dog who charges the door when visitors come by, i don't want to bother with passing out treats.

chitra said...

We dont have Halloween in India and i could understand what actually it is from what you have written and links you have provided. thanks.

Bookingly Yours said...

wish we celebrate this in the philippines.

gee - why dont we celebrate it just the way others do it! i want my kids to do this - how about next year?! neighbors will feak out if they see my kids at their doors.