Wow!!! World record here. 3 groups, which is 3 more than normal. Last group was a group of nice teens
S3 manned our house and had about 40-50 trick or treaters. He said they were all excited and appreciative of the full size bars.
H and I went over to S1 and DIL’s to man their porch while they took our granddaughters around. They live just off the town center of their community where EVERYONE goes to trick or treat. The police shut down their road to cars. Between 5:00-7:30, we handed out over 750 pieces of candy! (These numbers necessitate giving out small stuff) It is like a parade of trick or treaters. Many parents and dogs are also in costume. The residents just sit on their porch steps and hand out treats; no time to close the door between visitors. It is a very festive atmosphere and we love it.
It was great reading all your Halloween experiences! We had about 40 kids which is way up from last year. And large groups of parents in costume, walking along. More parents than kids! We used to have the best neighborhood for trick or treating, because the houses are fairly close together and the neighborhood is safe. Not as many teenagers, but I love them, because they are so funny and creative. And even when they’re not, I just love them, because they’re at the end of their childhood, and it’s a last hurrah.
The teen girls were awesome this year, dressed as superheroes, zombies and funny characters like cows and bears. Some gender-bending which I don’t usually see, because the teen girls used to go as sexy-whatevers. I hope it’s a trend, because that’s what we used to do back in ancient times. My 27 year old daughter is performing at a club dressed as a member of DEVO.
My 23 year old son carved a gorgeous pumpkin to look like David Bowie from the Goblin King. He left it for us, then went up to Lower Manhattan for a commercial video shoot, and got caught up in the attack. He and the crew are ok, and he responded to my text right away, so I didn’t fret all night.
I do have leftover candy, which I can not allow myself to eat. I wonder how that will work out.
DEVO and Bowie - I like your kids’ style, @HotCanary!
@doschicos there’s this whole 80’s thing going on! D just performed as one of the B-52s. Beehive included!
That was my scene back in the day, @HotCanary. I’ve seen all those guys/groups including in some tiny venues for the B52s and Devo. Brings back memories. Always happy when I meet young people who are aware.
When David Bowie died, my son sent me a sympathy text, haha. I guess this comes up at Halloween because these groups all had such fun identities from which you could easily create a costume.
One group of two kids tonight. You can never tell in my neighborhood; one year we almost ran out of candy, then some years we get only a handful of kids.
Last year we gave all the leftover candy to D and she and her roommates (and a bold thieving squirrel) devoured it in a few days. Looks like D’s getting several bags of Reese’s and Kit Kat’s to share this year. I was all excited to eat the Reese’s myself then happened to look at the calories… omg Reese’s cups are forever ruined for me. :((
My costume tonight is person doing laundry pretending she’s not home.
(7 kids came by - times have changed in my neighborhood - used to get 100+)
My costume tonight - Costco shopper. Complete with a 24-pack of Charmin and a large box from laundry detergent full of 2+ -pound sized deli cheeses and cold cuts and large bags of veggies. Loved it. The store was deserted! 
Had over 100 trick or treaters , but still have 30+ candy bars. A friend is collecting candy to send to the troops so I’ll drop them off at her house.
Note for next year. There was a sad post in my homeowners FB group this AM from a mom of a child who has a developmental disability and cannot speak. Some folks were asking every child to say “Trick or Treat!” before they would give out the candy and her child can’t do that.My own kids were shy when they were younger so I have never asked/expected the kids to say anything. Just something to consider.
On a side street off a popular Halloween route. Our numbers have gone down over the years from about 200 to 75 last year so I was worried. This year it was slow but steady about 100. Lots of parents (I think the majority) dressed up, too. I could tell the kids were characters of some kind because I’d see similar outfits, but I had no idea who they were. That made me feel so out of touch and old. I was ridiculously excited to be able to say “Nice Pikachu” (the kids in yellow with a zig zag tail) which was the only costume I could recognize beyond the traditional witches, Batman, Dorothy and Harry Potter.
Gave out several hundred small bars. Had to switch to one each after a while. A LOT of cute kids, and I want to second that the sexy whatever trend for girls seems to be waning.
Everyone in costume, which was a nice change. A lot of teeny tinies who were clearly not the ones who were going to eat the candy, and quite a few parents with their own bag. Oh well. Everyone got something. I appreciated the efforts!
One perturbing exchange–
Kid (dressed up in dirty ripped clothes): What am I?
me: I don’t know, what?
Kid: a crackhead!
Me:…
I guess it’s the contemporary version of a bum…
I remember dressing up as a hobo one year. Stick with a hanky bundle tied at one end. Good thing there wasn’t the internet back then to shame me.
Final count: 3 kids, same number we got last year. I think we’re now officially done with handing out candy.
We didn’t get anybody. Please send me all your leftover Almond Joy’s to me. >:D<
@BuckeyeMWDSG – I described a bemusing encounter, anonymously, and then connected it to what we used to do in another generation. Not quite sure how that shamed anyone.
We got 5 kids. In the past few years we’ve averaged around a dozen. When my pups were at that age, we’d have as many as 30. But we only got power restored on our street about an hour before dark, and I am sure several families hadn’t made it “home”.
Every year, I buy enough for 40 kids, and donate the leftovers to the soup kitchen/food pantry (usually along with several other bags of groceries)
I didn’t take offense to anything you said. But, it is interesting with addiction levels ravaging the country how many people could interpret a crack head or pot head or heroin addict costume as insensitive and inappropriate for our time. I wouldn’t let my kids dress up as an addict because there would be doors they would knock on around here that would have lost a loved one to addiction.
Halloween trends of yesteryear - hobo (a homeless migrant worker) - are interpreted differently today. It was an easy costume of the day decades ago no one gave a second thought to. But many today would view it as reinforcing an inappropriate stereotype. There are plenty of stories of people’s costumes becoming an internet sensation for the wrong reasons. I’m glad as a kid there was no such thing - it would have been devastating to me to have thought and felt I’d done something egregious.
I actually thought it was insightful how you pointed out the similarity - yesterday’s bum (a costume I wore), today’s crackhead (wouldn’t let my kids dress as one). Not sure if that makes me a hypocrite or more insightful or more concerned with what my neighbors think. Probably a bit of each.