Come on. Admit it. Every year, something happens during trick-or-treating that makes you want to go all Charlie Brown and give someone a rock. You know it’s going to happen again this year, and you feel powerless to stop it.
With apologies to Edgar Allen Poe, “Quoth I, Nevemore!”. It’s time to take back Halloween!
To help you deal with trick-or-treater offenses, or to avoid making these mistakes yourself (or your child), here is a handy list of trick-or-treat etiquette tips. Print out a stack and put in the goodie bags of deserving ghouls or goblins. Or post a copy by your front door and refer offenders to the list when you give them their just deserts – a rock, or worse…a couple pennies. Oh, the horror!!
Ghastly Mistakes (or things to avoid)
Don’t phone it in. It’s not hip, cool, or ironic to dress normally and go as “a slacker”. It’s just lazy, try harder. Candy givers like to see a little effort.
Don’t get candy for the “kid at home”. Every year, we have at least 10 parents come to our door, bag out, but no child in sight. What gives? No kid, no treats. Besides nobody is buying that.
Don’t bring the sexy back. Some costumes are really only good for adult parties. Any costume name preceded by “sexy” probably should not be worn out for trick-or-treating. Going as a zombie? Great! Going as a “sexy” zombie… uh no.
Don’t’ pick and choose the candy. “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.” ‘Nuf said.
Don’t be older than the people giving out candy. Good rule of thumb – if you can drive yourself and your friends out for trick-or-treating, you are probably too old. If you want to be a part of Halloween, put on your costume and help your parents hand out candy at home. This is particularly critical in Virginia this year.
Don’t be a pest/don’t waste your time. There are numerous ways to tell if a house is done handing out candy, or never got started. Doors closed, lights and decorations turned off, curtains closed. In other words, if the house ain’t-a-rocking’ don’t come-a-knockin’.
Don’t overstay your welcome. In general, knock it off at 8pm. After that, be respectful of the homeowners who have just spent the last 2 hours or more giving away bags and bags of candy to hundreds of people they don’t know.
Bonus Advice for Homeowners
Don’t be the “ghost” giver. There’s nothing worse than sitting out a bowl of candy with a “Please Take Just One” sign. Yeah, right. No kid just takes one. Ever. That bowl will last all of 3 minutes. I applaud the effort to do something. However once the candy is gone, the rest of the night is filled with disappointed kids who take time to approach the house only to be met with a lonely, empty bowl. Meanwhile, they are missing out on houses with the good stuff. Nice of you to try, but you’re better off doing nothing. Besides, you don’t want to tempt the “trick” part of trick-or-treating.
Have a “Back Up Bowl”. For those not quite worthy, feel free to have a “Bowl B” to dip into for giveaways. Pennies, dental floss, Necco Wafers, Bit-O-Honey, Milk Duds, Good and Plenty and other “treats”. They’ll get the message.
There you have it. Feel free to print these on your scariest paper and post by your front door, hand out with Back-Up-Bowl treats, or use as napkins for your Halloween party.
Then, as you give a copy, along with a Bit-O-Honey to a to 19 year-old “sexy slacker” knocking on your door at 9 o’clock getting candy for “their little brother at home”, you can rest easily knowing that you are doing your part to make Halloween just a little less scary.