Trick or treaters

[Niall Estick]

The etiquette is that you put a lighted pumpkin in your window if you don't mind 'trick or treaters' knocking on your door.

I'm going out with my kids tonight dressed as the Grim Reaper.

Can't wait to visit the old folks' home.

 

[Arch]

A mate of mine (who is very into fancy dress and sci-fi fantasy stuff) dressed up as a Death Eater from Harry Potter. And the first kid to ring the doorbell was dressed as... yes, Harry Potter!

Another friend was telling me, someone she knew dressed in Texas Chainsaw Massacre outfit, and sat in the front garden with a hedge trimmer, and didn't get bothered....

 

[dodgy]

Etiquette? I think there's just as much requirement to follow etiquette by the trick or treaters (hate that phrase, it shouldn't really exist outside of the US). If the kids have made an effort with costumes and are accompanied by parents, then they get a handful of sweets. Grunting kids in baseball caps get a "sorry, we've given out everything already".

 

[Arch]

I had to cook lots of spaghetti drizzled with olive oil and peel grapes to put in. The kids who came round had to dip their hands in the bucket of cold worms and eyeballs to find a token which won them a handful of sweets from the box.
Any older kids were wierded out by him and would run away after they had got their sweets.

Hmm, if you could make it work with olives rather than grapes, I'd just ask for a bowl of the pasta salad instead....

Cool idea though. I remember something similar in To Kill a Mockingbird, but I can't remember what else they did....

 

[Arch]

Grunting kids in baseball caps get a "sorry, we've given out everything already".

My friend (the one who told me about the Chainsaw guy) once opened the door to such a pair and said "ok, do a trick for us then". They were a bit confused, then one of them tried to do the old Eric Morecambe thing of catching an invisible thing in a paper bag, only with a plastic carrier bag. He did it so badly, they took pity and gave him some sweets for at least trying to come up with something.