Anyone else have the Halloween Blues?

[JageshemashFTW]

So my family has decided, quite suddenly, that we're not passing out candy this year. They feel there's just no point because we got absolutely no trick or treaters last year and only like 4 or 5 the year before.

It took some convincing to let them more or less make me in charge of the whole candy situation so they wouldn't be bothered by it, but it's surprisingly hitting me kind of hard.

I don't want to be one of those houses that doesn't give out candy because that's only slightly better than the houses that give out toothbrushes and fruit on Halloween. And THOSE people are going straight to Double Hockey Sticks.

But, at the same time, I know they're right. I know we probably aren't going to get any trick or treaters this year so buying candy is just a waste, but I still want to try if only I can say I gave one kid one extra piece of candy.

Still, I can't shake this whole feeling that Halloween is just... dead. Or at the very least dying. Anyone else feeling the Halloween Blues?

[Bandit1990]

Yeah, neighborhood trick or treating does seem to be fading away. I've seen other, more supervised activities replace it in recent years. E.g. My little sister went to the "Trunk or Treat" in the church parking lot for several years.

Personally i kind of lost interest in the holiday a while ago, I think the last time I bothered with a costume was back in '03.

I am looking forward to tomorrow when all the candy goes on sale.

[D-Rock]

There were never trick or treaters in any of the neighborhoods where I lived, and one of them was absolutely perfect for it. We wanted that, we had to go to one of those public things, like the churchs' Trunk or Treat deal, but even that has fallen. I remember when I was little, there were plenty of games and those inflatable attactions, like bounce houses or obstacle courses. Even had little contests for cakes and such. I went to one last year with some friends and my older brother, pretty much for the food, and they still had quite the attendance. This year, I learned that they're not doing that anymore. Another church is, though, so it's still alive elsewhere. My brother went to a Halloween party the other day, so it's still a thing in the right areas. He went as Waldo.

And don't diss the people who give out fruit, I loved that. Toothbrushes...

do they not trust kids to have toothbrushes anymore? Eh, not as weird as pennies, but at least you can buy stuff with that.

[NHWestoN]

Hmmmm. My little suburban neighborhood had a nice turnout. Probably 18-20 kids and four or five dogs to boot. A couple of "cruisers" (drive-bys). The costumes were all home-made, some pretty clever.


However, around the town and the neighborings towns, the lack of Halloween decorations was very disheartening. Except for one family - who does Halloween really big with lots of huge scary infatables, sound tracks, and strobe lights - there was very, very little. What there was, was usually pumpkins (almost none of them carved, either). I won't bore you with any "Back-in-my-day, Sonny" yarns but t'wasn`t always so. The larger towns might have a display or even a parade. When we lived in Pennsylvania in a very German region, Halloween was as big a blow-out as Christmas.


In North Carolina where I used to live, Halloween was a party time - often with churches throwing a festivity to keep the kids under supervision and reassure the parents. The Door-to-door time was strictly limited to 5:00-6:30. We did not have a lot of kids on our street and, eventually, they aged out.


Does make you a little wistful.........

[Douglas Collier]

I had no time or energy for Halloween festivities. I had a midterm and met with a counselor to plan out the rest of my college career. Real life strikes again.

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

I worked wearing a dog ears headband (lazy werewolf costume) and then spent today shopping for cheap candy

[Amazee Dayzee]

Didn't get to do anything because I had class. To make matters even more depressing, NOBODY in my neighborhood gave out candy.

[Sleet]

Trick-or-treating is a great tradition and it's an opportunity for neighbors to interact! I'd hate to see it fade. Though it's going strong in some neighborhoods still.

I always buy candy. Worst case scenario we get no kids (like I did this year) and I just eat all the candy myself. No loss.

[Amazee Dayzee]

My mother just takes candy from work and gives it to me. I think she gave me more this year because I had class.

And of course my professor gets sick on the day AFTER Halloween.

[NHWestoN]

I'm getting the Halloween blues from several neighborhood houses that still have pumpkins on their porches. There's something truly morbid about watching a pumpkin liquify day by creepy day....

[Amazee Dayzee]

Yeah now that you bring that image up, it is kind of disturbing.

[Beagle]

(I'm only six weeks late to this thread, no big deal.)

I live literally in the middle of the woods and I think we've had two trick-or-treaters in the last 15 years. The last few years I've taken up to getting up early on November 1st and heading to the local Walmart for half-priced Halloween candy, then having a party with my friends the Saturday after Halloween. I'll also bring a variety bag to work and pass out candy (I've made quite a few office friends this way) just as a kind gesture. It's worked out for me pretty well so far, and to be honest I still have some Halloween candy right now.

Side story: I told my dad I was getting us all monogrammed pumpkins from Kirkland's and he told me that he didn't want one because they rot too fast. I had to explain to my dad (even after I sent him a link to show him his pumpkin) that Kirkland's is a home goods store and I was buying plastic pumpkins.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I don't know I would even feel up to Halloween if over the 15 years we lived there we got only two people coming to our house. Then again, it probably doesn't help that if you live in the woods, you aren't gonna get many people who want to cut through the spooky woods at night to get to a house.

[furrygamer793]

No because it is in the middle of December which is the most wonderful time of the year... according to some random songwriter.

[NHWestoN]

That's the same song Rex sang while he was baking Christmas cookies and Grape speculated he was strangling small animals. I'll never hear that song - which I never much liked - again without remembering that strip

[NHWestoN]

With Halloween less than two weeks away, maybe it's appropriate to re-opening this ageless question - especially in this age of Covid and the microbiotic monsters that seem to be stalking us of late.

[Marba]

Never really had it to be honest. These past few years we'd just get candy, and I feel like Covid isn't doing this holiday any favors. I've been thinking about watching a horror movie for Halloween though.

[JageshemashFTW]

TC here, and we pretty much decided once again we’re skipping Halloween. And this time, I didn’t feel up to arguing the point. With covid, there’s way to many reasons NOT to pass out candy this year.

[Amazee Dayzee]

My aunt is going to give out candy and we are going to go over to her house to help her. She actually made a slingshot so she can shoot the candy to the trick-or-treaters.

Hope she doesn't hit any of them in the head. XP

[NHWestoN]

My aunt is going to give out candy and we are going to go over to her house to help her. She actually made a slingshot so she can shoot the candy to the trick-or-treaters.

Hope she doesn't hit any of them in the head. XP

That would be quite a trick!

[Amazee Dayzee]

Well she decided NOT to use the slingshot and she just had a table that she sat 6 feet away from with candy on it which worked nice. Too bad that there wasn't a ton of people out there which sucked and it made me feel sad. Not a lot of people at the new house either but then again we weren't there for most of it.

[NHWestoN]

Yeah, kinda subdued this year ......