I’m not American, so I didn’t grow up trick or treating. I know that little kids come to your door, yell trick or treat, and they get candy. I know that in the abstract, but I’ve never had a kid actually knock on my door before.
This Halloween past, a group of 4 kids came to my door in costumes, asking for candy. Probably some new American neighbour expats. The kids were cute though, and luckily I had some candy on hand, so I didn’t have to give them oranges or something.
What do you do apart from give the kids candy, though? Make small talk? Ask them how old they are? Ask them what they’re supposed to be dressed up as? My wife and I kinda stood awkwardly at the door for a few seconds after giving the candy, and they kinda scurried off after a while.
I was thinking of getting our condo management to arrange a proper Halloween event for next year - it’s fun for the kids, I guess, and there are enough expats in our condo for this to work. Do homeowners get dressed for halloween? Would fake blood etc be too scary for little kids?
Typically on Halloween night, if you’re not giving out candy, then turn off your porch light and shut your window blinds.
The process you described is pretty much it. Porch light on. Kids (usually dressed in costume, most often with parents/grandparents/family friends standing close by) ring the bell or knock on the door. Homeowner opens said door and the kids say, “Trick or treat!” If the adult is standing close enough, and the kids are fairly small, the adult will prod the child to say trick or treat. Candy is distributed by the homeowner. Comments about the costumes are optional (and quite honestly, are usually given by the older homeowners). Adults who accompanied the child(ren) usually prod the child to say thank you, at which point the child does, and the homeowner says, “Happy Halloween” or something similar. The whole process usually take a matter of seconds.
Homeowners dressed in costume at Halloween is optional. (Depending on how old your trick-or-treaters are would impact the use of fake blood. Young kids? I’d say no way. Most four year olds aren’t going near some stranger with fake blood dripping down their face.) Halloween decorations are optional. Events on Halloween night? Bah, kids want to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night.
When all your candy is gone (or the hours for trick-or-treating is over–some communities have specific hours for trick-or-treating), then turn off your porch light and close your blinds.
Oh, and give out the good candy. Chocolate is great. Suckers are good. Nothing homemade and none of the cheap candy. If your grandmother would buy it, you probably don’t want to give it out to trick-or-treaters.
That’s pretty much it -if you want, say something like, “Oh, aren’t you all adorable/scary/whatever” as appropriate, “and what are you dressed as,” “oh Batman, so good to see you keeping our streets safe tonight,” blah blah blah. Maybe some small talk if you hold out a bowl instead of directly handing them candy, like “please take just a couple” or “take a handful” or whatever you think your candy stock will bear.
Some people get dressed up if they’re in high-Halloween-traffic areas, but most people just decorate around the front of the house with jack-o-lanterns, maybe some more items. And standard etiquette is that if you don’t want trick-or-treaters, you have no decorations out and you turn the porch/front door light off. That’s supposed to be the universal “no candy here” sign.
Tabby_Cat it’s nice of you to want to organize something. If you google Halloween parties you’ll find some cute ideas. Keep it low key though. American kids grow up with scary halloween gags so only the very littles are surprised.
Also if you move to the US, we only pass out pre-wrapped candy. No homemade candy unless it’s to a child you know.
Land and/or anti-personnel mines are frowned upon in the US. As is shooting costumed trespassers on Halloween (aka Beggars’ Night). Closed curtains and showing no lights is acceptable. And setting your lawn sprinklers to soak your sidewalk is not illegal.
If you decide to go the other route, leave your lights on and greet the trick or treaters. Complement their costumes and offer them individually wrapped store-bought treats.
I haven’t seen this done in years, but when I was a child in the 70s, it was customary for the homeowner to try to guy the identity of the trick-or-treaters.
It would go something like, “Let’s see…are you Sally?..Peggy?..Kim?..Well, I just don’t know. Your disguise is too good.” <Triumphant child rips off dimestore mask> “Ellen! I never would have guessed!” <Hands over full size candy bar to child, as ‘fun sizes’ had not yet been invented>
Of course this was in a small town/rural area, where everyone knew everyone else, and was probably actually related to them, which helped speed up the identification process.
(I’m in the U.S.) One year I wore a monster mask when answering the door for Trick-or-Treaters. Some little kids (~4 years old) were very scared by it – it was not fun for them. I ditched the mask.
Some houses in my neighborhood decorate extensively for Halloween. One neighbor turns his front yard into a cemetery with a variety of tombstones, hands reaching out from the earth, a giant (6 ft./2 m) spider complete with web on a tree, and other scary displays. Another has a “haunted hospital” with dummies of bloody patients on gurneys and in wheelchairs, with some manekins made up as bloody or monstrous doctors and nurses – plus a few live people who stand or lie still for a while, then suddenly move to give a scare. These tend to be very popular with the kids and not too scary, perhaps because they can see what’s going on as they approach. Most, however, have little or no decoration, maybe some jack-o-lanterns or a dummy scarecrow.
Yes, my F-I-L used to hide in the bushes near the door in a sheet and come at them like a banshee when they rang the bell. He decided to stop after then finding several little puddles of pee near the stoop.
