Parents are lame these days. Let the kids trick or treat.

[noiseredux]

Trick or treat. Those are your options.

I've got a 24 pack of toilet paper rolls and half dozen super soakers. Who wants to go to Inazuma's house with me?

My house may be destroyed, but at least I have the ability to think for myself.

I love it. I picture you outside your demolished house shouting that into the night! My house may be destroyed, but at least I have the ability to think for myself. Hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha! cough cough cough Hahahahhahahahahahahah!

[CFFJR]

I love handing out candy. The kids are always so happy.

I've had a lot of groups tonight, but this one little girl came up dressed in a princess costume, and she was all by herself (I'm sure the parents were on the street) but she had the biggest smile on her face.

I gave her extra candy.

I miss that feeling of bliss.

[Key-Glyph]

I was never a big trick-or-treater -- I got tired easily and wasn't really in it for the candy -- but my parents always allowed it. When my older brother and I were in elementary school, they'd walk around the neighborhood with us and wait on the sidewalk while we ran up to people's houses. It was wonderful family time. As a teenager in both middle school and high school I was more into the costumes and the excuse to hang out with friends, and we were allowed to roam around in packs without adult supervision as long as we promised to stay together. This often ended in games of manhunt or just chill bonding time near midnight on some school playground. It was great. And this wasn't even a decade ago!

The stuff I'm hearing lately (and adults who came into the library on Halloween made similar comments about the lack of trick-or-treaters) makes me sad. I wonder whether parents are more paranoid of the outside world, or if they don't trust their kids as much as some of us were trusted.

I've also been told that some schools in my general area have disbanded their "Halloween Parades," those annual costumed walks around the academic grounds for parents to photograph, either because they were too disruptive or because complaints were filed against them. If that's true, that is the worst development of all, in my opinion.

No, we don't really need a day for candy. But all the trappings that come with Halloween are fun too, and I'd rather see those stay around for a while.

[J T]

~Heh. We got a reputation for the scary house on the block this year. One parent was laughing and told us that it was their second time back because the kids got too scared to go to the door the first time. We live in a house behind another house, so you have to walk down a long dark easement to get to us. We had spooky sounds playing on stereo in the window so people would even know that we were back here. We have a bunch of decorations that are more on the creepy than cute side. The thing that got to most people was this device that we had in the bush near the front door. It senses nearby noise and when it is triggered, it growls and shakes the bushes and eyes glow red from behind the leaves. It made a lot of people jump, kids and adults alike. The candy we gave out was this specialty stuff designed to look like severed fingers, chopped off ears, and eyeballs.

I love Halloween.

[MrPopo]

Huh, that house behind a house thing seems to be pretty common in the north Seattle/Shoreline area. My house is the same way, and several of the places I looked at while buying a place were like that.

I didn't get a single trick or treater. My entire block doesn't seem to get into the Halloween spirit. No one had up any real decorations; a few people had pumpkins but that was it.

[the King]

Kids don't trick or treat like they used to? I guess I'm not seeing that. All the kids in my neighborhood are always out and the downtown area here is always packed. Heck, last weekend we went camping at a local state park that closes the roads down and lets the kids go site to site trick or treating. Some of the people really go all out decorating their sites. One even built a mini haunted house/tent. It was a really good time. Below are a couple pics from last week and then last night of my little spiderman and princess.

[Czernobog]

The school I work at where I help out the special needs kids completely disallowed any celebration and demanded that we keep Halloween "toned down to a minimum" because a small handful of teachers complained about having to do extra work but some of the parents began questioning why there was no Halloween talk or excitement. It was kinda sad to see the kids not getting into the spirit.

One of the aids I work with went as Pippy Longstalking though (the only employee in the school who dared to dress up) and when the administration confronted her, she scoffed at them and said she merely did her hair differently.

[J T]

One of the aids I work with went as Pippy Longstalking though (the only employee in the school who dared to dress up) and when the administration confronted her, she scoffed at them and said she merely did her hair differently.

At least she has the ability to think for herself, right Inazuma?

[Luke]

My house may be destroyed, but at least I have the ability to judge everyone else

Fixed!

I kid.

But, c'mon Izzy. Halloween is fun. Yeah, it is a commercialized holiday (aren't they all?) but it is an excuse to have fun. Like most holidays, Halloween is just another excuse to lay back, enjoy company, and have fun with friends. Participation in holidays has also been proven to increase morale in not only the home, but in work settings too.

Although it would be awesome to see, Mr.Brach, Mr.Hershey, and Mr.Nestle didn't call Mr.Ghirardelli and his buddy Mr.Mars to sit in some room with a plan to dominate the candy industry by creating a holiday; people just enjoy it. And there really aren't any religious ties left with the holiday, nor does it reinforce anything other than kind spirited fun.

It's just kids dressing up, having fun, and the makes of memories for parents and kids alike. Yes, the holiday may rot teeth, but it also broadens imagination and makes a lot of tikes smile. I dressed up as Dr.Horrible (again) this year and to my surprise a few kids said "Daddy look! He's a mad scientist!". It's too damned cute not to love.

[Hatta]

It was a relatively slow year. We only got rid of about 80% of the candy we bought. Maybe a bags worth left. Usually we run out by 8:30 or so which is when it's all winding down. I did get a group of teenagers around 9pm. But they were wearing masks, and it was 2 guys and 2 girls, so I approve.

Although it would be awesome to see, Mr.Brach, Mr.Hershey, and Mr.Nestle didn't call Mr.Ghirardelli and his buddy Mr.Mars to sit in some room with a plan to dominate the candy industry by creating a holiday

God, I wish Ghirardelli got in on the halloween racket. Who gives out dark chocolate squares on Halloween though?

Yes, the holiday may rot teeth

Bah. Eating a three musketeers bar is better for your teeth than eating a slice of bread. Simple sugars are highly soluble and don't hang around that long. Bread on the other hand sticks around and is slowly converted to sugar by amylase feeding bacteria for a longer time. Just brush half an hour after you're done eating candy and you're fine.