Halloween

Whether we like it or loathe it, Halloween appears to be here to stay.

The youngest generations have grown up with it being the norm but, for the older ones, it’s baffling, annoying and just plain frightening. The trouble with Halloween in our country is we’re just in the wrong hemisphere.

After sitting on the fence, leaning more towards thinking those against it were being party poopers, after Wednesday night – experiencing it from both sides of the door - I’m now in the ‘Leave Halloween to the Americans’ camp.

In previous years trick or treaters have always caught me by surprise, probably resulting in our house being black-listed after I could only come up with a few measly packets of raisons. The kids looked seriously ripped off. So this year I bought a family pack of Macintosh’s Toffee and, forgot all about it as I set off on an evening walk.

Along the way we encountered numerous trick or treaters who looked to be having a successful time with bulging loot bags.

Returning home I found my lot bouncing on the trampoline happily oblivious to the tradition. It turned out I’d way over-catered - when I asked if they’d been handing out lollies at the door they looked curiously bewildered before asking if they could go trick or treating too.

What the heck, I thought and helped them don costumes from the dress up box. Before setting off I filled my pockets with Macintoshs’ for the kids to hand out in the hope of getting rid of them while simultaneously not coming across as being demanding.

“Trick or treat,” they chorused proffering a McIntosh to the home owner.

Luckily they didn’t know any different because, apart from a bag of nuts each, they came away empty-handed. But they didn’t mind – they were just stoked to be out in their costumes handing out lollies.

We only went to a handful of houses but the reactions we encountered ranged from pleasant surprise, sending the home owner into a flurry at not having anything to give back, to a curt “No, I don’t subscribe to Halloween,” with a blunt refusal of the lollies kindly offered from three little outstretched hands. Their crestfallen faces prompted me to tell them they could eat the lollies themselves.

But despite striking that particular person off my neighbourhood Christmas baking list, I had to later admit that I no longer “subscribe” to Halloween either.

Once the kids were in bed a loud rapping on the door alerted me to a mob of about ten kids on the back deck who, apart from the oldest one pulling his sweatshirt over his mouth and a bandana over his eyes to look like a bandit, had made no effort to dress up.

“Give us some lollies,” he demanded in what he hoped was a badit’s voice.

“Where’s your manners?” I demanded back reluctantly giving them a lolly each before they raced off round to the front door and rang the doorbell there. Nice try.

It’s ones like that who give trick or treaters the bad rap and I don’t blame residents for not taking kindly to strangers, who could possibly scare the living daylights out of them, approaching their private property after hours and demanding sweets.

So what if residents, as one Advocate reader suggested, signal they are playing the trick or treat game by leaving an outside light on? This is a good idea in theory but, with daylight savings, school kids would have to wait until late for this to be effective.

Which brings me back to my first point: we are simply in the wrong hemisphere for Halloween to work here.

Next year I’m being a party pooper – we’ll be staying at home where I’ll lock all the doors, disconnect the doorbell and hide.