Sunday, November 1, 2009

Rules/Guidelines for Trick-or-Treaters


I love cute little trick-or-treaters that come to my door in costume on Halloween night. However, if I remove the words "cute", "little", and "costume" from that sentence, it's a whole different story!

Last night, I decided that since it's my door they're coming to, and I'm giving out candy, I should get to have my say. Just like restaurants that post signs that say, "No shirts, no shoes, no service", I think I have the right to refuse to give out my candy to patrons who don't follow Halloween etiquette.

If a kid can't bother to put on a mask, or a little paint on their face, or some sort of costume, why really are they even approaching my door? There was a large group of kids that looked related- None where dressed in costume, and all were older than what I consider legitimate trick-or-treating age. I asked them why they didn't dress up and no one even bothered to give me an answer. But then their Mom, or maybe older sister stepped up and held out her own bag and said, "We're poor! We can't afford costumes!" Oh? C'mon!!! Since when did using your imagination just a little get so expensive? I told her to try sticking an old sheet over her head and cutting two eye holes in it and calling herself a ghost.

Trick-or-treaters seem to be getting a little more demanding these days...One boy asked me for a bottle of water. We happened to be having a dinner party and all I had to offer at the moment were bikini martini's- so I just told him no and threw some candy in his bag.

I didn't even bring up the fact that some of these "kids" were way too old to be trick-or-treating. I only asked about costumes. AND I still gave out candy to them all. In other words, I used caution. But yet, it made my husband a little nervous after a while. Which is exactly my point: We're at our house, opening our doors to strangers, and giving out candy. Shouldn't I be able to speak my mind, even a little, without feeling nervous we might have our pumpkins smashed or eggs thrown at our house?

The Kerri Arista rules and guidelines for trick or treating are as follows:
(I used to be a teacher, and cannot help myself.)
1. Wear a costume.
2. Say trick-or-treat.
3. Say thank you after receiving the gift of candy.
4. If you're over the age of 11, you can only go out trick-or-treating if you're with a younger sibling or friend that needs you to walk with them.

2 comments:

Valerie said...

Great rules! I would add a caveat to #2: Say "Trick or Treat," CLEARLY. I wasn't home to hand out candy last night, but I remember last year, several kids (of the older variety) would mumble, "trihertree." Say what?? :o)

kerri said...

well, maybe they were shy?
at least they said SOMETHING!!!
so many kids just stick there bag out and wait...

and if they see "twick or tweat" due to a speech impediment, they get double the candy me thinks!