When I was living on my own in Birmingham, I was a real coward, and sat in my back bedroom, with all the other lights off, and all the curtains drawn. But then, that was Birmingham.
I'm out until about 7.30 tonight, so Creatrix will have to deal with the brats kids; I hope she was able to buy sweets at lunchtime.
I'm not scared of them (not on the Isle of Wight, anyway!), just resentful. I resent being pressured to give gifts to children I don't know, just because they demand it. I was brought up with the Scottish Halloween tradition of guizing, in which you did a little song or dance act, in order to get sweets from neighbours you knew. I hate this new-fangled "demand something and give nothing" affair.
Actually, I hate what passes today as "carol singing" even more, since it goes on for weeks, so I keep getting caught unawares by them. I love hearing real carol singers, but I hate opening the door to see a bunch of horrid 13 year old boys who "sing" one line of "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and expect money.
Um... Not that I'm in, of course, so I don't know who just wrote that reply.
Yes, we hate the poor rendition of one line of a carol and *thrust out the hand for money* trick too. When they try that with us the usual response is to say that we want more (and possibly better) singing if they're to get any wonger. It either works or they go away. Either is good!
Delete and start again, as far as I know. It's most annoying. Though of course no-one will ever see the original deleted post, except the person it was done in reply to, who gets it in email.
It's a good plan and it works really well for us, and if it wasn't for the long distance form Wolves to the Isleglow from your monitor I wouldn't see you hiding behjind the sofa :)
No! No! That's not me behind the sofa. That's... er... er... it's the milkman. I stashed his body there after one of my cats killed him this morning.I mean, he's my secret Other Man. He's... er... kindly replacing a fuse for me. While I'm out, that is. He's doing it while I'm out.
Now, with normal people, I'd assume that "carving a giant pumpkin" meant carving eyes, a nose and a mouth, but with you, I can't be so sure. I'm envisaging an artistic masterpiece of pumpkinry - a panther, perhaps, or Gandalf the White (or orange?), or a representation of the Battle of Badon.
(Posting this from a public internet terminal in Somewhere That Isn't Home, by the way.)
To my amazement, we just got a party of small children at the door. Polo, if you read this, I'm afraid you are down some caramel choccy bics and Turkish Delights. :-p
I was only planning eyes and a mouth. I'm not carving a nose, as I plan to carve my pumpkin in the Bavarian style, with stem as nose....
Just looked up Bavarian pumpkins on Google images... Oh, how cute! They remind me of the wonderful How are you peeling? (http://www.amazon.com/How-Are-Peeling-Saxton-Freymann/dp/0439104319) book - a book that guarantees that the reader will never trust an orange ever again.
My "sit inside with all the lights off" approach seems to be working, since I've heard child noises nearby, but no-one's knocked on the door. I still have 25 mini chocolate bars left. Or 22, actually, since I've eaten some.
The best way of handling Halloween trick or treaters is to (a) have a bowl of cheap sweets handy; if they aren't all taken on Halloween then I get to eat them later. ;-) (b) answer the doo wearing my large black cloak with the hood drawn up and talking in BLOCK CAPITALS. I either get a really good reaction: "Are you a wizard?" or something or they'd wet themselves! Either is good from my perspective!
We don't seem to get trick or treaters here. We haven't had any so far this year and I don't recall any last year. Before we moved we'd get at least a couple of parties, maybe as many as four. They mostly put a lot of effort into their costumes, the older kids, early to mid-teans, would accompany the younger ones, who were probably aged between two and ten.
Well, but tired. Aus was great. I'm currently trying to (briefly) catch up with LJ. I'm also trying to put together a summary post about the last three weeks. I'll probably do something similar to what na_lon does: a series of posts that link back to one that is expanded over time to deal with the various events.
I find it very comforting and nice that I have people on my Friends list - a lot of people on my Friends list, in fact - who are able to write "I answer the door wearing my cloak." Some poor people don't possess a cloak, don't know anyone who possesses a cloak, and have never dreamed of possessing a cloak. What boring lives some people lead! ;-)
We had about 8 lots of visitors last night, mostly little kids (some of them seemed far too young to be out on their own IMHO, though most had parents lurking somewhere). If I hadn't been frantically tidying and cleaning the house due to an unexpected visitor. I would have dressed up in my Thuringwethil costume or possibly my cobweb dress, painted my face white with black lips & eyes. Liberally splashed my face & arms with fake blood and opened the door with a blood-curdling scream ;-)
I suspect that would have had most of our visitors running in terror, which I have to admit would have been quite funny, though may have caused unpleasant revenges by parents angry at the trauma caused to their kids. On the other hand if you let them knock at doors of complete strangers, you leave yourself open to nasty surprises....
The best thing about the whole night was we got left with loads of cheap Scooby Doo marshmallows as I may have over-estimated our requirements slightly ;-)
Oh! I'm so glad that others are as grinchy as I about Hallowe'en. Your feelings about not wanting to be forced to give sweets for nothing are mine exactly. And H. is a much bigger deal in North America (where it's still noon - I have this to look forward to tonight). Last night on the news they were saying that it's the second "biggest" (for shops) holiday after Christmas now. Ick. And my dogs hate the fireworks so much that I can't help but hate them too
We get most of our fireworks on November 5th. And the Friday and Saturday jst before the 5th. And the Friday and Saturday just after the 5th. And then leftovers every now and then all the way up to Christmas, before another big burst at New Year. It's just not fair on pets.
Halloween gets bigger over here every year, mostly (it seems) due to copying things seen on American TV, though we still don't seem to picked up the whole fancy-dress Halloween party thing. The importance of Halloween has changed enormously over the course of my lifetime - and the importance of Bonfire Night eroded somewhat. I suppose children think it's easier to wear a (bought) mask and beg for sweets, than to labour for days making a Guy, and beg for money.
I'm hiding too. It's not fair to Kaylee to do trick-or-treaters. I can't keep her behind the baby gate in the kitchen because then she barks every time the doorbell rings and has a fit, wanting to get out. But if I let her be with me when I open the door, she still barks and then she tries to squirm past my legs and get outside and play with the kids. And since she's bigger than half the kids in my neighborhood, that just isn't a good idea.
There really does seem to be something wrong with a festival that causes grown adults to hide in their own house, and pretend they're not in in order to avoid having to answer the door.
Oh, you grinches! I put our pumpkin Jack-o-Lantern outside the door to scare off the evil spirits, and we welcomed about 6 groups of kids in witch/ghost costumes, all of whom were very polite and said "Thank you" nicely for their sweets (possibly because many of them had parents hovering behind them). It was nice. We don't get a lot of interaction with our neighbours, so anything that promotes that is good in my eyes.
I agree Halloween has grown in recent years and is being imported from America (and trust me, we have a lo-o-ng way to go to catch up with our transatlantic cousins), but hey, so what. The more festivals the better at this gloomy time of year! I think we should also import Thanksgiving (and the Americans should also import Guy Fawkes and Divali).
Actually, I don’t mind at all when it really is neighbours' children. I’m completely happy to give sweets to under 10s, when they’re all excited and dressed up, with an adult hovering protectively behind them. In a way, they are giving me something, since I get the "aah!" factor of seeing them so cute and so excited.
The problem is, I’m just as likely to open the door to find a pair of surly 14 year olds who live miles away. I started my "pretend I’m not in" policy when I glanced out of the window in our old house, and saw a pair of boys approaching the door, that I recognised as very nasty trouble-makers I’d often had cause to throw out of the library. (They’re both in prison now, apparently.) I really didn’t want such a boy to know where I lived. Since I can’t tell before opening the door if it’s "okay" children or "not okay" children, I prefer to play it safe and ignore it. (Unless Pellinor's in, in which case he answers the door.)
We had one lot- all neighbours' children; very polite. Mind you - our street isn't visible from the main road so unless you know that it is here you could easily miss it.
That way we miss out on carol singers as well.
I mind less here as Halloweening is quite on old tradition, but I'm saddened that the children don't do their rhyme any more
"The sky is blue The grass is green Please for a penny For Halloween"
It has died out since I moved in here, replaced by "Trick or treat"
I don't blame you for not opening the door to potential trouble makers though. I have one good friend who is terrified of that night as large teenagers bang on the door demanding money.
It's a shame all the native traditions have all got eroded by the all-pervading "trick and treat". I always contradict those people who say that Halloween itself is an American tradition introduced in the last 20 years, because there's a lot of native Halloween tradition - in the north of England, and in Scotland, anyway, if not in the rest of England. And they certainly weren't all sweetness and light, either. "Mischief Night" was one name for it - in which people removed gates, and did all manner of mischief throughout their village.
Thinking it through since making my post two days ago, I think that my main objection is fear, actually. I don't mind giving to small children, but I'm scared that I might open the door to library trouble-makers. I prefer to play it safe and open the door to no-one.
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I'm out until about 7.30 tonight, so Creatrix will have to deal with the
bratskids; I hope she was able to buy sweets at lunchtime.no subject
Actually, I hate what passes today as "carol singing" even more, since it goes on for weeks, so I keep getting caught unawares by them. I love hearing real carol singers, but I hate opening the door to see a bunch of horrid 13 year old boys who "sing" one line of "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and expect money.
Um... Not that I'm in, of course, so I don't know who just wrote that reply.
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And, can you edit a poll?
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Never done a poll, so I don't know.
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long distance form Wolves to the Isleglow from your monitor I wouldn't see you hiding behjind the sofa :)no subject
I stashed his body there after one of my cats killed him this morning.I mean, he's my secret Other Man.He's... er... kindly replacing a fuse for me. While I'm out, that is. He's doing it while I'm out.no subject
I doubt there will be any small children making it to my door, but if they do I shall reward them with Polo's chocolate.
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(Posting this from a public internet terminal in Somewhere That Isn't Home, by the way.)
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I was only planning eyes and a mouth. I'm not carving a nose, as I plan to carve my pumpkin in the Bavarian style, with stem as nose....
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My "sit inside with all the lights off" approach seems to be working, since I've heard child noises nearby, but no-one's knocked on the door. I still have 25 mini chocolate bars left. Or 22, actually, since I've eaten some.
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We don't seem to get trick or treaters here. We haven't had any so far this year and I don't recall any last year. Before we moved we'd get at least a couple of parties, maybe as many as four. They mostly put a lot of effort into their costumes, the older kids, early to mid-teans, would accompany the younger ones, who were probably aged between two and ten.
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I suspect that would have had most of our visitors running in terror, which I have to admit would have been quite funny, though may have caused unpleasant revenges by parents angry at the trauma caused to their kids. On the other hand if you let them knock at doors of complete strangers, you leave yourself open to nasty surprises....
The best thing about the whole night was we got left with loads of cheap Scooby Doo marshmallows as I may have over-estimated our requirements slightly ;-)
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Halloween gets bigger over here every year, mostly (it seems) due to copying things seen on American TV, though we still don't seem to picked up the whole fancy-dress Halloween party thing. The importance of Halloween has changed enormously over the course of my lifetime - and the importance of Bonfire Night eroded somewhat. I suppose children think it's easier to wear a (bought) mask and beg for sweets, than to labour for days making a Guy, and beg for money.
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(Anonymous) 2006-11-01 08:35 am (UTC)(link)I agree Halloween has grown in recent years and is being imported from America (and trust me, we have a lo-o-ng way to go to catch up with our transatlantic cousins), but hey, so what. The more festivals the better at this gloomy time of year! I think we should also import Thanksgiving (and the Americans should also import Guy Fawkes and Divali).
Neuromancer
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The problem is, I’m just as likely to open the door to find a pair of surly 14 year olds who live miles away. I started my "pretend I’m not in" policy when I glanced out of the window in our old house, and saw a pair of boys approaching the door, that I recognised as very nasty trouble-makers I’d often had cause to throw out of the library. (They’re both in prison now, apparently.) I really didn’t want such a boy to know where I lived. Since I can’t tell before opening the door if it’s "okay" children or "not okay" children, I prefer to play it safe and ignore it. (Unless Pellinor's in, in which case he answers the door.)
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In armour, with sword?
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...would be the plan, if I ever made it back in time for trick or treaters :-(
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That way we miss out on carol singers as well.
I mind less here as Halloweening is quite on old tradition, but I'm saddened that the children don't do their rhyme any more
"The sky is blue
The grass is green
Please for a penny
For Halloween"
It has died out since I moved in here, replaced by "Trick or treat"
I don't blame you for not opening the door to potential trouble makers though. I have one good friend who is terrified of that night as large teenagers bang on the door demanding money.
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Thinking it through since making my post two days ago, I think that my main objection is fear, actually. I don't mind giving to small children, but I'm scared that I might open the door to library trouble-makers. I prefer to play it safe and open the door to no-one.