# Is trick-or-treating still popular n your neck of the woods? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084 "2010-11-01T13:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/81 "2010-11-02T17:39:54Z")
My younger daughter’s favorite item received was apples! She insisted on eating the first one while we were making the rounds (I held it for her when she went up to doors), the second when we got home. Other than that, it was all candy. We didn’t hit quite as many streets as in some years past when I recall some homemade and healthy stuff. Those things were often the best, really. I wish more people would do that. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/82 "2010-11-02T17:45:58Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/83 "2010-11-02T18:14:12Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > My younger daughter’s favorite item received was apples! She insisted on eating the first one while we were making the rounds (I held it for her when she went up to doors), the second when we got home. > > Other than that, it was all candy. We didn’t hit quite as many streets as in some years past when I recall some homemade and healthy stuff. Those things were often the best, really. I wish more people would do that. Mostly, I assume, people don’t because of the prevelance of the “poisioning” urban myth. Why bother doing a home-made treat if it is just going to be tossed away by anxious parents? ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/84 "2010-11-02T18:43:54Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Why bother doing a home-made treat if it is just going to be tossed away by anxious parents? Which is exactly what makes me so sad. If my kid came home from playing and said “I just met Billy who lives at the end of the street… can I go to his house and have a snack?” I would first ask which house… then think, yes I’ve seen that family… they wave whenever I drive by, and I’ve seen their kids walking to the school about a half mile away. If they offered them an apple I’d be glad they didn’t give them junk, and if my kids came home raving about how good the apple was I’d be thrilled. Instead, because this has some evil myth attached, parents will throw out the same treat and tell their kids that these are bad people. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/85 "2010-11-02T19:56:31Z")
The streets were practically overflowing with trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood (Long Beach, California). We weren’t home for much of the evening because were were out walking the streets ourselves with our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, after which we had a small party over at my in-laws. As a result, not much of the candy we’d bought got distributed (which is presently making many of my co-workers happy, because it ended up at the office). ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/86 "2010-11-02T23:38:09Z")
Last year, about 900. My wife won’t tell me where the leftover 500 pieces of candy are… ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/87 "2010-11-02T23:51:02Z")
We got about 20 kids show up at our door, big deal you say! Well this is Australia and trick or treating was never around when I was a kid. We have a lot of poms in our area and I think they may have brought it over from old blighty, ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/88 "2010-11-03T00:27:22Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [Snopes on the subject](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/halloween.asp) > > (Basically, tampered Halloween candy is a myth) I do know one person who handed out chocolate laxatives to older kids and teenagers - not poison, but at the very least it was turning something pleasant into something horrible. Almost everyone we knew thought it was hilarious - I was the big meanie for pointing out what a cruel thing that is to do. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/89 "2010-11-03T02:47:26Z")
You don’t give out laxatives. You hit the after-Halloween clearance sales and get bags of Necco wafers, let them age for a year, and give them out to the rude children and the ones old enough to drive to the store and buy their own candy. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/90 "2010-11-03T03:10:41Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I do know one person who handed out chocolate laxatives to older kids and teenagers - not poison, but at the very least it was turning something pleasant into something horrible. Almost everyone we knew thought it was hilarious - I was the big meanie for pointing out what a cruel thing that is to do. How could they not tell it was laxatives? Were they just unwrapped pieces? Even so, that would be a weird thing to get, and I would think even the dumbest teenagers would be wary. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/91 "2010-11-03T03:49:42Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > What’s trashy about it? Because the parents do it to get “better” candy - and more for themselves - and it ends up wearing thin on the patience of people in nicer neighborhoods, who have to sit outside to even pass it out because of the hoards. Happens at my (parents’) house all the time when I passed candy out in high school. I’d rather give the neighborhood kids what I’d planned to than less to them to make up for the hoards. And many families have retaliated by simply not turning their lights on/participating. I actually had a kid ask for an additional piece of candy (they got 2) “For my mom. Wait, don’t tell her I said that, she’ll get mad”. I don’t blame the kids, they’re just pawns. It’s the parents who are trash. > [@kjbrasda](#): > > So kids who live in rural areas, or who have neighbors who don’t give out candy should miss out. Nice try, but kids who live in rural areas don’t live in not-nice areas, they simply live in the sticks. I’m fine with them or with apartment dwellers (whenever I live in a building of more than 20 apartments, I’ve always had trick or treaters, I’m surprised at peoples’ experiences with that) going with friends or relatives in bigger towns/detached houses (which they likely know since they probably go to school with them). > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Trashy is not bothering to try, or not paying any attention to them. Yes, and asking the kid to ask you for extra candy. Or telling the kid some of the candy is theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/92 "2010-11-03T14:43:07Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Nice try, but kids who live in rural areas don’t live in not-nice areas, they simply live in the sticks. I’m fine with them or with apartment dwellers (whenever I live in a building of more than 20 apartments, I’ve always had trick or treaters, I’m surprised at peoples’ experiences with that) going with friends or relatives in bigger towns/detached houses (which they likely know since they probably go to school with them). How do you tell the difference between the apt dwellers/rural kids and the ones who don’t live in nice areas? Also, maybe it’s not a great idea for the kids in bad areas to trick or treat in their own neighborhoods–might be more dangerous than going to the nicer area… ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/93 "2010-11-03T14:46:09Z")
Oh, easy. The rural kids have the best manners and always look slightly bewildered. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/94 "2010-11-03T15:01:26Z")
In the ten years I’ve lived at this address, I’ve had less than a dozen trick-or-treaters. Make of that information what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/95 "2010-11-03T17:56:03Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Because the parents do it to get “better” candy - and more for themselves - and it ends up wearing thin on the patience of people in nicer neighborhoods, who have to sit outside to even pass it out because of the hoards. Happens at my (parents’) house all the time when I passed candy out in high school. I’d rather give the neighborhood kids what I’d planned to than less to them to make up for the hoards. And many families have retaliated by simply not turning their lights on/participating. > > I actually had a kid ask for an additional piece of candy (they got 2) “For my mom. Wait, don’t tell her I said that, she’ll get mad”. I don’t blame the kids, they’re just pawns. It’s the parents who are trash. > > Nice try, but kids who live in rural areas don’t live in not-nice areas, they simply live in the sticks. I’m fine with them or with apartment dwellers (whenever I live in a building of more than 20 apartments, I’ve always had trick or treaters, I’m surprised at peoples’ experiences with that) going with friends or relatives in bigger towns/detached houses (which they likely know since they probably go to school with them). > > Yes, and asking the kid to ask you for extra candy. Or telling the kid some of the candy is theirs. I have never witnessed any of the behaviors you’re complaining about, either when I’m passing out candy or taking my kids out. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/96 "2010-11-03T17:57:07Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Oh, easy. The rural kids have the best manners and always look slightly bewildered. This is circular logic. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/97 "2010-11-03T18:00:56Z")
I couldn’t care less if they bussed in kids from Timbuktu to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and I had to buy candy for 500 kids. Why? CAUSE IT"S A GOD-DAMMED $5 BAG OF CANDY THAT"S WHY!! People can be such cheap-asses sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/98 "2010-11-03T18:46:13Z")
We just moved this past summer to a neighborhood full of younger couples with elementary school kids. The neighborhood association goes all out. The park had apple cider, a hay ride, and a haunted house. We probably had over 100 kids show up, and the majority was what I would call “proper” trick or treater age. To keep the doorbell from dying I stood in the driveway (in my costume, no one told me I can’t dress up) and talked to the neighbors who where also feeding the hordes. We even had the cops driving around to say hello. Unless they were there to make sure I wasn’t shoving needles into Smarties or whatever. Best costume: Steve Urkel from ‘Family Matters.’ The kid was probably less than 10, but he did a very good impersonation. Cutest costume: My son as Kermit the Frog, of course! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/99 "2010-11-03T18:49:52Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Oh, easy. The rural kids have the best manners and always look slightly bewildered. How do you know that they’re rural kids if you’re only assuming that they are based on their manners? There could be some kids from “bad” neighborhoods that are equally well mannered but you just have no idea where they are from. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084/100 "2010-11-03T20:41:38Z")
Kids from the city don’t look bewildered. It’s also in their language, as in “yes ma’am” or (more often) “yes miss” versus “yes thank you” from a neighborhood kid or a driven in kid of another neighborhood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trick-or-treating-still-popular-n-your-neck-of-the-woods/559084.md?page=6)