OT: Trick or Treating in Your Neighborhood

[FanuSanu52]

As I eat leftover candy, curious how the tradition of trick or treating has held up in neighborhoods around NJ and the country. I seem to recall people here saying that it's basically dead, maybe an extension of kids having more organized activities throughout every part of their lives.

It seemed bigger than ever around my area. Noticed some neighborhood-specific "trunk or treat" events going on over the weekend and tons of trick or treaters out yesterday. I'd say I got somewhere around 40 or 50 kids, and the only reason I have anything left over is because I made a stash ahead of time. Halloween is probably the busiest day of the year in my neighborhood - both foot traffic and cars driving through from other parts of town.

 

[RUsSKii]

As I eat leftover candy, curious how the tradition of trick or treating has held up in neighborhoods around NJ and the country. I seem to recall people here saying that it's basically dead, maybe an extension of kids having more organized activities throughout every part of their lives.

It seemed bigger than ever around my area. Noticed some neighborhood-specific "trunk or treat" events going on over the weekend and tons of trick or treaters out yesterday. I'd say I got somewhere around 40 or 50 kids, and the only reason I have anything left over is because I made a stash ahead of time. Halloween is probably the busiest day of the year in my neighborhood - both foot traffic and cars driving through from other parts of town.

In Manhattan, there were plenty of chaperoned trick-or-treaters all over the east side of the island. They tended to stick to the bigger buildings and pretty much avoided my brownstone (buzzer and only 10 apartments total).

What caught my eye this time around is just how many of the parents joined in on the fun by going in costume as well. Saw some pretty cool combinations..

 

[IMARUFAN]

We had 3 kids here in Lincroft.

No. That is not a typo. 3 kids. Period.

It's a shame trick or treating is not what is used to be. It was always good for a few laughs to see what the kids where wearing.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

Spent Halloween in Boone, NC, and experienced "Boofest," an old-timey event wherein from 4 pm to 6 pm the town blocks off King Street to vehicle traffic, and families "trick or treat" along storefronts and busineses, including some activities for smaller kids. Nice event. App State seems pretty well involved, particularly the sports teams and cheer squads. Conversely, here in the staid and storied Village of Pinehurst, Halloween and Trick or Treating is just not done.

 

[CranfordKnight]

I live in a nice, self-contained area of a very safe and relatively affluent town that would seem to be prime trick or treating territory. But between our elderly neighbors, who don't give out candy, and the number of parents out trick or treating with their own kids, almost no one answered their doors except us. Little by little over the years, we started getting less and less visitors. Kids and their parents figure out the most efficient, high reward routes to take, and we aren't on it, to my wife's disappointment. We had about 10 visits this year, yet we could hear gangs of kids about a block away.

 

[FanuSanu52]

In Manhattan, there were plenty of chaperoned trick-or-treaters all over the east side of the island. They tended to stick to the bigger buildings and pretty much avoided my brownstone (buzzer and only 10 apartments total).

What caught my eye this time around is just how many of the parents joined in on the fun by going in costume as well. Saw some pretty cool combinations..

I noticed more parents dressed up, too. Made it a little awkward trying to discern MILF sexy costume cleavage from young high schooler cleavage :confused:.

 

[RU_Planning]

My neighborhood in Brooklyn was jam packed with kids w/ parents and teens. There was also a huge block party on my street, but the next block. The homes in that area really went all out on the decorations, one even had this crazy hologram ghost on its front porch that was really trippy. The trick or treaters stuck to the brownstone / houses and didn't really mess with the apartment buildings. Even though I wasn't participating, it was really cool to see.

 

[knightfan7]

We had 3 kids here in Lincroft.

No. That is not a typo. 3 kids. Period.

It's a shame trick or treating is not what is used to be. It was always good for a few laughs to see what the kids where wearing.

I haven't had one since my friends across the street let their daughter go into town with friends. She's married, 28, with kids of her own now so it has to be 15 or more years. I don't blame any kids in the area as they can hit a lot more houses with less effort in town than at the beach.

 

[Jabanero]

We had a dozen or so groups of kids, most accompanied by parents waiting on the street, but needed more MILF's in costume...:cool2:

 

[Arizona Knight]

Allen TX was hopping. Tons of kids.

 

[JMORC2003]

I live in a nice, self-contained area of a very safe and relatively affluent town that would seem to be prime trick or treating territory. But between our elderly neighbors, who don't give out candy, and the number of parents out trick or treating with their own kids, almost no one answered their doors except us. Little by little over the years, we started getting less and less visitors. Kids and their parents figure out the most efficient, high reward routes to take, and we aren't on it, to my wife's disappointment. We had about 10 visits this year, yet we could hear gangs of kids about a block away.

I'm in the Indian Village section of Cranford and thought it was pretty lively. Big groups of kids of all ages and parents out trick or treating, everyone having a good time. I even smelled a few BBQs going. By 6p most houses were answering doors, everyone enjoying giving out candy. My house is under pretty heavy construction and can't get to my front door, so obviously I didn't get anyone while we were home. Good time all around, though.

 

[bac2therac]

less than ever, trunk or treat is taking away from the day itself IMO

 

[DHajekRC84]

zilch for 10 years running in Rocktown...unless those cows are really kids in costumes...

 

[GuildenGuy]

My last few years in Clinton we had none at all, but it seems to be alive and well up in Cheshire CT. I took my daughter out with a horde of her friends and their parents. There were many other roving groups and many homeowners who clearly went to great effort to decorate for the night. Probably the most Halloween fun (well, innocent fun...) I've had since I was young!

 

[RUsince52]

Just got back from S.C. on Sunday and bought candy on Monday. Haven't had many kids the last 5 years, but you never know. Only had 3 groups stop by (17kids). Nothing after 6:30. Last year we also had 17.
Our area is perfect because we're self contained and off the main roads which are dark and there are 4 streets. Not a lot of activity overall.
I think the other organized parties are easier for parents especially on a weekend.

 

[czxqa]

In my town, they shut down about four blocks of the street the police station is on, and all the kids in the borough go trick or treating on that street. Several folks have adult beverages for the parents, a few houses put out a spread of appetizers and finger foods, one dude was grilling steaks, and friends/relatives of the people living on the street come over with candy of their own to give out and just hang out. There are literally hundreds of kids there going from house to house. I'm six or seven blocks away on the other side of town, and we got maybe 15 or 20 kids. We used to live in a condo/townhouse development just outside the borough years ago, and there were always a ton of kids there too. Most parents today take kids to townhouse complexes because the kids can hit up a tremendous number of houses in a pretty short period of time instead of the traditional neighborhoods that were built in the 60's on a half acre each, or the McMansions where you practically have to drive from door to door.

 

[MADHAT1]

The Monster Horde was out in full force in my neighborhood.
Last year the little ones and parents came early teens later at night and a lot of them.
This year parents with small children and pre teens on their own came all thought the TorT hours and not so many teenagers .
Most houses in my neighborhood had someone handing out candy and sitting in chairs in driveway waiting for the TorTers
A lot had music playing and some parents were walking their dogs while they accompanied their tiny monsters.
It was good to see many of my neighbors who TorTed as children not forget the fun thay had on Halloween and wanted to be part of a child today having the same fun.
[cheers] to all that did the same

 

[vkj91]

It's just different than when I was a kid. When I was a kid you went in your neighborhood...period. Now, people swarm certain types of neighborhoods. Usually flat with houses reasonably clustered together. My neighborhood is theebdaft opposit. We got maybe two kids. Went to my buddies neighborhood and it was packed. Also, seems to be a lot more parents drinking than when I was kid. It's like a big tailgate

 

[RobertG]

We had a few hundred kids, local and from the surrounding towns. There was also a house with karaoke out front, one with a hot dog cart and one with a Sinatra Impersonator singing all day.

Most people pull their chairs and tables in to the drive ways, some pull out coaches, lots of people have food served outside or in their houses and lots of people show up and go door to door visiting.

 

[FanuSanu52]

It's just different than when I was a kid. When I was a kid you went in your neighborhood...period. Now, people swarm certain types of neighborhoods. Usually flat with houses reasonably clustered together. My neighborhood is theebdaft opposit. We got maybe two kids. Went to my buddies neighborhood and it was packed. Also, seems to be a lot more parents drinking than when I was kid. It's like a big tailgate

Yeah, I've noticed those, too.

Also different from when I was a kid: I remember going right after school until sundown or a little later. Went out at night when I was older, especially if Halloween was a Friday or Saturday, but remember going in the afternoon more growing up, including going all afternoon and into the evening on Saturdays.

No one seems to go out until sundown now, at least in my neighborhood. All the kids I got were in a 1.5-hour stretch between 7 and 8:30, when I shut the lights off. Same last year when Halloween was Saturday.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

81 kids...down from over 150 a few years back

 

[FanuSanu52]

We had a few hundred kids, local and from the surrounding towns. There was also a house with karaoke out front, one with a hot dog cart and one with a Sinatra Impersonator singing all day.

Most people pull their chairs and tables in to the drive ways, some pull out coaches, lots of people have food served outside or in their houses and lots of people show up and go door to door visiting.

I'm coming to your neighborhood next year :smiley:. A bunch of others above sounded fun, too, but the karaoke, hot dog cart, impersonator and people on couches wins it. Bonus points if they burn the couches as part of the after-hours party.

 

[BlockR]

hows the leaves this year..more or less down this time then last year? oh BTW Taylor verballed to Wisconsin tonight..

back to the leaves!

 

[FanuSanu52]

hows the leaves this year..more or less down this time then last year? oh BTW Taylor verballed to Wisconsin tonight..

back to the leaves!

Yeah, there's a thread about it.

Go cry about it there. Again.

 

[njdirt]

Wife was home all day from work. Didn't pick up till school let out here in Monroe & then she said only around 25 kids with parents till I got home around 6. With the 8 PM curfew maybe got another 30 older kids some with parents also dressed up till closed it off @ 830. For the last few was telling them to take a hand full of candy as always buy to much.
Way down from past few years.
Also Mischief night or whatever you call it was nothing. No soaped windows, TP trees nothing at all

 

[LevaosLectures]

less than ever, trunk or treat is taking away from the day itself IMO

Trunk or Treat us the worst. Kill it with fire. Nothing less than the attempt to ruin Halloween by paranoid suburban moms.

 

[FanuSanu52]

Trunk or Treat us the worst. Kill it with fire. Nothing less than the attempt to ruin Halloween by paranoid suburban moms.

Ironically it sounds like an idea that was created by the kind of Sanduskies it was designed to avoid.

Hey kid, check out this dark, lockable mobile trunk of candy I got for ya! Whole thing seems f-ed.

 

[LevaosLectures]

I got roped into it at my son's school this year. I tried to make the best of it but eh so lame. At least we had the best trunk.

 

[AshSaturday]

Lived on a major road in suburban Bridgewater from 1967-2015. Early on when I was a kid we had as many as 110 trick or treaters. Over the years Halloween just died. After not being home in 2001 (World Series Game 4) I don't think I had more than 10. Before my next door neighbors left ~2007 or so most of my neighborhood left their lights off. For the last 15 years or so I wouldn't even bother to be home most of the time/treater hours. I think some of that was the increase in townhouses/condos.

 

[ashokan]

Halloween is huge in my area but some cities and villages really rock it. We have the Jack-o-lantern blaze with 7k carved/lit pumpkins (some are wax). We have parades in many places. People come to some cities where they feel safer (no lose dogs etc) and the streets are teeming. I have a friend who made 350 hot dogs on her porch (she does candy too). One guy made a Pirates of Caribbean thing on his lawn with huge model ship and skeletons. He had 50 life-sized skeletons on lawn in various scenes. The popular Halloween is the seasonal and festive one - not so much the slasher and chainsaw version.


Went to one parade on Saturday

Hillary was there hiding from Trump and Putin and Comey

 

[RU848789]

More kids than usual this year - had to run out and get more candy around 7 pm. Metuchen usually has lots of chaperoned kids under about 11 or 12 and the older kids are usually not chaperoned. MILFage was weak, lol...

 

[ruready4somefootball]

Consider this tidbit.I got an email telling me to see who are sexual predators in your neighborhood and to keep your kids away from those houses. In our town of Hazlet there were 6 listed. Of that 2 of those were long gone, I mean like over 6 years later, yet those addresses are listed as pedophiles living there,lol. Those poor bastards probably don't even know. There has to be some way to eliminate themselves from that list.

 

[greenknight]

Booming in nutley

 

[rutgersguy1]

Last couple years way down from earlier. Last year maybe about 30 kids this year a little more maybe like 50-60. Before usually used up about 2 bags of those assorted fun size bags you get at the whole sale clubs. Now 1/2-3/4 of 1 bag. The busiest was 7-7:45 window, with a couple earlier and the latest at 9.

 

[newell138]

We had the firepit going in the driveway with some neighbors handing out candy and sharing drinks. Made for some fun. We probably had 100 kids come to the house, most chaperoned by parents.

 

[bac2therac]

Trunk or Treat us the worst. Kill it with fire. Nothing less than the attempt to ruin Halloween by paranoid suburban moms.

in the old days if you were over 7 years old you went out trick or treating with no parental involvement at all. These days parents dont want to grow up and some are using Halloween as an excuse to get loaded while their kids get together and do their thing

 

[MoobyCow]

Over 1,500 kids at my place in Hamilton Park, JC and we were out of stuff by 7 so there were probably more after that.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Almost nothing this year, less than ten kids total.

Tons of leftover candy.

 

[gef21]

I am in Lambertville. It is an insane Halloween town. My wife and I gave away over 1200 pieces of candy (for the most part 1 piece per kid). The kids are non stop for 4 hours.

 

[RuSnp]

Trunk or Treat us the worst. Kill it with fire. Nothing less than the attempt to ruin Halloween by paranoid suburban moms.

Had to Google this thankfully. Man that is lame.