Hallowe'en

i didnt read all the posts, but i though halloween tradtions was from ireland?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Because I'm a big ol' Halloween dork, I have collected all of the Country Living October editions for the past six or seven years.  I likes the purty pictures of all the harvest festivities and the yummy recipes.  What can I say?

Seriously though, I have modeled one or two Halloween parties on Country Living glossies, and I do believe they turned out pretty darn cool.  Check out the photo gallery for some ideas:  http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/entertaining/halloween-party-gallery-1005

Then again, I imagine the beautiful harvest-y tables and grown up ghoulish decorations featured in Country Living may not appeal to the kiddies.  And I have to say ol' Martha has some pretty darn cool ideas, too.  Check out the Ladies Fingers.  Gah!  http://www.marthastewart.com/halloween?lnc=a489cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=leftnav_holiday

Its perfectly normal & understandable to miss the nostalgia from home.  Before I moved over I noticed less and less kids going trick or treating in the neighborhood I grew up in.  Either that or they just skipped our house.   

I can't remember the last time I had even one child trick or treating in the US. Maybe sometime in the '80s?

it seems to have moved into the malls as my dad tells me that he just hands out candy at his shop but doesn't get trick or treaters knocking at his door at home. As for here in the UK folks around my area have halloween parties. The school does the halloween disco but people don't really trick or treat. Last year there were houses that had a pumpkin light outside which meant that house you could knock. Most of the time it was stroppy hoodies that wanted money instead of sweets

I hadn't really seen the Hallowe'en spelling before either...I was wondering the same thing, Whisper.

I have a lot of African children in my school and they don't celebrate Halloween as it's seen as the Devil's birthday. We actually had one Caucasian child ask if we could sing Happy Birthday to the Devil. Ummmm...NO!!!!

DB grew up in Essex and he said that he had friends who went trick or treating, but his mother never allowed him to.

I loved going trick or treating. Now that I'm older, I like to see the kids all dressed up. My parents have been disappointed by the trick or treating at their house because the town organizes a Halloween parade and the kids all go trick or treating in the town center. Most parents don't take their kids down their street. I"m in a small apartment complex, so I don't get trick or treaters here. It's too bad. I wish we did. My neighborhood in TN used to get LOADS of trick or treaters, the streets were full and people from around the area used to come to my sub-division. People would just sit on their front porches because there was no point in going inside, the doorbell would ring as soon as they sat down again!

I hadn't really seen the Hallowe'en spelling before either...I was wondering the same thing, Whisper.

It's a contraction of All Hallows Even(ing), I think. I use both forms, depending on who I'm talking/writing to.

I can't remember the last time I had even one child trick or treating in the US. Maybe sometime in the '80s?

My parents have not had kids in years, it's so odd.  My mom still buys the candy though, just stuff my dad likes especially

We had kids here last year, which sucked because we forgot, but Rich went and got some candy before he got home.  I was handing out all the change I had till he got there.  (I always loved my neighbours at home who gave cash, always a bonus!)

We had trick or treaters last year in Canterbury but if I remember correctly they were all teenagers.

I don't take my kids treat or treating here, but we still carve a pumpkin and decorate the house up usually with items the kids create for Halloween. Last year we had some kids come to the door for sweets but when it started getting later and teenagers were simply coming to the door I blew out the candle in the pumpkin and closed the curtains like everyone else around here. I'm hoping to take the kids next year to the US for Halloween as I'm sure they will love it. 

I think in the US street trick or treating is being discouraged a bit because of fears of candy poisoning and tampering as well as fears over overall safety. I recall that newspapers, magazines, and tv in our area in the late 80s and 90s were encouraging parties and neighborhood activities instead.

Halloween is my favourite holiday.  I've already got out my decorations and am ready to put them up when I get home from holiday!

Last year I was a killer bee

I think in the US street trick or treating is being discouraged a bit because of fears of candy poisoning and tampering as well as fears over overall safety. I recall that newspapers, magazines, and tv in our area in the late 80s and 90s were encouraging parties and neighborhood activities instead.

They didn't discourage it in our neighborhood in Atlanta!  We had tons of trick-or-treaters!  On a street near my kids' school there were two houses who had teenagers too old to trick-or-treat.  They used to compete to see who could do the coolest haunted houses/yards and they got SO elaborate.  The teenagers and their friends were always the guides leading kids through, as well as monsters waiting to jump out, etc.  They gave out the best treats too.  So much fun.  We even saw real bats swooping down to catch the mosquitoes in the lower branches of trees near the end of our street.  I'm glad my kids had a chance to experience all that fun.

My parents say they don't get as many trick-or-treaters in their neighborhood in Iowa anymore though, as it's aging.  I think it depends on how many kids live in a neighborhood as well as how many people decorate and/or leave their porch lights on.  It doesn't seem much fun to walk for blocks just to find a couple houses who are giving out treats.  Also, Iowa often has cold weather for Halloween and maybe it's more fun to go to a mall where your costume doesn't need to be covered by a coat?

I don't think malls or parties are as much fun though.  We're going to keep trying to recreate our US experiences (although in a much cheaper, slap-dash kind of way) for the kids on our council estate by having our haunted garden.  Don't know what we'll do if it rains though?  I'm not going to have all those kids trouping through my house.

Holidays such as Halloween are just not embraced in Britain in the manner in which they are enjoyed in the States.  Here in Scotland, I find the main objective of a "holiday" is to get away for a long weekend (with the exception of Guy Fawkes night - which is absolutely amazing here.)

So much came back to me reading the previous posts... making costumes for the kids, decorating our home, going to "haunted houses" that community groups ran to raise funds, searching for the perfect pumpkin, having an impromptu Halloween afternoon with the neighborhood - making apple cider and carving pumpkins.  Before I left the States it was turning into more of a month-long autumn celebration than a single night of fun!

The kids here really have to work for their treats!  Last year my youngest went out trick or treating with some friends from school and had great fun trying to learn jokes to use to earn treats.  I had a great time answering the door and waiting to see the tricks or performances the kids had lined up for us. 

Ideas to get you in the right spirit:

Ulster-American Folk Park in County Tyrone does an all evening Halloween Celebration. Tickets only. 

Unfortunately, this event looks to be sold out for this year

http://www.folkpark.com/whats_on/events/?article=1345 [nofollow]

This year we might try the National Museum of rural Life in East Kilbride for some early evening Halloween fun and follow with trick or treat after.

http://www.nms.ac.uk/familyevents.aspx [nofollow]

In Edinburgh, there are always fantastic "ghost" tours of the city.  Check out Mercat Tours but this would be for older children (10 and up).

You do have to work harder here but there are ways to enjoy the holiday.
       

     

My dh loves Halloween now.  He visited for my B-day and he got to experience a small Western PA Halloween.  Even though it was a college town, the students went all out with their own costumes to make it a great night for the kids.

Afterwards, I am sure there was plenty of drinking, but in the early evening it was all about candy for the little kids.  One of my friends made his own Family Guy costume. 

My dh finally got it and thought it was sweet, plus I got him addicted to candy corn.

I remember being so nervous on Halloween because if it was cold my parents made me wear a cost and then no one could see my costume. 

i didnt read all the posts, but i though halloween tradtions was from ireland?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Yeah, I didn't read the wikipedia, but did find that it comes from the Celtic festival of Samhain and was celebrated by the Druids in Ireland, the UK and northern France.

So....my child will be dressing up for this Celtic festival!!!:)