Do you give candy to teens who don't try?

[DarcyB]

Just curious... I've seen posts around the web this morning about teens who didn't even try to dress up last night wanting hand-outs :)

[bettyandbob]

I would simply because it would mean less leftover candy in my house. I'd probably make a comment about the lack of costume though.

[snickelfritz]

I'm not the candy police. As long as they're not pushing little kids out of the way or being rude, we give candy. Now some kids get 1 piece and some might get a handful. And when it's 8:30 and you haven't had anyone in 15 minutes, a lucky group gets the bowl poured in their bag.

 

Seriously, it seemed pretty slow last night. I bought 3 bags and the last groups were getting a BUNCH.

[Maura in NY]

When they come to the door without a costume and don't even say trick or treat, we act like we don't know why they are there. "Yes, can I help you?"

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

We had the lights off for everybody...

 

Our kids have food allergies. We buy only candies they can eat. Lat few years they would go out, receive candies from strangers that they couldn't eat and come home where we had handed out all the candies they could eat! It made no sense.

 

So this year, we bought our own candies, and kept them. The kids didn't go trick-or-treating.

[EmilyK]

We didn't have that this year, but I turned off the lights when it got late. The question I've been curious about is concerning adults. With the people we know, parents don't have bags and don't ask for candy. They take their kids around door-to-door (we live in a very walkable urban neighborhood with a lot of kids, so we get a lot of treaters). But a fair number of parents I got last night weren't dressed up but had their own bag and wanted candy. I figure they might be hungry and so was happy to give them some, but curious if in some cultures/social groups parents of little kids expect their own share.

[Danestress]

Most teens have plenty of access to candy. The kids in my neighborhood are not hungry and they are not without access to candy.

 

I think it's an age in which they still want their childhood joys, but they also feel tremendous pressure to be cool. Trick-or-treating was one of the great pleasures of my childhood and the childhoods of my children. I know it's been really hard for them to give it up. But they also are desperate to be cool (not mine so much, but teens in general), and figuring out a costume is loaded with angst, especially for boys.

 

So yeah, I give candy to any polite teen at my door without feeling the need to chastise them.

 

That said, I know most of the kids who come to my door. If I lived in a neighborhood that had hordes of children dropped off by the carload full, I might feel differently. I might just give one little piece per kid rather than my usual generous handful!

[Cera]

I ask teens without costumes to earn their candy. They can perform a trick, sing me a song, recite me a poem or tell a joke. I wouldn't refuse them candy if they didn't but all of the older kids we had last night found it quite funny and were well rewarded with a handful of candy.

[Mandy in TN]

We had the lights off for everybody...

 

Our kids have food allergies. We buy only candies they can eat. Lat few years they would go out, receive candies from strangers that they couldn't eat and come home where we had handed out all the candies they could eat! It made no sense.

 

So this year, we bought our own candies, and kept them. The kids didn't go trick-or-treating.

 

bwahaha! It makes perfact sense. I love it!

Mandy

[Luckymama]

All the teens this year were in costume :D

 

In past years, non-costumed teens were escorting younger siblings. I always gave those teens candy!

[Mandy in TN]

I voted that I would give them candy. As a mom of a 19yo and a 16yo in a family where everyone loves Halloween (at least it is my favorite holiday), I know it was difficult to tell them that it is time to give it up. Of course, I have the little man, so we still get to do the Halloween thing.

 

That said all the teens who came to my door were in costume. Several had made fairly elaborate costumes. I had a very clever gumball machine, a group of boys dressed as Al Capone era gangsters, two boys dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2, a boy dressed as a Smurf who was painted blue and wore no shirt, a group of girls where several were dressed as football players and several as cheerleaders.(I hope they had a chance to wear their costumes somewhere other than just my door!)

 

Actually, quite a few of the parents were dressed up last night as well! The best was the couple who were Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf dressed as Grandma.

 

Thankfully and oddly now that I think of it, I don't remember a single scantily clad girl or teenager (you know the costumes that I refer to as hooker witch, hooker barbie, etc)! It is worse for me to witness this in a 5yo, but last night all the littles were just so cute and even the cheerleaders were wearing turtlenecks.

 

Mandy

[Rhonda in TX]

We find that the non-costumed teens tend to come out later. We turn out out light at about 9:30 to avoid them. If they come earlier, though, I'll give them candy. They're always very polite, and most likely just out having some fun with their friends. No harm, no foul.

[lisabelle]

I do, but I also try to counter it by turning out the lights at 9. By then the little kids have come and gone.

 

I have no problem with leftover candy around the house! :)

[Gwenhwyfar]

everybody who comes to our door on halloween night and is carrying a bag/etc gets candy ~ whether they're young or old, costumed or not. :)

[Krista in LA]

It depends on if they are nice or rude, and if they are with younger kids or not. I almost reached in and grabbed candy back out of one 12ish boy's bag who had no costume, was by himself, and rather rude. I told him he was lucky he got any candy.

[KidsHappen]

Nope, no costume, no candy. However, if you went through the trouble of dressing up, you get candy no matter what you age.

[KidsHappen]

All the teens this year were in costume :D

 

In past years, non-costumed teens were escorting younger siblings. I always gave those teens candy!

 

I revise my previous answer. I do give candy to teens doing escort duty.

[lisabees]

Most teens have plenty of access to candy. The kids in my neighborhood are not hungry and they are not without access to candy.

 

I think it's an age in which they still want their childhood joys, but they also feel tremendous pressure to be cool. Trick-or-treating was one of the great pleasures of my childhood and the childhoods of my children. I know it's been really hard for them to give it up. But they also are desperate to be cool (not mine so much, but teens in general), and figuring out a costume is loaded with angst, especially for boys.

 

So yeah, I give candy to any polite teen at my door without feeling the need to chastise them.

 

 

:iagree:

[sassenach]

Yes, but I give them less. Everyone gets 3 pieces. Teens who don't try get 1. Creative costumes get a handful. The little girl who came dressed as a Dunkin' Donut got 2 handfuls.

[Sun]

We didn't have that this year, but I turned off the lights when it got late. The question I've been curious about is concerning adults. With the people we know, parents don't have bags and don't ask for candy. They take their kids around door-to-door (we live in a very walkable urban neighborhood with a lot of kids, so we get a lot of treaters). But a fair number of parents I got last night weren't dressed up but had their own bag and wanted candy. I figure they might be hungry and so was happy to give them some, but curious if in some cultures/social groups parents of little kids expect their own share.

 

I've only seen that when they're collecting candy for other kids - maybe a toddler or preschooler who's too shy to go up to the door or a kid who's sick at home. If it wasn't for one of those reasons, I don't know, but I guess I'd give it out anyway (but probably only one piece) to avoid having it sit at home and make its way to my thighs.

[Dawn in OH]

No costume, no candy! Unless you are taking your younger siblings trick or treating. You must also say "Trick or Treat" if you are not escorting a child.

[LibraryLover]

I was frankly amazed by the creativty I saw regarding teen costumes. I didn't see anyone without a costume, and msot were pretty elaborate. But yes, I would. I like to see the older kids.

Edited November 1, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Guest]

Anyone who comes to our door gets candy. I don't care if they are dressed up or not, young or old. It's all fun to me.

[Maura in NY]

I love Cera's idea of making them work for it!

[Crissy]

Anyone who comes to our door gets candy. I don't care if they are dressed up or not, young or old. It's all fun to me.

 

:iagree:

 

I give candy to anyone who comes to the door.

[Snickerdoodle]

Anyone who comes to our door gets candy. I don't care if they are dressed up or not, young or old. It's all fun to me.

 

:iagree:

[Ellyndria]

Anyone who comes to our door gets candy. I don't care if they are dressed up or not, young or old. It's all fun to me.

 

This.

 

We only got 30 people or so though, and they all had costumes.

[Mrs Mungo]

We had quite a few un-costumed teens (who were not escorting younger kids). I gave them vampire teeth. Then, they had a costume. :D

[Unicorn.]

My friend gives out rocks to teens who don't bother to dress up in a costume. Yes, really. I love it!

[Dolphin]

I give them candy. Even if they don't dress up, I would rather they were coming to my door asking for candy then off doing what I know other teens are doing that night.

[BikeBookBread]

The two (yes only two) girl TorT-ers we got were in what I would call "sketchy" Halloween costumes...a bit of overly glittery eyeshadow I think, and that was it. I was happy to give out candy. We had too much anyway. I figured if they made the effort to come to our sort-of out of the way house, they should get some candy. I've never not given candy before, but I have made snide comments like, "that's quite a costume you have there" to older kids T or T-ing without a costume.

[anneofalamo]

We had the best kids last night, and I give handfuls to everyone!! The thank you's made me smile late into the evening! EVERY single kid said Thank you and when I give my huge handful, I got a few Cooooooool Thanks from the teens!!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Most teens have plenty of access to candy. The kids in my neighborhood are not hungry and they are not without access to candy.

 

I think it's an age in which they still want their childhood joys, but they also feel tremendous pressure to be cool. Trick-or-treating was one of the great pleasures of my childhood and the childhoods of my children. I know it's been really hard for them to give it up. But they also are desperate to be cool (not mine so much, but teens in general), and figuring out a costume is loaded with angst, especially for boys.

 

So yeah, I give candy to any polite teen at my door without feeling the need to chastise them.

 

That said, I know most of the kids who come to my door. If I lived in a neighborhood that had hordes of children dropped off by the carload full, I might feel differently. I might just give one little piece per kid rather than my usual generous handful!

 

:iagree:

 

We used to have college kids go out trick or treating. Most of them went all out with costumes and we would often chat for a while to catch up. Halloween was huge in our neighborhood when we moved here. One neighbor had a big party in the garage and then all the dads took the kids out while the moms went home to hand out candy. It was one of the big social events of the year. Alas, the kids grew up and I am the only one with littles.

[Daisy]

If they are walking their younger siblings around the neighborhood,then you bet. I'm all for rewarding that.

 

Just groups of teens with no costumes asking for candy? Nope, though I've never had it happen.

Edited November 1, 2010 by Daisy

[GailV]

I ask teens without costumes to earn their candy. They can perform a trick, sing me a song, recite me a poem or tell a joke. I wouldn't refuse them candy if they didn't but all of the older kids we had last night found it quite funny and were well rewarded with a handful of candy.

 

Okay, this sounds EXACTLY like my dh. Are you from St. Louis by any chance? Because parts of the area are really big on that exact thing.

 

Also, BRAG ALERT!: This year my 15yo dd choreographed a short dance to A Reel Around the Sun (from Riverdance). She, younger dd, and a 14yo friend (all of whom take Irish Dance) dressed in the same outfits that the Riverdance chorus used for that number, and went door to door with an iPod, performing at every house. Let me tell you, for them it wasn't about the candy -- it was about the chance to make a big splash. People remember them from year to year, and are fascinated to see what they come up with next.

 

I told older dd that she can probably keep trick-or-treating until she's about 50 if she's willing to put that much into it. They had a blast! And, wow, you wouldn't believe how much candy they dragged home at the end of the evening.

Edited November 1, 2010 by GailV

[Ellie]

Yeah, they're just wanting to have fun. And get some candy. No worries. :-)

[nitascool]

As an escort to 4 little trick or treaters last night I think I was most annoyed at the hoards of Teen treaters. They crowded the younger kids. Twice I watched them push younger kids aside on the sidewalk to get to a house ahead of them. And their conversation was not appropriate for the younger kids.

 

I did hear several people saying no costume, no candy to the teens. And one woman told a group of rather rude girls that she would call the police if they didn't leave her property. They stood on the sidewalk trying to scare the little ones after that.

 

My oldest counted 15 younger kids treating w/o costume...which was surprising to me.

[kalanamak]

 

So yeah, I give candy to any polite teen at my door without feeling the need to chastise them.

 

That said, I know most of the kids who come to my door. If I lived in a neighborhood that had hordes of children dropped off by the carload full, I might feel differently. I might just give one little piece per kid rather than my usual generous handful!

 

:iagree:I'd rather have seen a teen in jeans than the buxom girl who came in the teeeniest nurse's outfit smeared with fake blood. I swear I could see her navel down her cleavage. (She didn't have the legs for a mini shirt, either.)

 

BTW, hubby bought a big bag of candy, and the neighbors said to expect 10. We made 17 cones from pretty, decorated paper, and stuffed them with candy, handpuppets my son had drawn and trinkets. I stapled the cones shut and put them in a big bowl. They looked like a bouquet of flowers. I got plenty of ohhhhs over those. And only have two left. Also, kiddo hung a ghost doll up by the ceiling of the porch and when I opened the door, it released fishing line and it dropped. That worked well, too.

[elfgivas]

I'm not the candy police. .

 

this is exactly what i thought when i read the title.... life is too short to be the candy police.

 

fwiw,

ann

[Miss Sherry]

Yes, I would give candy to a teen without a costume but I don't think anyone showed up at our door without some type of costume last night. We had about 130 trick or treaters. I'm sure there were many more roaming the neighborhood last night that didn't come to our door. I think because there wasn't much room with two work vans in the driveway to walk up to our door that quite a few passed by us.

[DarlaS]

Since we live in the middle of nowhere, we never get any trick or treaters, but if anyone came to our door, they'd get candy! We're always prepared. :D

[Lolly]

Only if they say "trick or treat". I put candy in a couple of bags last night, realized they hadn't said "trick or treat", reached in their bags and took it back. I told them they hadn't said the magic Halloween words. They laughed and made the appropriate response. They got their candy back.:D

[annlaura]

Our village has a party in the park up the street from us after the official trick-or-treat hours have ended, so the teens who don't dress up usually make stops on the way to the party. Since we're on the way, we get some. This really doesn't bother me too much since the little kids have already had their go-round, and I've never had any that weren't polite. I usually give them about 30-45 minutes past the official cut-off and close to the start of their party, then I turn off the outside light and blow out the jack-o-lanterns. All the teens we've seen during the official trick-or-treat hours were costumed.

[Heather in Neverland]

I'm one of those mean people who don't think teenagers should be trick or treating. It is for children. I stopped after age 12. So did my ds. So I don't pass out candy to teenagers at all. But like I said, I am mean like that. :D