No Trick or Treat signs?

Unless with an adult children shouldn't be knocking on any doors.

Children here have always knocked on everyone's doors .We always did but knew to never go into a house on our own ,fine with a crowd of guisers though.I make up my bags of goodies the night before and most of the kids will tell me their joke or sing their song on the doorstep or inside the porch,take their bag and leave with a smile on their wee faces .Some are happy to come in if its a longer piece or needs space .Simple common sense usually works but I would never want my kids to feel everyone they meet is a danger to them .The vast majority of people are good...even in 2018 .

I never went trick or treating and neither did my children.
Fortunately despite living here 30 + yrs we have never had any callers. I wouldn't answer the door anyway as I don't agree with the whole thing. Probably because we are on the very edge of town.

added to this as an after thought now realise it dosen't read well. Sorry.

Interesting 2 very different viewpoints, one thinks it is all normal and the other doesn't like it .

I would be interested to know what message you all think this is sending to children. I think we probably all agree that it can be frightening for vulnerable people so shouldn't we be instilling that in children?

well Nonnie we knew if the door wasn't answered we moved onto th next house.Its the same now I watch the kids go across the street and a lot of the new families( mainly English people who like some here didn't have a Halloween tradition) dont answer the door .The kids happily move on,theres no throwing eggs or being obnoxious .The gloshes as we call them is just a bit of fun been that way for centuries in Scotland

In our area if you have a lit pumpkin in the window or drive the children knock. ??????

Grannyg13 I think that is the way it should be so that children clearly know where they are welcome and avoid houses where there is no obvious invitation.

Our village uses the unspoken rule of children only calling at houses with some Halloween bits and bobs outside.
We are a bit out of the way, so never have any children call anyway.
If you live in a town or suburb and don’t want callers keep the front of the house dark? I always think the signs saying no trick or treat in a window may annoy callers enough to do a trick!

I once opened the door on Halloween, when we lived in a tiny hamlet ( so knew the children) to see the sweetest sight ever, a small fat pumpkin and a tiny tiny ghost, the pumpkin being about 4 years old and the ghost 2 years old.
They were hoping to see a scared expression, not mine ...of delight!?

I never get knocked if I don’t put a light outside

We live in a wee village, and the children all go out together, accompanied by an adult or two, ( who know which doors to knock!)

I should like a poster saying, ‘ No Trick or Treaters Please, but Guisers Very Welcome’!

The unwritten rule around here is "if there aren't any lanterns, pumpkins or obvious invitations, walk past and don't knock". And to be fair, the vast majority of kids around here honour that.

I think that’s the norm now in most areas Chewbacca.

When my children were small a group of mums arranged that we and the tiny ones could call at each other’s houses trick or treating, we didn’t go to other houses.
With my own DGC the eldest two daughters and kids don’t go trick or treating the youngest DD and partner do take DGS but only visit homes with lit pumpkins

That's why no-one calls for the sweeties I've bought - I need to put a pumpkin outside!

Round here only the pumpkin houses get knocked.

Generally people dont want to see their kids disappointed so dont approach houses that dont look welcoming/enthusiastic

A few years ago a neighbour who was forced to admit that he had never actually been knocked at trick or treat went on an anti trick or treaters campaign in the neighbourhood.

These signs feel a bit like that. A bit "bah humbug" and unnecessary for most. I imagine the kind of people who would display this have noone calling anyway but want to have their objections noted..

As we always went out to trick or treat we didn't put pumpkins out ourselves and the parent that stayed in never got knocked.

And to be fair, the vast majority of kids around here honour that.
Well it makes sense..why waste your time at unlit houses if you can maximise your haul by making a beeline for the pumpkin houses which guarentee treats!

I loved Halloween as a child, although trick or treating hadn't caught on in our area in those days - it was an exotic, exciting performance that we saw in American films and TV. We confined ourselves to spending days gouging out a turnip for a lantern and playing apple bobbing and spooky games. Fast forward to when I had my own DC in the 80s and trick or treat (and pumpkins) had made their way over the Atlantic.
Our children loved getting dressed up and going trick or treating (with an adult hovering at the gateway). They were so excited when the homeowner pretended to be frightened and gave them treats. Since then I've accompanied my nephews and nieces and look forward to introducing my GC to the tradition soon.
Needless to say, we have a fully decorated porch and welcome all manner of witches, ghosts and ghouls!

notnan thanks for recognising what I was trying (not very effectively) to get across. My post is about the signs and the message they are sending to children, not really about the activity, although it is interesting to read what others think about that. If the signs become the norm will children think they have the right to expect treats from any house which doesn't display one?

Yes I agree. It is opt in not opt out.

In a way opting out pre-emptively is a bit like RSVPing "no" to a party you havent been invited to yet

I agree children should only knock at houses displaying trick or treat pumpkins ? ? ?‍♀️ ? .
It was called ‘tucking apple night in our house, all the kids came up from the downstairs flats and we would bob for apples in a tin bath, or try and catch apples hanging from the clothes airer that hung from the ceiling on pulleys. It was great fun but nothing sinister at all.

Having seen the signs now I think its a massive own goal:

They are Halloween colours and have a big picture of a pumpkin on them???

So in the dark unless kid stop and read the words (which excited kids wont) it will look like a pumkin sign WELCOMING trick or treaters