In England, people are more blackmailed in to handing out goodies at the doorstep for fear of what 'trick' might be played on them if they were to pretend they were not home.
Last night, we dropped our daughter at a friend's house so they could go trick or treating together around the town.
You may remember that my daughter's friend drew the trump card and dressed as Alice in Wonderland whilst my daughter was the Cheshire Cat, even so, she looked beautiful.
For around 3 hours they trekked around the houses with optimistically large bags for the candy and it was well worth the trip.
She came home with 2 large bags full of goodies and some rather funny stories.
One lady told them they couldn't have any candy until they'd both eaten an apple on her doorstep. This my daughter dutifully did and I did not dare to ask whether the woman was dressed as a witch and the apple was rosy red on one side as in Snow White!
They also called on a house where the local dentist lived. No candy there, just a new toothbrush each. Yes, I understand that he's trying to save their teeth from cavities, but what a cheapskate! A piece of fruit too might have been sweeter?
Anyway, my husband and I laughed away as we drove around looking at the costumes. Some people spend a fortune every year on new outfits, décor for the house inside and out, not to mention the treats for the children.
I've learnt that once you give out good stuff, word gets round and you can expect a constant trail to your door. Apparently on Facebook, people were posting locations in the town where ghouls and zombies might jump out at you as you walked up the path to their house.
It was all great fun. Here, if you don't want to participate or want to go out for the night, simply switch your lights out. Folk understand that it's not everyone's cup of tea. In England, we used to be afraid if we didn't answer the door in case our car was egged or covered in flour.
I was so impressed by the beautifully decorated bags handed out by some people, they clearly enjoy the whole event. Good for them I say!
It took me back to when I shared a house many years ago with 2 lads I worked with who ate us out of house and home. Of course when the first knock of the night was heard, they hid and left me to answer the door. I told the hopeful, costumed children to wait a moment and ran in to the kitchen. The only thing left that was vaguely edible in the house were some rather stale mushroom vol au vents my Mother had made me the week before and had been forgotten about. I grabbed the tin and offered the contents to the smiling children. They both peered in to the pathetic tin, looked at each other, made their excuses and left.
I could quite understand their rationale and am still grateful to this day that they weren't carrying any eggs or flour!
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