Halloween - Am I a grinch?

[Army Wife'79]

I love giving candy to the kids who come to the door in adorable costumes. But I have an issue and want you guys (Oh wait, I'm in the south now, so it should be y'all's) opinion on something. I absolutely hate it when old (16-18 yr olds) show up at my door with NO COSTUME holding a huge pillowcase totally full to the brim and say NOTHING when I answer the door. I mean shouldn't they say "trick or treat"? I really feel like saying "may I help you?" when they just stare and say nothing (plus they never say thanks).

My neighbors say they dont' give them anything but I thought this year I'd give them a PENCIL instead of candy and say something like "this is for your calculus homework". What do you all do? Do they get the same "good" candy that the little cuties get? Am I getting to be a grinch in my old age?

[sageofages]

Originally Posted by Army Wife'79

What do you all do? Do they get the same "good" candy that the little cuties get? Am I getting to be a grinch in my old age?

First, grinches are for CHRISTMAS

No you are not a grinch. I tell those who are older than a certain age, I am sorry we have a XX age limit if you don't have a costume.

Of course I have the big creepy bad-ass son standing next to me when I say it, so there is no "retaliation" later in the night.

Generally in our Halloween obsessed town (amazingly I think it is because you can't acknowledge Halloween in our schools in this town), the oldest that do the "beggars night" stuff is middle schoolers and not many of them.

[33girl]

I don't give treats out at all for this very reason. People drive in their kids from the neighboring communities, and I won't even get started on the uncostumed, unspeaking, extremely rude teenagers.

I think you should give them something even more useless than a pencil...a handful (or more) of packing peanuts comes to mind.

[SydneyK]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I think you should give them something even more useless than a pencil...a handful (or more) of packing peanuts comes to mind.

lol

My first thought was to give them a brick - just to weigh down their pillow case. But then I realized it would just end up being thrown through your window at some point. So nix that idea.

But seriously, you're not the only one irked by costumeless teens.

[lyrica9]

i remember people in my dorm going trick or treating, but i think they at least wore costumes. even if most of them were in their 20s... yeesh.

[DSTRen13]

We went trick-or-treating in college - but it was Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, and we DEFINITELY had costumes. Because it's all about the costumes.

[aephi alum]

Give them toothbrushes.

[alum]

We keep our porch light on from 6-8 pm only per the HOA directive. The vast majority of our trick-or-treaters are little ones between those hours.

When we were stationed at West Point, the cadets would come through the housing areas in military trucks and gently toss candy to all the dependent kids on Halloween night.

___
AW79, it is such a difference in terms of candy quantity needs when you move offpost. The first year we lived in a civilian community, we had candy for weeks afterward. The following year, I adjusted my purchases accordingly.

[texas*princess]

I think I like the packing peanuts idea

And you could say "this is for when you move out of the dorm after Christmas!"

[CutiePie2000]

Give the uncostumed ones raisins or sunflower seeds. LOL!

You could also have a sign that says: "No costume, no candy, no whining", which lends a nod to "No shirt, no shoes, no service".

[honeychile]

When I was first married, we lived in a high-traffic area for trick or treaters. I don't believe in Halloween, so I had the lights out, and worked on something else (Ex always had to work the few hours of Halloween). Most of the kids understood that a porchlight turned off meant keep going.

But not one group! This little pack of teens banged on the door with serious verocity, and two of them yelled (non-simultaneously) "Open up the f***ing door! It's f***ing trick or treat!" I felt like throwing cans of soup at them!

So, in a phrase, no, you're not a grinch at all!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Army Wife'79

My neighbors say they dont' give them anything but I thought this year I'd give them a PENCIL instead of candy and say something like "this is for your calculus homework".

I love it. I don't think you should do anything more expensive than a pencil, although I'd be fine saying "Sorry, after puberty and no costume, go away."

I hate this too, although admittedly it hasn't been much of a problem where we live.

[scbelle]

Daddy brought home tons of devotional booklets from the church for just that problem. :P Good candy for the little kids and the well-mannered, costumed older ones, devotional booklets for the creeps!

[AlphaFrog]

I don't get trick or treaters, but I'll go to my mom's neighborhood and sit with her to pass out candy. The worst one we got was a college freshman that dressed as a "Sexy Little Bo-Peep". Although, I wouldn't have known she was in college if her mom didn't work with my dad.

I do have to say that I'm guilty of trick-or-treating in highschool. My sophomore year I went with my best friend who was a senior. We went ALL OUT with the costumes. She was Supergirl, complete with cape and red knee-high boots. I was an Egyptian Goddess, with toga and lame` type costume, gold face and dyed black hair (my poor blonde hair had stains for weeks). We just went around her grandparents' neighborhood...and not for very long...just enough to say we did it, then we went to a party at the highschool.

[SWTXBelle]

My 17 year old daughter dresses up in order to go with her brothers (4 and 5), but otherwise she wouldn't. When I taught at a high school I always dressed up for the Fall Fair - usually as Pooh Bear or the Wicked Queen from Snow White.
We live in the middle of nowhere - our driveway is 1/8 of a mile long, so in 3 years we have had no trick or treaters. My house is for sale, should you want to avoid the whole Halloween mess. (honeychile, special deal for you!)