Way to early here, they wait till it's really dark out.
We only get a handful anyway, but I have the candy by the door.

Yes my husband is manning the door. It is colder here today. Some wind too. He just came into the den to get a bar stool so he will be higher and can see the little ones who walk up the drive. He will meet them in the carport with the candy. We usually sit in the carport and wait till they walk down the street. We live in the middle of the block and only have about 10-15 kids. Our dog will run the other way if the doorbell rings,. lol
Happy Halloween, Have fun and be safe.
Mary

This will be the first time ever I won't be having my door open for the trick or treaters. I usually sit on the porch so the little ones won't have to climb up my big porch steps but it is a miserable cold, wet and windy night out there. Usually I have around 100 kids but last year it dwindled down to less than 20. There are only a few kids left on my street. I don't know why I feel so bad about not participating this year. I really enjoy seeing the kids in their costumes and the excitement they show. I am keeping my lights off in and out of the house until it is over.

Don't usually have many, the houses are far apart...but I have candy for anyone that comes by...We'll put the peke in his kennel in our bedroom, not because he bites but because he thinks anyone coming to our door is here to see him, too much excitement and barking.

We used to have a few hundred kids, but now we are lucky to have a handful. I have Snickers and Milkyways for anyone who comes to our door. Will treat myself with the left overs.

We are down to 7-8 kids from a high of about 80 - just changing demographics. So instead of manning the doors I am going to my nieces and spending the evening with their young kids and maybe doing some trick or treating with them. Looking forward to it. It's still early here on the Pacific Coast.

I am! Not for a few hours yet though, but I am ready! Expecting 100+ this year.

My one and only trick or treater has been here and gone, it was Alyssa all dressed up in her pretty pink princess dress with the hoops. I had her bag waiting. They headed back into town to the Trunk and Treats. They went to the library where they got only two tiny pieces of candy, the same with the video store too. I think the VFW did a bit better than that.

Sue

I was just texting my around the corner friend that this was much more fun when my daughters were trick or treating and I would actually know some of the kids coming to my door.

I am supervising my two helpers. We usually have two hundred or more . We aim for 1 bag of chips and two pieces of candy. From the looks of the baskets, we won't make it until 9:00 which is our normal shutdown.

no one yet....

Yes, DH is. He enjoys it. We have about 120 of the little bags of chips instead of candy this year.

We have had only 5 so far, but it's just 6 p.m. here in the Midwest. Not dark yet, but quite cold and windy. About 40 degrees. I think that will keep our numbers low this year. So I'm thinking 120 will be plenty.

I live in a 60+retirement community. Zero trick or treaters.

I miss the kids, but the temp right now is 50ð so I doubt of there are many out anywhere tonight.

53 and a cold rain... but the kids still come for their treats!

It's still early here although cloudy, so it's darker than normal for this time of day. I'll be surprised if I anyone rings the bell, but I have quarters waiting, just in case.

There were a few now, but again, I bought to much candy!

none here...and we always turn out the lights...(no sidewalk)

For the first time in 34 years we are not giving out candy. We had to switch our vacation due to DH's work and are out of town for a brief getaway....home tomorrow. I don't feel too guilty....number of kids has dwindled over the years to about maybe 20-30 kids tops and only lasts about 1 1/2 hours or less.

We had well over 100 here at the assisted living complex. They do this every year, from 3:30-5:00 and most live local and/or are friends/relatives of the people who live here.
They were all so cute and polite walking up/down the hall and many were accompanied by both mom and dad and some of the parents even dressed up. Lots of fun.

My one and only trick or treater, Precious Finn, was here and I gave him his treat. His daddy brought him by for a short visit. Finn is Iron Man this year.

For the first time, I did not hand out treats this year. I bought them and had intended to sit in the garage and hand it out but we had a really cold snap go through here and it was just too cold to be out in the cold wind. Getting up and down to go to the door is just too hard on the old joints. Now, what do I do with all the candy?

It was cold and rainy tonight so not sure how many were out. I was at work so have no idea.

We had maybe 14 between 4:30 and 5:30, none in the last several minutes. Maybe that was it, last year it was 12 total for the evening and DH was all but out at the corner waving down cars :)

We first had a grandma bring her 12 month old GD, a lady bug, at 4:30. Very, very cute, eyes big at having M&Ms. Then the man at the end of the street brought the 8 children his daughter has adopted, all very nice kids and all in costumes. About 4 more after that. All the lights are on and DH is standing in front of the open garage with a friend, trying to look welcoming. I hope they aren't having the opposite effect ;) It's just not the same neighborhood for trick or treating as our old was, a little bit out of the way and a dark walk from the main street through a block of woods and tall trees.

Poor DH loves Halloween and I'd thought he might go to his sisters and pass out candy there. One of 10 kids, he grew up on a farm and they didn't trick or treat. He's really enjoyed the children these last years but there just won't be the same activity on this street.

We had one family with about 7 kids and that's it. I wish I had given them each more candy I have no use for it. Guess my cleaning lady will get it.

We ended up with 78. I turned off the light at 8 p.m. because I didn't like the size of the kids who were starting to show up - 14, 15, 16 years old, in groups of 6 or 8. I don't like that. I don't mind if there is one or two with several younger kids, but just teenagers - no.

I gave out 80 goodie bags, then distributed candy to about 20 more. Things ended before 8. This surprised me because the last years is has been a week night and it went on until 9.

The sad thing though is that someone took one of my tiny ghost decorations.

I don't like the big kids either. We don't often have many of them.

Our Trick-or-Treat time is 6-8. It starts out while it is still light and ends in the dark. We get lots and lots of little ones while it is light and it dwindles down to the bigger kids the darker it gets.

We usually have well over 100 kids come. Only a small part of that number are actually from our neighborhood. People drive into our neighborhood and then turn their kids loose. It is a safe place with close houses. We welcome them all.

It was pretty cold here tonight. I think we got about 3/4 of the usual number. I'm glad I gave out candy I like since I have some left.

Lots of good costumes this year. They put in a lot of effort.

We had 39, when just a couple of years ago we had 88.

But ALL the kids were nice and polite - just makes me so pleased.

We had just one....

I left my nieces at about 8 and they were up to 119 kids by then. They've only been in their house for about 6 weeks and a lot of the neighbours have stopped by with their kids to say hi and introduce themselves. I took the little ones out for trick or treating and they were so cute. It was fun. It had stopped raining and the temperature was decent.

Its' long after the rush was all over-we had 53 show-all sizes,all sorts of fantastic costumes-some big,some small...and even a couple 3-5 yr olds done up really nice

We do the yard up with ghosts,spiders,bats,the grave yard,pumpkins and of course lights strategically placed.

It was a cold night here in central Ontario,and the snow was flying,but the real snow came,"after" the little ones were done trick or treating for this year

Total snow accumulation at this time now-1" and its sticking to everything :)

My BF wanted to give out candy at my place while I cooked dinner. Total count was 35. The worst was two MEN, probably in their early 30s, who showed up with masks on and said "we need candy for the baby in the car"!

This post was edited by party_music50 on Sat, Nov 1, 14 at 10:36

We never have enough kids coming to make it worth while. Houses are too far apart here, and the few close neighbors are all empty-nesters now. Last night we had up to 70 MPH wind gusts coming down Lake Michigan and freezing temps. I doubt *anybody* had many trick-or-treaters. Hours here are 4 - 8 p.m.

chisue - You have specific hours for trick or treating? I have never heard of that but it sounds like a good idea. Do you know why that was implemented?

We now have hours set by the village too... 5pm-8pm. It never used to be that way! Not sure why they did it, but I suspect it had something to do with the hours of the Halloween "open house" party that they do at the fire house now.

There have been specific hours in the Chicago suburbs for decades. They are posted on signs in the towns and at schools and are listed in the newspaper. They are all in the same 4 - 8 p.m. range.

If you welcome the kids, you turn your outside lights on -- and usually decorate, at least a bit. Kids aren't supposed to go to houses without welcoming lights.

Halloween has become a lot 'tamer'. Before 'hours', Kids would ring doorbells from the time school let out until at least ten o'clock. The later it got, the more you were likely to get a 'trick' despite having given a treat. The earlier cut-off time has probably halted much of that behavior.

When I was a child some brat pushed sewer slush (wet leaves and dirt) through our mailbox. (Our mail came down a metal chute from a flap on the exterior of the house to a little door in the front foyer.) That was a smelly mess to clean out. (That was a nothing compared to the kid who disconnected a neighbor's sprinkler one summer and shoved the running hose into her mailbox!)

In 2001 DH and I had to park on the street where we rented a furnished apartment until our new house was finished. Ours was a more expensive car than most in that transient area. Our car was egged on Halloween.

We didn't have any trick-or-treaters this year. I got home late, and then, we went to dinner. As we drove through our neighborhood, we saw 2 groups with maybe 3 kids each. As we drove to through a newer HOA neighborhood, we saw 3 times as many people.

We live in a neighborhood full of kids and had 100+ trick or treaters. Dh gave out candy. I walked around with dd and her friend. Lots of cute costumes. Last year, dh and I were just about the only adults to dress up. We set the trend. Saw more of the neighbor parents wearing costumes or Halloween accessories this year. My costume I ordered didn't fit. I had to just wear snakes in my hair, scary makeup and a Halloween shirt. I looked good. Lol!

Lots of after parties this year. We went to one and had fun.

I don't mind he older trick or treaters if they are polite. I'd much rather they be begging candy than doing some other things I can think of. My 14 year old is in band and had to be at the football game so no trick or treating for him. My other son went to a friends house for a sleepover.

I live in a neighborhood full of younger children, plus I drive a school bus so every yr I expect to have trick or treaters and every yr I have the same number 0. Next yr I am not buying any candy.

My DH has been working out of town - we're in a big city - and the town is about a 4 hour drive from us and is definitely smaller but growing with young families looking for affordable housing and a slower life. The neighbourhood where he was staying would have had !300-400! kids trick or treating at the homes. That is a lot of candy.

Thanks for the info about the dedicated hours for trick or treating. I like the idea of after parties for the parents. :)

For the first time ever, we didn't do trick or treats this year. Instead, we drove about 250 miles, to Duluth, MN, for a three day weekend and went to the haunted ship there on Halloween night!

Our Halloween Eve was a washout, but it was a good thing! We have been in a 189 day period of no rain and we got over an inch that night! I took my grandson to the downtown park where the merchants gave out candy and everyone had a grand time - he was ready to come home in and hour - it started at 4:. It started raining at 6 and rained all night long. No rain in sight for the next 10 days...