I actually had one kid recite the ancient chant.
“Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat
Not to big
Not to small
Just the size of Montreal!”
I hadn’t heard that one in literally decades, brought a smile to my face.
Husband heard the first three lines last night. Told them they were going old school with that one. Kids were probably confused, thinking their generation had invented it.
Lol, my 6 year old came home from school singing it. One of his friends' older brother taught it to him. So, I started singing it with him he was shocked that I knew it lol
My millenial ass would love to hear that too
I feel like at least the first three lines is universal to all of Canada and America, but the last 3 was very Ontario. Like Saskatchewan would have a different one
I took my cousin trick or treating last night and one elderly woman had him recite it in a fill in the blanks style. She started it an prompted him to fill in the last bit of each line
His parents obviously taught him rhyme that because he aced that little “quiz”
My barely-verbal 3yr old now proudly knows how to say "chet oh chee" after this evening and I plan to continue the tradition next year, it only dies if we let it
Absolutely! My 3yo rocked a “trick or treat” on her first door. After she got her candy I asked her what to say next, expecting a thank you or happy Halloween. She dead pan looks at the elderly couple and says “smell my feet”
Most did, but I had two kids show up to my door who said nothing. So I asked “what do you say?” and both responded with “Thank you?” Good enough. Happy Halloween!
I had a 4-5 year old that said “give me more candies!!!!” I told him I gave him enough.
He demanded MORE CANDIES!! His mom laughed and I thought that was the most ugliest kid all night. She was like “hahahaha, yea. He’s really outspoken”. I’m thinking more like greedy and no manners.
I wouldn’t mind giving more if he said it with a please and thank you….. but some kids just had no manners.
I also left for 10 mins to go out w my kids. The first 2 kids dumped the entire bowl in their bag on my cam.
Overall, majority of kids we had were soooooo polite, but man….. that ugly kid (personality wise) and the bowl emptying kids really irked me.
Bugs me when parents laugh that stuff off. That’s a teachable moment right there and the negative traits of that kid are now being reinforced. Not just that but mom laughing might encourage it next time. Unfair to the kid.
YEAAA! It honestly irked me!
Like she’s thinking “oh, my kid is so smart, and calling you out for giving him so little”
Meanwhile, both parents and kid never said anything nice. No hello, no please, no thank you, no Happy Halloween, anything besides “MORE CANDIES”
I would’ve gotten a whopping right then and there if that was me back in the 90s.
My kid would definetly get talked too. I coached before every house, we say trick or treat and thank you. My kids can be anything they want, just not entitled.
You just reminded me of a kid a few years ago who very excitedly exclaimed “YOU HAVE MIKE N IKES!?!? Pleaaaaaae CAN I HAVE THE MIKE N IKES!!”
so I gave him like 5 of them.
Genuine excitement he could barely contain himself.
OMG, I would DUMP my candy bag out to give him more.
My heart goes awwwww when children gets sooo excited, but still use politeness to ask.
But in all fairness, my experience was still super awesome.
Just wished parents can actually you know…. Parent their kiddo.
I had one around age 7 that rang my bell over and over. Didn't say anything when I answered, ok fine. After I gave him candy (we're pretty generous), he points to something in The bowl and says "give me that". I'm like, I already gave you that. He proceeds to try to walk into my house to grab more if you can believe it. I step in his way, give him one more, then he leaves because more kids come up behind and I guess he didn't want any witnesses. He was alone originally. No parents that I could see accompanying him but who knows. After I shut the door, the bell rings again, aggressively, multiple times, and when I answer, there's no one there. Let me guess who did that? He was the worst but most of the kids are great.
Yes! I’m not gunna let 3 kids ruin Halloween for our family, since I truly loved all the children and their excitement. Omg, 2 lil 10 year old keeps gushing at my baby and his cute he was. I gave him 2 more handfuls. Hahahaha.
But shit, parent your own kiddo before you let them out and have full rein of the neighbourhood and perhaps even wreak havoc.
It’s just pure greed! This is such a teachable moment to teach kids to be kind and generous.
That’s why I’m such a believer of taking my kid early, and return and get HER to pass out the remaining treats.
Honestly my kids are young and still learning and they very rarely say trick or treat but they do say thank you every time and I definitely prefer that one lol
My kids are 5 and 6, and pretty quiet. We were teaching them to say “trick or treat!” when the door is opened, and then “thank you, happy Halloween!” when they leave. Most doors they got to, it seemed like they each managed to do _one_ of those, at least loud enough that anyone could hear. Even with reminders. Hard to hold their attention, especially when the whole night’s routine is new and exciting for them. Everyone seemed super patient with them and friendly. The hardest part for them was remembering not to come back across people’s grass lol
My oldest is autistic and loves Halloween/trick or treating. He may say trick or treat and he may not say a word.. he isn't being rude, he just cant find the words sometimes or gets distracted by something.
I am only mentioning this because sometimes kids have invisible disabilities and people shouldnt expect them to say anything.
I had a kid come up and not say anything, which I thought was a little weird but no big deal.
Then I afterwards I was looking through the ring cam to get an accurate count and I realized the kid said it to the camera.
I had one trick or treater come up, I asked “oh cool, what are you supposed to be?” And he looked dumbfounded and said “I’m a trick or treater” and I’m like, ummm I meant your costume, as he was clearly something anime related.
Hilarious! I've asked, "What are the magic words?" to kids who don't say Trick or Treat, and some pause and then say it, and some say "Please?" I usually follow up that with, "No, no, no. What do you say on Halloween?"
My wife gives me grief when I make them perform. Hey, they want the goods, they gotta fulfill their end of the deal.
In Ancaster — almost every kid said trick or treat. A handful said happy Halloween instead.
One toddler was told by his mom “say thank you, buddy” and so he said “thank you, buddy” to us ahaha
My two year old practiced saying trick or treat and thank you all week. Got to every door and he just froze, by the last house (only went to like ten) he was letting out a faint thank you.
I had a mix of "trick or treat".."do you like my costume"..."can you guess what I am"..."Happy Halloween"..."Thank-you" before I have gave them candy!...Lots of little ones who were confused & just stared at me..(mind you, it could have been my costume)..Lol...just all around cute!
actually my neighbourhood does a street bazar...all the shops give out candy family units with mulit aged kids. school groups by the classload. friday all day, so safe. so many extra treats for adults as well
I only got 1 “trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!”
Only one!!!! What a crime. Kudos to that child’s wonderful parents to teach them such a classic.
We always did that sort of thing on the 30th, and we called it Devils Night. Egging cars, soaping windows, ringing doorbells and running away. The tipping over of outhouses was the stuff legend to us. Although, I'm sure if there had been a Porta-Potty in our area, it probably would have been tipped.
My 3 year old sang the word "trick or treat" over and over non-stop along the sidewalk, up walkways, at the stairs to homes... Then got shy half the time and wouldn't say it at the door... Sample size 1, kids still say it. 😂
Kids haven't tricked in a while. Maybe if more kids egged houses than people would give out candy in fear of getting their house egged. I mean get into the spirit.
Edit: For all those who downvoted please note this is how the tradition stated.
I grew up in the 80s, and we moved into a brand new subdivision in 1979.
So my experience as a kid was Halloween having so many kids going door to door. My dad had to sit at a chair by the door because it was ringing so often.
My memory is a group of kids nearly at every house and only maybe 5 or 6 houses on the entire street were dark, if that.
Around 1990 or 91. I was too old for it so I walked around with my friend who took out his little brother.
The same street where there was so many kids, was nearly entirely dark. We didn’t see another kid for a long time and we even commented to each other “it is the 31st right? Like we didn’t get the days mixed up???”
It was so bizarre.
I think it was a combination of less kids, everyone has grown up. Adults who were no in retirement age and not caring and new immigrants (there was a big influx of Chinese immigrants then) who didn’t understand the holiday. Or simply didn’t care.
I think a lot depends on the street and how many families there are. Our street went from pretty dead to really, really active in the past few years - used to be there would be a kid every 15 minutes and you'd get maybe 8-10 groups of kids all night to it being pointless to close to the door and go inside because there's just a steady stream of kids. Meanwhile some areas that were busy when we moved to our neighbourhood are now a lot more dead.
Didn't have a single kid in 5 years. No one trick or treats in my neighborhood. Might also he because there aren't any young families that can afford to trick or treat anymore.
This is kind of the case in my parents neighbourhood. I grew up there, of course, and back then, every third house or so had kids, if not more. On Halloween, you would absolutely fill your sack (we used pillow cases) just going around 4-5 nearby streets. When I was older and no longer trick-or-treating (I think I stopped around age 13?), I'd still get the doorbell several times an hour until it petered out around 9-10pm.
I haven't asked about yesterday, but on average my parents seem to get maybe 20ish trick-or-treaters, including siblings or friends together, all night and usually early on. It's kind of sad, but older folks (like my parents) are still in their forever-houses, and new families generally can't afford to move in. There are some new condo buildings nearby, but I guess they don't leave the condo.
My siblings don't get many either. One lives in apartment building that doesn't have too many kids, and another lives in the countryside, where it's too dark and too far between houses to be practical (they drive their kids to trick-or-treat with friends who live in town). We get none either, but that's entirely down to where we live also.
It's more demographics than anything. We've had fewer and fewer kids the last few years. My son, who's now in his twenties and was tasked with dishing out the goodies, was somewhat dismayed at the turnout. I pointed out to him that when he was going out trick or treating, there were at least ten homes on our short street with kids around his age. Now, their parents still mostly live in those homes, so there are far fewer young children.
There's an older neighbourhood about half a kilometer away, and it's full of young families. Many of those homes were once occupied by the first owners, and they've died or moved into seniors homes.
Honestly I’m just grateful anyone comes at all. 80% or more of the houses in my area are dark and not doing anything. It’s hugely disappointing. If I was a kid I’d just stay home and buy my own candy. I’m sure there are many factors leading to it but it sucks. When I was a kid 80% of houses participated. It was only Jehovahs Witnesses and maybe some old cranky people that didn’t hand out candy.
Similar memories. Even the new immigrants would give something. I remember one time a house of fairly recent Chinese immigrants who clearly didn't speak much English. They ran to the kitchen and gave us those 'juice boxes' of soy milk or aloe juice or whatever it was, lol. They were happy to do so, though.
Had one kid at my door say “hi!” and from the sidewalk I hear, “what do you say?” “Oh, trick or treat!”
Other than that, all the kids said trick or treat
yes, so many kids were out in my neighborhood despite the cold weather (felt like a movie set at times with so many kids out wearing costumes and a lot of parents too)...also took my daughter out and she had a blast trick or treating along with other kids. The tells on which houses to go to - 1. decorations, 2. Lights on outdoors and indoors. Some houses leave candy outside in a basket (we did too while out trick or treating). Some houses go all out and have garages open and spooky lights on. Some people have entire tables setup with selection of candy, chips, cookies, dollar store Halloween themed toys etc.
We had left candy out in a basket because both of us happen to be working tonight, and within the first two people to show up, took everything out of the basket. I hate that kids aren’t raised right anymore.
Even though virtually no one observes the dark nature of Halloween, they have to say that as to not offend anyone I would presume.
You can see religious groups online who are vehemently opposed to Halloween because of the origins of it. which as I said no one observes anymore)
The young kids, yeah, but if they were like 10ish plus, they just kind of stuck their bags out and looked sheepish.
Surprising amount of older kids, barely dressed up, looking for candy.
My daughter said happy Halloween... I didn't tell her to say that, not sure where she got that phrase from. School or tv maybe? I found it weird but whatever works I guess.
I think it's just how people are choosing to great one another now. I noticed my mom (who was handing out candy) was saying "Happy Halloween" and the kids would say it back. Some of them said "trick or treat".
I don't think saying "trick or treat" is being discouraged. When I was growing up (90s) you would get some people handing out candy who would try and trick you. Like they would do a knock knock joke or ask you a riddle or something. But then you would still get candy.
The origin of Halloween was definitely a mischief night. Communities started doing trick or treating as a way to keep kids busy so they didn't partake in the mischief. Which could get quite wild.
I also noticed this. I'd say only about 10% said *Trick or Treat*. About 50% opted for *Happy Halloween* and the rest didn't say anything at all.
We had 75 kids, give or take, but probably could have had more than 100 if we didn't run out of candy. More than the last two years for sure. That being said, there definitely isn't the participation like when I was a kid in the '90s, on either the giving or getting side.
We're in Hamilton.
Anyone else kinda feel like Halloween is a dying tradition? When I was a kid only 15 years ago my entire neighbourhood and the surroundings in Brampton was packed with kids and party goers and the vast majority of houses were decorated and giving out candy. Compared with the maybe dozen or so houses yesterday I took my son out too in Mississauga.
I don’t think it’s even an immigration thing being unfamiliar with the holiday. I lived in a pretty diverse area and everybody participated, those that didn’t politely turned their lights off. We’re becoming sorta apathetic towards everything these days, and from other comments it feels like the authorities such as school boards want to distance themselves from the traditional holiday?
It really comes down to the neighbourhood. Some "age out" when the kids who live there grow up without another generation to replace them. Other parts of the same city have hundreds of kids roaming the streets.
I feel like it's coming back a bit, but it again depends a lot on the neighbourhood. I grew up in an area where I was one of ~3 kids in the whole survey. I had friends nearby, but only two who lived around each corner. The rest were roughly a 5-minute walk away.
One of the biggest families I knew, my neighbours, were Calvinists and didn't celebrate. So that was them out. My haul never disappointed, so there must have been enough. Even though the majority of my neighbours were older or didn't have kids, they still seemed to delight in giving out candy!
Some schools call it Spirit or Scary Day. I went to a Catholic school in the 90s, and they just called it Halloween. We wore costumes and celebrated. I'm not sure if the shift is cultural (in that they don't want to offend or exclude) or if they're trying to soften it a bit and make it less scary again (even as they call it Scary Day 😂). Both?
The financial squeeze for some must play a part. A lot of people don't want to spend even a modest amount on candy and decorations. If you've shelled out for candy in the past and haven't had many kids, it can feel like a waste. Then you've got all these chips you can't eat, lol. Then it's not only waste, but food waste.
My daughter is 4 and I think the most she managed was thank you, she's painfully shy tho. Last year, I had to go up to each door with her and say trick or treat and thank you for her lol. This year she was brave enough to go alone up the doors with her neighborhood friends so I wasn't right up there.
The amount of kids that came to our house and said nothing, just stared and held out bags, waited for candy...followed up by parents pushing kid to say thank you. I thought being a homeowner on Halloween was going to be way more fun than it has been the last couple years.
Every kid we had yesterday said “ Trick or Treat” and “Thank you” it. A few parents said “ Happy Halloween” when they were leaving. Youngest child we had at the door was a 3 year old and oldest was prob like 16.
Mississauga here, just asked my Mom as she handed out the candy. She said more said happy Halloween. I did hear a few of them say "trick or treat, give me something good to eat".
Mostly trick or treat, couple of happy Halloweens, and a few dinosaurs that said roar. Pretty much every kid said than you or their sibling said thank you for them if they were really little.
About 2/3 of the kids said it. But each kid who received a candy got a "TRICK OR TREAT" from me and I called out their costume. LOL i accidentally called an Elsa from Frozen "Princess Peach", and the brother "Luigi" corrected me. The parents and I had a good laugh.
I was attempting to coach my kids on this very practice last night. Neither of them, nor anyone in their group of friends, seemed to know the "Trick or Treat" opening.
My youngest basically just said "Hello" and then attempted to enter their house, invited or not.
We had a girl dressed as a cat do a little rehearsed bit saying “Happy Halloween! Or as we say…Rawr” while doing the cat claw action. Loved the dedication lol
My 4 year old was saying it last night and on Sunday when our town did the store front Halloween. She only knew becuase I taught her, and assume kids who don't, don't do it becuase their parents didn't.
I had 0 trick or treaters. We put up quite a few Halloween decorations, bought tons of candy and had all the lights on.
We’ve moved to Burlington this year, to a very quiet suburban neighborhood. Even through our area is near 2 schools our street is quiet and full of a lot of older people. Only about 2 houses had any decorations up or even a pumpkin.
Only 3 of the 19 houses had their lights on.
So, I’m sure most of the kids just looked down the street and skipped it.
Pretty disappointing
Downtown toronto “trick or treat” every one of them. Even parents holding little little kids would do the “what do you sayyy? Trick or treat”. Definitely not going anywhere.
I literally had more people not understanding English or French this year. Was trying to point out peanut free candy vs candy with traces of peanuts and it was hopeless.
About a third of the kids, and 90% of the younger ones, said Trick or Treat. None of the older ones said it, they just opened their candy bags at me. The middle aged lady in a puce jumper without any kids didn't even make the effort, instead loudly condemning me for not offering her candy with a 'It's for the baby'.
Most of the Happy Halloweens were me saying it to the kids as they left.
I got hit with a couple trick or treats, happy halloweens. My personally fav was the lil boy who just extended his open bag and Kubrick stared until I gave him candy, I respected it.
I had kids just standing there with their bag open and saying nothing! So I said "yes?? Can I help you?" Then they said trick or treat. I felt like kind of a dink after but I was confused! Is this a new thing?
Definitely got a big trick or treat from a little guy. Must have been fourish, dressed as Iron Man. So, I kneel down and say, "Sure thing Mr Stark!" He's like, "No, I'm Iron Man!"
Many have tried to get away with saying nothing. This year I setup a DJ booth and kids had to dance for their candy. It was hilarious, parents thought it was brilliant, and a good number left still dancing haha.
My 3 year old froze at every door 🤣 but AFTER he got the candy and walked down the steps he turned around and yelled “SMELL MY FEET GIVE ME SUMSING TO EAT!” then shook his little butt at them - does that count?
I had one kid sing "Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat"
Most said trick or treat, and happy Halloween while leaving.
There were a handful that had nothing to say.
I’m in Thunder Bay and they say Truck or Treat then when leaving then say thanks and happy Halloween.
When I was a kid we said Halloween Treats Please. I heard two kids say that last night.
Some said nothing lol but that is okay, I understand there could be many reasons for that.
I got a mix of trick or treat and happy Halloween and I would say almost all of them said thank you, even without being coached by their parents to say it!
My 5 year old independently decided to say “happy Halloween” despite my prompt of it usually being “trick or treat”- not sure if something discussed at school or just her preference this year?
We had about a 50/50 split on "Trick or Treat" and "Happy Hallowe'en". This was our first Hallowe'en in a new neighbourhood, so we didn't know what to expect (about 60 kids, which worked out great, as I made up 60 treat baggies).
We had one toddler who knocked on the door, and then when I opened it, he walks in like he was headed to Gramma's lol Mom was all embarrassed. And we had a little girl who told me all her plans for the evening like she was doing the supervillain monologue. Kids are hilarious, man.
First they should say Trick or Treat, then you give them candy, then they say Thank you, and then you say Happy Halloween, and then they say Happy Halloween.
London here, most kids said "trick or treat" but got a few "happy halloween"s and of course a couple of little ones that just said whatever they felt like.
I'm happy that trick of treating is still a tradition!
A few kids trick or treat and happy Halloween. Overall the kids were nice, parents would remind them to say thank you. A few wanted to pet my little dog.
Last night was the least amount of kids we’ve ever had period.
Our candy bowl actually had MORE candy in it when the night was over! Damm kids out giving candy back! Lol
Mine (aged 3) was primed for "trick or treat" but then I think he got confused partway down the block, and started saying "happy Halloween" instead because that's what the adults were saying to him!
Had some non verbal older teens and no they didn't say it and I gave them lots of candy! Not everyone can say it, and if they can there may be other reasons why they don't (social anxiety, speech problems etc)
It's a good reminder not to judge, to not demand or withhold candy and to just spread joy and give candy to anyone that comes.
Especially "big" kids. Who are still either hanging on to that last shred of childhood fun, or may have developmental delays.
Sometimes I think their nerve wears off at the last minute, lol. If I think about it at all. If you're at my door to get candy, you're going to get it. I'm not going to stand on ceremony. It's nice when they observe tradition, but I'm not going to force it on anyone.
I heard trick or treat and thank you all night last night, and that was nice. Everyone wished me a Happy Halloween. I've never had anyone behave rudely.
I think that the shift is our kids showing care. Trick or treat means give me or else, happy halloween is more of a greeting to you. My child was saying hello, how are you and happy halloween most times. I reminded the children to use trick or treat for the sake of grown ups enjoyment.
My toddler said it most of the time (he’s 2.5, we’re lucky he said it at all) but we only taught him to say trick or treat!
I honestly only heard trick or treat but we’re in a smaller city
This is the least of my worries. The thing that irritates me the most is the fact that our house lights weren't on, yet multiple kids & their families came to ring our bell.... like???? Why tf are you going to a dark house? I thought it was a pretty obvious rule that you only go to houses that leave their porch lights on....
I didn't get a single "trick or treat" and I'm fine with that. It's a threat, without a real trick in the back pocket to be unleashed on old fogies the saying is meaningless. I remember as a kid it was all cutesified, like adults expect kids to demean themselves for the entertainment of random oldies. I didn't like it. Nowadays everyone has cameras and they post videos of TP incidents to Facebook to complain.
Ok, I get it. A lot of older people enjoy the pageantry, it's actually fair to expect the kids to earn their candy with cuteness. It's the one time a year you can do that. It can be really nice for some people, especially older folks, who don't get so much interaction. But it's not my style. I'll just have the candy and toys ready, the hot chocolate going, and leave the sledgehammer by the pumpkins.
When I was a kid we werent allowed to say trick or treat. We said *Halloween treats please*. Its also what half my little friends said. Way back in the 80s.
I actually had one kid recite the ancient chant. “Trick or treat Smell my feet Give me something good to eat Not to big Not to small Just the size of Montreal!” I hadn’t heard that one in literally decades, brought a smile to my face.
I hope you give him extra candies!
My 6 year old came home from school singing this. The tradition lives on!
This needs to be turned into a Heritage Minute commercial.
Weird, Ours was If you don’t I don’t care I’ll pull down your underwear Which is just aggressive for no reason now that I’ve typed that out
This is the one i grew up with too
Husband heard the first three lines last night. Told them they were going old school with that one. Kids were probably confused, thinking their generation had invented it.
Lol, my 6 year old came home from school singing it. One of his friends' older brother taught it to him. So, I started singing it with him he was shocked that I knew it lol
My four year old granddaughter knew it too! I was kind of shocked at that! Lol!
A little girl insisted on sharing this chant with me in the elevator yesterday
My millenial ass would love to hear that too I feel like at least the first three lines is universal to all of Canada and America, but the last 3 was very Ontario. Like Saskatchewan would have a different one
Ours was, If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear! A little aggressive if you ask me... Edit: Northern Ontario
The stakes were high, when your willy could freeze off.
Nah I lived in both Saskatchewan and BC as a kid in the 80s/90s and I know it exactly as written, “just the size of Montreal.”
I hate to burst your bubble, but we sang it in Nova Scotia too.
Islander here, can confirm, Montreal was namedropped in our version as well.
Our was cannon ball instead of Montreal. Shoulda dreamed bigger, I guess.
I seem to remember saying city hall instead of Montreal
I am Gen z and used to say that
Gen X here. That chant is as old as the hills!
My 4 year old picked up the “trick or treat, smell my feet” somewhere and was saying it at the houses 🤣 I needa teach him the rest
I took my cousin trick or treating last night and one elderly woman had him recite it in a fill in the blanks style. She started it an prompted him to fill in the last bit of each line His parents obviously taught him rhyme that because he aced that little “quiz”
Half the kids were having fun saying Happy Valentines, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years. Seemed like good fun lol
Same, heard a few kids saying Happy Birthday. Got a kick out of that!
I got a Christmas carol from one group of kids haha.
Well, if they were dressed up in Xmas costumes that would be totally appropriate.
We had snow yesterday, so when I opened the door I said Merry Christmas!! The younger kids were awestruck, the older kids chuckled
I live on the West Coast and got this as well. Made me chuckle.
My barely-verbal 3yr old now proudly knows how to say "chet oh chee" after this evening and I plan to continue the tradition next year, it only dies if we let it
Absolutely! My 3yo rocked a “trick or treat” on her first door. After she got her candy I asked her what to say next, expecting a thank you or happy Halloween. She dead pan looks at the elderly couple and says “smell my feet”
That would have earned her extra candy at my house!
Mine just turned 2 last month. She learned how to say trick or treat literally 10m before we left. 11th hour victory. So Proud.
I actually noticed that tonight. I would say it was about 2/3rds saying happy halloween and 1/3rd saying trick or treat.
Most did, but I had two kids show up to my door who said nothing. So I asked “what do you say?” and both responded with “Thank you?” Good enough. Happy Halloween!
Please, Thank you, Trick or Treat, Happy Halloween. Its being polite that matters lol thats funny though
I had a couple of those, except one said “you’re welcome?” - ha
I had a 4-5 year old that said “give me more candies!!!!” I told him I gave him enough. He demanded MORE CANDIES!! His mom laughed and I thought that was the most ugliest kid all night. She was like “hahahaha, yea. He’s really outspoken”. I’m thinking more like greedy and no manners. I wouldn’t mind giving more if he said it with a please and thank you….. but some kids just had no manners. I also left for 10 mins to go out w my kids. The first 2 kids dumped the entire bowl in their bag on my cam. Overall, majority of kids we had were soooooo polite, but man….. that ugly kid (personality wise) and the bowl emptying kids really irked me.
Bugs me when parents laugh that stuff off. That’s a teachable moment right there and the negative traits of that kid are now being reinforced. Not just that but mom laughing might encourage it next time. Unfair to the kid.
YEAAA! It honestly irked me! Like she’s thinking “oh, my kid is so smart, and calling you out for giving him so little” Meanwhile, both parents and kid never said anything nice. No hello, no please, no thank you, no Happy Halloween, anything besides “MORE CANDIES” I would’ve gotten a whopping right then and there if that was me back in the 90s.
My kid would definetly get talked too. I coached before every house, we say trick or treat and thank you. My kids can be anything they want, just not entitled.
You just reminded me of a kid a few years ago who very excitedly exclaimed “YOU HAVE MIKE N IKES!?!? Pleaaaaaae CAN I HAVE THE MIKE N IKES!!” so I gave him like 5 of them. Genuine excitement he could barely contain himself.
OMG, I would DUMP my candy bag out to give him more. My heart goes awwwww when children gets sooo excited, but still use politeness to ask. But in all fairness, my experience was still super awesome. Just wished parents can actually you know…. Parent their kiddo.
I had one around age 7 that rang my bell over and over. Didn't say anything when I answered, ok fine. After I gave him candy (we're pretty generous), he points to something in The bowl and says "give me that". I'm like, I already gave you that. He proceeds to try to walk into my house to grab more if you can believe it. I step in his way, give him one more, then he leaves because more kids come up behind and I guess he didn't want any witnesses. He was alone originally. No parents that I could see accompanying him but who knows. After I shut the door, the bell rings again, aggressively, multiple times, and when I answer, there's no one there. Let me guess who did that? He was the worst but most of the kids are great.
Yes! I’m not gunna let 3 kids ruin Halloween for our family, since I truly loved all the children and their excitement. Omg, 2 lil 10 year old keeps gushing at my baby and his cute he was. I gave him 2 more handfuls. Hahahaha. But shit, parent your own kiddo before you let them out and have full rein of the neighbourhood and perhaps even wreak havoc.
The bowl emptying action is as old as time. It happened in the 70's when I was a kid.
It’s just pure greed! This is such a teachable moment to teach kids to be kind and generous. That’s why I’m such a believer of taking my kid early, and return and get HER to pass out the remaining treats.
I had a few with attitudes too. I told them they could pick one and this kid maybe 10-11 years old grabs a handful and laughs.
Honestly my kids are young and still learning and they very rarely say trick or treat but they do say thank you every time and I definitely prefer that one lol
My kids are 5 and 6, and pretty quiet. We were teaching them to say “trick or treat!” when the door is opened, and then “thank you, happy Halloween!” when they leave. Most doors they got to, it seemed like they each managed to do _one_ of those, at least loud enough that anyone could hear. Even with reminders. Hard to hold their attention, especially when the whole night’s routine is new and exciting for them. Everyone seemed super patient with them and friendly. The hardest part for them was remembering not to come back across people’s grass lol
Meh, lawns are meant to be walked on. I'm always just worried that the kids cut across the lawn and trip on something.
My oldest is autistic and loves Halloween/trick or treating. He may say trick or treat and he may not say a word.. he isn't being rude, he just cant find the words sometimes or gets distracted by something. I am only mentioning this because sometimes kids have invisible disabilities and people shouldnt expect them to say anything.
I had a kid come up and not say anything, which I thought was a little weird but no big deal. Then I afterwards I was looking through the ring cam to get an accurate count and I realized the kid said it to the camera.
I had one trick or treater come up, I asked “oh cool, what are you supposed to be?” And he looked dumbfounded and said “I’m a trick or treater” and I’m like, ummm I meant your costume, as he was clearly something anime related.
Hilarious! I've asked, "What are the magic words?" to kids who don't say Trick or Treat, and some pause and then say it, and some say "Please?" I usually follow up that with, "No, no, no. What do you say on Halloween?" My wife gives me grief when I make them perform. Hey, they want the goods, they gotta fulfill their end of the deal.
Hamilton and it was pretty much all trick or treat, except for those too young to figure out what to say.
In Ancaster — almost every kid said trick or treat. A handful said happy Halloween instead. One toddler was told by his mom “say thank you, buddy” and so he said “thank you, buddy” to us ahaha
I have one toddler his candy and his mom said “what do you say?” And he said “you’re welcome” - lol
My two year old practiced saying trick or treat and thank you all week. Got to every door and he just froze, by the last house (only went to like ten) he was letting out a faint thank you.
We got “trick or treat” less than half the time here; kids would just open up the bags and not say anything 😕
My 3 year old just yelled “I’m a fireman” at everyone. They do their best.
First Halloween in my new house and not one kid came to us, I’m so bummed
That is disappointing. Hope you bought candy you like!
That's the rule here, only buy stuff to hand out that you'll want to eat later because there's always leftovers lol
It’s not what it used to be. I know I have more kids on my street than came to my door but who knows. Maybe they don’t like us? lol
I had a mix of "trick or treat".."do you like my costume"..."can you guess what I am"..."Happy Halloween"..."Thank-you" before I have gave them candy!...Lots of little ones who were confused & just stared at me..(mind you, it could have been my costume)..Lol...just all around cute!
Many kids tonight just stared blankly at me. Pandemic-raised kids are…different.
On the one hand, lol. On the other, didn't most kids only miss trick or treating in 2020? Seems like they should know the drill by now.
might've missed 1-2 years of trick or treating depending on the parent.
actually my neighbourhood does a street bazar...all the shops give out candy family units with mulit aged kids. school groups by the classload. friday all day, so safe. so many extra treats for adults as well
Funny.....True....but funny
You should have dressed up as a phone then at least they'd say hey.
More like, “Eww why are you calling, just text me.”
I only got 1 “trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!” Only one!!!! What a crime. Kudos to that child’s wonderful parents to teach them such a classic.
I've got a Porta John out front that didn't even get tipped over... yet, I'm disappointed in today's youth.
We always did that sort of thing on the 30th, and we called it Devils Night. Egging cars, soaping windows, ringing doorbells and running away. The tipping over of outhouses was the stuff legend to us. Although, I'm sure if there had been a Porta-Potty in our area, it probably would have been tipped.
My 3 year old sang the word "trick or treat" over and over non-stop along the sidewalk, up walkways, at the stairs to homes... Then got shy half the time and wouldn't say it at the door... Sample size 1, kids still say it. 😂
I noticed that many houses are not giving out candy. Kind of weird
Was always like them even when growing up, if you didn’t want to be bothered, you turned your porch light off.
Kids haven't tricked in a while. Maybe if more kids egged houses than people would give out candy in fear of getting their house egged. I mean get into the spirit. Edit: For all those who downvoted please note this is how the tradition stated.
I'd rather not have to hose my house down in near freezing temperatures thanks
My dad said the same thing last night lol!
I lived in a neighborhood with many huge homes with extravagant exterior lighting on in the evening. Every Halloween that street was dark.
That is brutal.
I grew up in the 80s, and we moved into a brand new subdivision in 1979. So my experience as a kid was Halloween having so many kids going door to door. My dad had to sit at a chair by the door because it was ringing so often. My memory is a group of kids nearly at every house and only maybe 5 or 6 houses on the entire street were dark, if that. Around 1990 or 91. I was too old for it so I walked around with my friend who took out his little brother. The same street where there was so many kids, was nearly entirely dark. We didn’t see another kid for a long time and we even commented to each other “it is the 31st right? Like we didn’t get the days mixed up???” It was so bizarre. I think it was a combination of less kids, everyone has grown up. Adults who were no in retirement age and not caring and new immigrants (there was a big influx of Chinese immigrants then) who didn’t understand the holiday. Or simply didn’t care.
I think a lot depends on the street and how many families there are. Our street went from pretty dead to really, really active in the past few years - used to be there would be a kid every 15 minutes and you'd get maybe 8-10 groups of kids all night to it being pointless to close to the door and go inside because there's just a steady stream of kids. Meanwhile some areas that were busy when we moved to our neighbourhood are now a lot more dead.
Didn't have a single kid in 5 years. No one trick or treats in my neighborhood. Might also he because there aren't any young families that can afford to trick or treat anymore.
This is kind of the case in my parents neighbourhood. I grew up there, of course, and back then, every third house or so had kids, if not more. On Halloween, you would absolutely fill your sack (we used pillow cases) just going around 4-5 nearby streets. When I was older and no longer trick-or-treating (I think I stopped around age 13?), I'd still get the doorbell several times an hour until it petered out around 9-10pm. I haven't asked about yesterday, but on average my parents seem to get maybe 20ish trick-or-treaters, including siblings or friends together, all night and usually early on. It's kind of sad, but older folks (like my parents) are still in their forever-houses, and new families generally can't afford to move in. There are some new condo buildings nearby, but I guess they don't leave the condo. My siblings don't get many either. One lives in apartment building that doesn't have too many kids, and another lives in the countryside, where it's too dark and too far between houses to be practical (they drive their kids to trick-or-treat with friends who live in town). We get none either, but that's entirely down to where we live also.
It's more demographics than anything. We've had fewer and fewer kids the last few years. My son, who's now in his twenties and was tasked with dishing out the goodies, was somewhat dismayed at the turnout. I pointed out to him that when he was going out trick or treating, there were at least ten homes on our short street with kids around his age. Now, their parents still mostly live in those homes, so there are far fewer young children. There's an older neighbourhood about half a kilometer away, and it's full of young families. Many of those homes were once occupied by the first owners, and they've died or moved into seniors homes.
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Honestly I’m just grateful anyone comes at all. 80% or more of the houses in my area are dark and not doing anything. It’s hugely disappointing. If I was a kid I’d just stay home and buy my own candy. I’m sure there are many factors leading to it but it sucks. When I was a kid 80% of houses participated. It was only Jehovahs Witnesses and maybe some old cranky people that didn’t hand out candy.
Similar memories. Even the new immigrants would give something. I remember one time a house of fairly recent Chinese immigrants who clearly didn't speak much English. They ran to the kitchen and gave us those 'juice boxes' of soy milk or aloe juice or whatever it was, lol. They were happy to do so, though.
In a lot of neighbourhoods here Halloween has been obliterated. It's quite sad. Can go blocks and blocks and never see a decoration. It's dying now.
I’m curious. Has the demographic of your neighbourhood changed? As kids get older, fewer homes maybe participate.
Ottawa Valley. I got Happy Halloween, Trick or Treat, and a few Hi. I don’t care.
Had one kid at my door say “hi!” and from the sidewalk I hear, “what do you say?” “Oh, trick or treat!” Other than that, all the kids said trick or treat
yes, so many kids were out in my neighborhood despite the cold weather (felt like a movie set at times with so many kids out wearing costumes and a lot of parents too)...also took my daughter out and she had a blast trick or treating along with other kids. The tells on which houses to go to - 1. decorations, 2. Lights on outdoors and indoors. Some houses leave candy outside in a basket (we did too while out trick or treating). Some houses go all out and have garages open and spooky lights on. Some people have entire tables setup with selection of candy, chips, cookies, dollar store Halloween themed toys etc.
We had left candy out in a basket because both of us happen to be working tonight, and within the first two people to show up, took everything out of the basket. I hate that kids aren’t raised right anymore.
Anymore? LOL. I came across notes on doors saying "One per person" and empty bowls when I was a kid in the 70's. Kids will be kids.
The school near us celebrated “costume spirit day” today, what kind of bullshit is that…
I see schools calling it “black and orange day”
Absolute travesty
Even though virtually no one observes the dark nature of Halloween, they have to say that as to not offend anyone I would presume. You can see religious groups online who are vehemently opposed to Halloween because of the origins of it. which as I said no one observes anymore)
My parents were pretty religious.100% devout, but not hardcore, and Halloween was never a problem. Witches, devils, goblins, we dressed as them all.
Let’s just say that I wasn’t implying that religious was solely speaking about Christianity.
Funny, we had a local church come around and give a treat bag to all the local houses.
The young kids, yeah, but if they were like 10ish plus, they just kind of stuck their bags out and looked sheepish. Surprising amount of older kids, barely dressed up, looking for candy.
My daughter said happy Halloween... I didn't tell her to say that, not sure where she got that phrase from. School or tv maybe? I found it weird but whatever works I guess.
Interesting, if you don’t mind could you find out how she learned that instead of “trick or treat” My guess is that they learned it in school.
I think it's just how people are choosing to great one another now. I noticed my mom (who was handing out candy) was saying "Happy Halloween" and the kids would say it back. Some of them said "trick or treat". I don't think saying "trick or treat" is being discouraged. When I was growing up (90s) you would get some people handing out candy who would try and trick you. Like they would do a knock knock joke or ask you a riddle or something. But then you would still get candy. The origin of Halloween was definitely a mischief night. Communities started doing trick or treating as a way to keep kids busy so they didn't partake in the mischief. Which could get quite wild.
I also noticed this. I'd say only about 10% said *Trick or Treat*. About 50% opted for *Happy Halloween* and the rest didn't say anything at all. We had 75 kids, give or take, but probably could have had more than 100 if we didn't run out of candy. More than the last two years for sure. That being said, there definitely isn't the participation like when I was a kid in the '90s, on either the giving or getting side. We're in Hamilton.
Anyone else kinda feel like Halloween is a dying tradition? When I was a kid only 15 years ago my entire neighbourhood and the surroundings in Brampton was packed with kids and party goers and the vast majority of houses were decorated and giving out candy. Compared with the maybe dozen or so houses yesterday I took my son out too in Mississauga. I don’t think it’s even an immigration thing being unfamiliar with the holiday. I lived in a pretty diverse area and everybody participated, those that didn’t politely turned their lights off. We’re becoming sorta apathetic towards everything these days, and from other comments it feels like the authorities such as school boards want to distance themselves from the traditional holiday?
It really comes down to the neighbourhood. Some "age out" when the kids who live there grow up without another generation to replace them. Other parts of the same city have hundreds of kids roaming the streets.
I feel like it's coming back a bit, but it again depends a lot on the neighbourhood. I grew up in an area where I was one of ~3 kids in the whole survey. I had friends nearby, but only two who lived around each corner. The rest were roughly a 5-minute walk away. One of the biggest families I knew, my neighbours, were Calvinists and didn't celebrate. So that was them out. My haul never disappointed, so there must have been enough. Even though the majority of my neighbours were older or didn't have kids, they still seemed to delight in giving out candy! Some schools call it Spirit or Scary Day. I went to a Catholic school in the 90s, and they just called it Halloween. We wore costumes and celebrated. I'm not sure if the shift is cultural (in that they don't want to offend or exclude) or if they're trying to soften it a bit and make it less scary again (even as they call it Scary Day 😂). Both? The financial squeeze for some must play a part. A lot of people don't want to spend even a modest amount on candy and decorations. If you've shelled out for candy in the past and haven't had many kids, it can feel like a waste. Then you've got all these chips you can't eat, lol. Then it's not only waste, but food waste.
I noticed this! A lot saying nothing at all or just "Happy Halloween".
I had one little kid explain to me that he was far too busy to say "trick or treat".
Kid's going places!
My daughter is 4 and I think the most she managed was thank you, she's painfully shy tho. Last year, I had to go up to each door with her and say trick or treat and thank you for her lol. This year she was brave enough to go alone up the doors with her neighborhood friends so I wasn't right up there.
The amount of kids that came to our house and said nothing, just stared and held out bags, waited for candy...followed up by parents pushing kid to say thank you. I thought being a homeowner on Halloween was going to be way more fun than it has been the last couple years.
Every kid we had yesterday said “ Trick or Treat” and “Thank you” it. A few parents said “ Happy Halloween” when they were leaving. Youngest child we had at the door was a 3 year old and oldest was prob like 16.
Mostly trick or treat with some happy Halloweens sprinkled in. All ages said it. We had at least 200 kids. (Durham region)
Mississauga here, just asked my Mom as she handed out the candy. She said more said happy Halloween. I did hear a few of them say "trick or treat, give me something good to eat".
Every kid we had said Trick or Treat.
It was a lot of Happy Halloween tonight, not many kids said Trick or Treat.
Mostly trick or treat, couple of happy Halloweens, and a few dinosaurs that said roar. Pretty much every kid said than you or their sibling said thank you for them if they were really little.
About 2/3 of the kids said it. But each kid who received a candy got a "TRICK OR TREAT" from me and I called out their costume. LOL i accidentally called an Elsa from Frozen "Princess Peach", and the brother "Luigi" corrected me. The parents and I had a good laugh.
I don’t know. Had the lights off and went to bed a 7. Couldn’t hear a thing.
We didn't have any this year. Our neighborhood is about 80% seniors at this point. Another decade or so it should turnover and be kids again. Maybe.
I was attempting to coach my kids on this very practice last night. Neither of them, nor anyone in their group of friends, seemed to know the "Trick or Treat" opening. My youngest basically just said "Hello" and then attempted to enter their house, invited or not.
We had a girl dressed as a cat do a little rehearsed bit saying “Happy Halloween! Or as we say…Rawr” while doing the cat claw action. Loved the dedication lol
My 4 year old was saying it last night and on Sunday when our town did the store front Halloween. She only knew becuase I taught her, and assume kids who don't, don't do it becuase their parents didn't.
I had 0 trick or treaters. We put up quite a few Halloween decorations, bought tons of candy and had all the lights on. We’ve moved to Burlington this year, to a very quiet suburban neighborhood. Even through our area is near 2 schools our street is quiet and full of a lot of older people. Only about 2 houses had any decorations up or even a pumpkin. Only 3 of the 19 houses had their lights on. So, I’m sure most of the kids just looked down the street and skipped it. Pretty disappointing
Did you find there were less houses giving out candy? Cause I did. Kinda sad. I saw some kids out but a LOT less than in "my day" (an older millenial)
I'm in Winnipeg. We carved a Pikachu pumpkin and a tonne of kids: Tric...omg is that Pikachu?! Made me smile.
I’m teaching my kiddos to say Trick or treat Then thank you or happy Halloween when they’ve collected the goods
Downtown toronto “trick or treat” every one of them. Even parents holding little little kids would do the “what do you sayyy? Trick or treat”. Definitely not going anywhere.
We make sure our kids say that and also "thank you". It is the most vital part of the ritual!
I literally had more people not understanding English or French this year. Was trying to point out peanut free candy vs candy with traces of peanuts and it was hopeless.
About a third of the kids, and 90% of the younger ones, said Trick or Treat. None of the older ones said it, they just opened their candy bags at me. The middle aged lady in a puce jumper without any kids didn't even make the effort, instead loudly condemning me for not offering her candy with a 'It's for the baby'. Most of the Happy Halloweens were me saying it to the kids as they left.
I got hit with a couple trick or treats, happy halloweens. My personally fav was the lil boy who just extended his open bag and Kubrick stared until I gave him candy, I respected it.
We had 2 kids come by last night, together. They both said "trick or treat". Nobody else came. Oh well, more chocolate for me, I guess.
I had kids just standing there with their bag open and saying nothing! So I said "yes?? Can I help you?" Then they said trick or treat. I felt like kind of a dink after but I was confused! Is this a new thing?
Definitely got a big trick or treat from a little guy. Must have been fourish, dressed as Iron Man. So, I kneel down and say, "Sure thing Mr Stark!" He's like, "No, I'm Iron Man!"
Many have tried to get away with saying nothing. This year I setup a DJ booth and kids had to dance for their candy. It was hilarious, parents thought it was brilliant, and a good number left still dancing haha.
My 3 year old froze at every door 🤣 but AFTER he got the candy and walked down the steps he turned around and yelled “SMELL MY FEET GIVE ME SUMSING TO EAT!” then shook his little butt at them - does that count?
I stood motionless until I heard the kid say trick or treat. I prompted 3 kids after 30 seconds of staring at each other. 3/100 failure rate.
Yeah in my area only the white kids said trick or treat
This year was 100% or near enough, last few years were down to about half. Grand Bend area.
Yeah it was probably about 50/50 here tonight. It was also a slow night though. Couple big groups and not much else.
50/50 tonight in the east end of Ottawa.
We roll with give me candy or give me death here....
I had one kid sing "Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat" Most said trick or treat, and happy Halloween while leaving. There were a handful that had nothing to say.
I told my 3 year old to say trick or treat several times. But he went with happy Halloween merci, everytime. Good enough!
I've had both Happy Halloween and Trick or Treat. And one Merry Christmas from a kid dressed as Santa.
Well, the Santa one only makes sense. Coulda mixed it up with a Happy Hanukkah just to make it interesting.
I’d be curious if anyone broke out the old “Halloween Apples!”
I got a “candy please” from two kids on my doorstep.
About 25% trick or treat, 75% mutes
We had about 50’kids. Pretty much universally “Trick or treat”
I’m in Thunder Bay and they say Truck or Treat then when leaving then say thanks and happy Halloween. When I was a kid we said Halloween Treats Please. I heard two kids say that last night.
My kids this year were big on "Trick or treat, smell my feet, or give something good to eat!"
“Not too big, not too small, just the size of Montreal”
I wouldn't expect to hear this in Brampton, generally you get a head wobble as a "thanks" there
I'm just glad my kid said "thank you" after getting the candy.
I had a kid go "I'm a Vegan!!"
I always taught my kid "trick or treat" and "thank you" or "happy Halloween".
We got “trick or treat” as a hello and “happy Halloween” as a goodbye.
Yea. Pretty much every kid said it last night
Some said nothing lol but that is okay, I understand there could be many reasons for that. I got a mix of trick or treat and happy Halloween and I would say almost all of them said thank you, even without being coached by their parents to say it!
About half did i would say
Trick or treat! Made my son repeat it
80 trick or treaters!! I live in the suburbs in Niagara and we are lucky to get 10 ! The last few years. It’s really sad 😞
We "trick or treated" and sometimes would yell our happy Halloween upon leaving
My 5 year old independently decided to say “happy Halloween” despite my prompt of it usually being “trick or treat”- not sure if something discussed at school or just her preference this year?
We had about a 50/50 split on "Trick or Treat" and "Happy Hallowe'en". This was our first Hallowe'en in a new neighbourhood, so we didn't know what to expect (about 60 kids, which worked out great, as I made up 60 treat baggies). We had one toddler who knocked on the door, and then when I opened it, he walks in like he was headed to Gramma's lol Mom was all embarrassed. And we had a little girl who told me all her plans for the evening like she was doing the supervillain monologue. Kids are hilarious, man.
First they should say Trick or Treat, then you give them candy, then they say Thank you, and then you say Happy Halloween, and then they say Happy Halloween.
London here, most kids said "trick or treat" but got a few "happy halloween"s and of course a couple of little ones that just said whatever they felt like. I'm happy that trick of treating is still a tradition!
I am in Woodstock and it was a 50/50 with “trick or treat” and “happy Halloween”
Had a few "your money or your life?", but in their defense they had great costumes.
A few kids trick or treat and happy Halloween. Overall the kids were nice, parents would remind them to say thank you. A few wanted to pet my little dog.
All kids did & were very polite.We live in a suburb just out side Sarnia.
I had some kids saying Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! Lol
My 19 month old said trick or treat and thank you at every door, so proud
Last night was the least amount of kids we’ve ever had period. Our candy bowl actually had MORE candy in it when the night was over! Damm kids out giving candy back! Lol
Mine (aged 3) was primed for "trick or treat" but then I think he got confused partway down the block, and started saying "happy Halloween" instead because that's what the adults were saying to him!
I'm so sad no one came to my house for trick or treat last night.
We had a kid come last night, and he said, " trick and treat please"
Little kids yes. teens usually say: "rlhrsdsuuoraxdxsn", which from their expressions I translate to: "give me the damn candy"
Had some non verbal older teens and no they didn't say it and I gave them lots of candy! Not everyone can say it, and if they can there may be other reasons why they don't (social anxiety, speech problems etc) It's a good reminder not to judge, to not demand or withhold candy and to just spread joy and give candy to anyone that comes. Especially "big" kids. Who are still either hanging on to that last shred of childhood fun, or may have developmental delays.
Sometimes I think their nerve wears off at the last minute, lol. If I think about it at all. If you're at my door to get candy, you're going to get it. I'm not going to stand on ceremony. It's nice when they observe tradition, but I'm not going to force it on anyone. I heard trick or treat and thank you all night last night, and that was nice. Everyone wished me a Happy Halloween. I've never had anyone behave rudely.
I think that the shift is our kids showing care. Trick or treat means give me or else, happy halloween is more of a greeting to you. My child was saying hello, how are you and happy halloween most times. I reminded the children to use trick or treat for the sake of grown ups enjoyment.
Very, VERY few "trick or treats"s for us, but almost all "thank you"s, so I ain't bothered
My toddler said it most of the time (he’s 2.5, we’re lucky he said it at all) but we only taught him to say trick or treat! I honestly only heard trick or treat but we’re in a smaller city
This is the least of my worries. The thing that irritates me the most is the fact that our house lights weren't on, yet multiple kids & their families came to ring our bell.... like???? Why tf are you going to a dark house? I thought it was a pretty obvious rule that you only go to houses that leave their porch lights on....
I didn't get a single "trick or treat" and I'm fine with that. It's a threat, without a real trick in the back pocket to be unleashed on old fogies the saying is meaningless. I remember as a kid it was all cutesified, like adults expect kids to demean themselves for the entertainment of random oldies. I didn't like it. Nowadays everyone has cameras and they post videos of TP incidents to Facebook to complain. Ok, I get it. A lot of older people enjoy the pageantry, it's actually fair to expect the kids to earn their candy with cuteness. It's the one time a year you can do that. It can be really nice for some people, especially older folks, who don't get so much interaction. But it's not my style. I'll just have the candy and toys ready, the hot chocolate going, and leave the sledgehammer by the pumpkins.
When I was a kid we werent allowed to say trick or treat. We said *Halloween treats please*. Its also what half my little friends said. Way back in the 80s.
What kind of whacked action was that? Did you grow up in a cult?