This. that or the other------personally give out candy at door. leave candy filled bowl on porch. or don't give.

[debm55]

[Ocelot II]

1. I avoid the whole thing altogether - I usually go out for the evening

so I don't have to buy candy, which I would eat, and otherwise deal with it. We don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters anyhow, and the weather is just awful so far today - cold, raining, windy, and predicted to get colder and start snowing.

[debm55]

5. Thank you Ocelot II. That's a good plain.

[PJMcK]

2. Our area is too rural for door-to-door trick or treating

It wouldn’t be safe so the community has a kids’ party the weekend before Halloween. Although my son is grown up, we usually make a monetary contribution for the party.

[debm55]

6. Thank you PJMcK That is very bice of you.

[gab13by13]

3. Put on a show on the street

Add an animatronics every year. Make the little kids cry. Usually get 400 kids, only got 300 this year, PM me for candy.

[debm55]

7. Oh you are bad. HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAH. That's a lot of kids.

[SheltieLover]

4. Police do a trick or treat thing here, presumably to keep the kiddos

safe, so I don't do anything.

[debm55]

8. That's a great idea. Thank you SheltieLover.

[Silver Gaia]

9. We don't get many, but I do love seeing the kiddos!

I put it in their bags myself so I can see how cute they are. I loved it when I was a kid, and I love it now!

We have decorations and lights up, too.

[debm55]

10. Thank you Silver Gala.

[quaint]

11. Perfect weather, anticipate 60 or so kids to hand small packages of organic gummy bears.

[debm55]

12. Thank you quaint.

[Phentex]

13. Hang out with neighbors in the street and hand out candy

while snacking and imbibing for those who choose.

[debm55]

14. Thank you Phentex. That's what we do.

[Niagara]

15. I always allow the trick or treaters to choose 1 or 2 items from my treat bowl

If the trick or treaters are very young, I'll let them know what's available in my treat bowl.


Anyone who shows up at my door in costume is getting a treat. I don't do age limits.


👻🍁🎃

[debm55]

16. Same here. Thank you Niagara.

[Niagara]

17. You're welcome, Debbie

[True Dough]

30. I turned away a couple of octogenarians this evening

Or maybe those were kids dressed up as elderly people. Hold on, I better go see if I can catch up with them. If it's the real deal, it won't take too long.

[Niagara]

46. I think it's someone from DU playing tricks on you, True

[chouchou]

18. I go to my bank, pick up several rolls of quarters.

Little kids get one quarter, big kids 2 quarters. Everybody seems to like it and seems like the parent appreciates it..
(I've done it for years in order to not eat the damn leftovers until I look like Porky-Hog!

[debm55]

19. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. that's true and stuck eating the leftovers.

[CTyankee]

20. We turn off any and all outdoor lights and don't answer the door.

[debm55]

22. Thank you CTyankee

[Elessar Zappa]

21. Last five years, we've had no trick or treaters.

It makes me sad.

[debm55]

24. We have had less and less as the kids have grown up and moved.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. We Answer The Door

We give a few mini-candy bars & a bag of chips to each kid.
Thing runs 3½ hours, so if get tired of it, I just put the bin on the steps and put a sign saying "Take A Few".
But, I usually stick it out for 80-90% of the time period.

[debm55]

25. So do we.

[debm55]

42. Thank you ProfessorGAC. It takes a trip up three sets of steps to get to our house. So now we use the garaage.

[radical noodle]

26. We live in a senior community so no kids but

I've often been tempted to dress up and go house to house giving out candy to the neighbors. The only thing that's stopped me is that 80% or more are diabetic and therefore shouldn't have candy. I think it would be great fun otherwise.

[True Dough]

31. Headline in the next Seniors Sunrise Gazette:

Radical Noodle Instigates Three Diabetic Comas In Community


Yeah, I can see how you'd want to avoid something like that.

[radical noodle]

47. That was my fear

I might be driven out of the community. I'm already in trouble for speeding.

[True Dough]

48. Aha!

Radical "Leadfoot" Noodle!

[radical noodle]

50. What would you expect from someone who grew up

a few miles from the Indianapolis 500?

[debm55]

43. That would have been a great idea and I bet you could have had others join you.

[Niagara]

62. A few "giving out" ideas for next year

Seniors always appreciate the little things so I wanted to throw out a few "giving out" ideas for next Halloween. You could have a treat bowl to pass out the variety of items.


1. Word searches. Reasonably priced at the dollar store.


2. Deck of playing cards. I'm not a senior but I always have a deck of playing cards in my home because I'm "old school" that way.


3. Scratch off lottery tickets. Could be placed in a Halloween greeting card.


4. Post office stamps. You can purchase a book, sheet or roll of stamps and decide where you want to tear the perforated line and how many you want to hand out. Don't forget to keep some for yourself if you need to. Could be placed in a Halloween greeting card.


5. Sugar free candy. They make a variety of sugar free candy, someone might appreciate the gesture.

[radical noodle]

64. Great ideas!

Thanks for this. Good ideas for next year.

[Niagara]

68. Perhaps you could come up with even better ideas for next year, radical noodle

You're welcome!

[gademocrat7]

27. Hand out candy at the front door

wearing my wolf ears headband.

[debm55]

44. That's a neat idea.

[PikaBlue]

28. Hand out candy at the door

I, typically, have over 100 trick-or-treaters. I may double that amount this year because the weather is clear and very warm. There are times when I would prefer to tuck in and just read; however, there are so few fun, community events for children these days so I try to help keep the tradition alive. As for any leftover goodies, my junior and graduate-level students scarf those right down. 😉

[debm55]

37. Thank you PikaBlue.

[Ilikepurple]

29. We usually give out candy at the door.

The number a treat or treaters varies so much we seem t9 either run out of candy or have too much left over. This feels like a too much left year because we bought a lot of candy. We usually donate surplus candy.

[debm55]

38. Thank you ilikepurple.

[arkielib]

32. Giving out candy now!

I loved trick or treating when I was a kid, and loved even more later taking my much younger sister trick-or-treating. I would keep telling her “just one more house” when she got tired and wanted to go home. Giving out candy brings back some good memories.

[debm55]

39. Six minutes to go for ours.

[FalloutShelter]

33. In person.

I like to see the kids costumes and engage them a little.

[debm55]

40. That's always fun to do.

[Jilly_in_VA]

34. We live in a rural area

and off the road. I have never seen a trick-or-treater here. But we turn off the outside lights anyway.

[debm55]

41. thank you Jilly_in_VA

[onecaliberal]

35. We hand our candy at the door.

[debm55]

36. Thank you onecaliberal.

[Mister Ed]

49. Mrs. Ed and I have a system.

I sit out on the porch in the cold handing out candy, and she watches over me to make sure I do it right.

[debm55]

55. Thank you, Mister Ed, That sounds familiar.

[Island Blue]

51. Don't give.

Trick-or-treating used to be big in my neighborhood and I handed candy out, but for the past several years, the downtown area of my tiny little town has transformed into Halloween central. Homes, businesses & churches all participate with many giving out candy to 1,000 or so kids. It’s a really cool event!

[debm55]

56. Thank you Island Blue. That sounds really great what you community did to get together.

[GP6971]

52. We don't give as we don't have anyone stopping by...the kids on the street

are all grown up and our cul-de-sac is very much off the beaten path.

[debm55]

57. Yes, I understand. I counted and we had 15 kids. After waiting for 45 minutes for kids to come we called it a day.

You would think we would get it but we still station us and our bowlful of candy in the driveway.

[BlueKota]

53. Most of my near by neighbors kids grew up and moved

away. Also the road we live on road that is very busy, and a lot of people drive 75 even though the speed limit is 45. There are people who still walk, jog, and ride bikes on it, but I think they are taking too much of a risk. It's dangerous and certainly not safe for kids even if accompaniedby an adult.

So no trick or treaters here.

[The Wizard]

54. A teenager came by with no costume

I asked him if he wanted a celery stalk.
I left some candy in a bowl being held by one of the decorations. The first kids that came by took all the candy. I just waited at the door after that.
We had about 50 kids come by, and they all walked away with candy and a smile.

[debm55]

59. I uually give to the teens. Heck if might have been his costume

[Tikki]

58. No candy here..there are no side walks, no street lights and bits of acreage between

homes where we live.
No parent would bring children in this area.
We don't want teens to venture here because of the traffic on the narrow road.

Halloween just doesn't vibe here.

Tikki

[debm55]

60. Tiki . i am very happy for safety of the chidren..

[Luciferous]

61. Gave out candy at the door. We love

seeing all the kids in their costumes 🙂

[debm55]

65. Thank you Luciferous.

[OldBaldy1701E]

63. I decorate and give it out and the door.

Not anymore, as this neighborhood has done a good job of discouraging anyone from ever setting foot on the property. So, we don't get trick or treaters. Hell, we don't get the time of day from anyone else on this street. By and large, everyone around here seems to want to act this way, so this is no surprise,. I guess.

But, back in the day, we would set up and the entire street was ready as well. Our street was one of the 'famous' ones for Halloween. We also did not discriminate against a visitor. If they wanted some candy, they got some. (I know my fat, old, diabetic ass could not eat any of it, so out it goes!)

[debm55]

66. Thank you very much OldBaldy1701E

[ailsagirl]

67. One year, I left a bowl of candy on my porch...

Next morning it was gone. I went downstairs to look around (I lived on the second floor) and I found the empty bowl in the flower bed. That was the last time I did Halloween.

[debm55]

73. I understand. Thank you ailsagirl

[quaint]

69. Yesterday when I went out to pick up candy and the empty wrappers, there weren't any.

Not one on the porch or in the street. I was amazed until I realized I had no teenager visits and the little ones had one to three adults with them. Nice surprise. Just sharing.

[debm55]

72. Thank you quant.

[Dulcinea]

70. I hand it out.

I like seeing the little neighborhood ghosts & goblins!

[debm55]

71. Thank you Dulcinea.