Has Trick Or Treating Become Less Popular?

[No Nonsense]

I’ve noticed less and less kids knocking on the door over the years and I’ve seen people comment that they didn’t receive one knock tonight. I can remember when I’d run out of candy. I couldn’t help but notice, but there were quite of few houses that didn’t have their front lights on. 
 

I saw a comment where someone believes kids these days probably think trick or treating is beneath them and they’d rather watch a movie on Netflix rather than going around dressed as a pirate or princess. I’m starting to think trick or treating is just one of those relics of the past that’s outdated with today’s kids. 

[TheGreatBuzz]

We got a lot less than expected but it was also raining. 

[China]

Here in Falls Church it has not become less popular.  In my neighborhood it is a great place to go trick or treating if you're a kid, and you get lots of good candy.  I live at the very end of our neighborhood and have always had only a few trick-or-treaters, and the number remained steady over the last 30 years.  However, if you go one block up from me there are droves of kids trick or treating and much more than when I was a kid.  

 

I would also say that the Halloween decorations are much more elaborate than when I was a kid.

[Cooked Crack]

People probably scared by all the drug dealers losing large amounts of money to hand out fentanyl.

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

It was raining here earlier, but we had to fill the candy bucket up again.  

[Destino]

It’s not even remotely as popular as it was in the 90s.  Back then you had hordes of kids out without parents excitedly haunting their communities.  Parents only felt obligated to participate for the really little ones.  These were the days where the people handing out garbage got their homes egged and trees decorated with toilet paper. 
 

that’s all dead.  
 

And today kids had to talk mom and dad to go out in the rain.  Seems most of them lost that argument.  Helicopter parenting killed trick or treating.  Parents prefer convenience to fun.  So we have more “trunk or treat” events now.  

[The 12th Commandment]

Not one.  Kinda sad, ten years ago I had dozens.  Trunk or treats are the thing now I suppose.  That and 5 pounds of candy in my belly.

[dfitzo53]

Hard to say. Our kids had a blast and actually voluntarily stopped before we completely canvassed the neighborhood because their buckets were overflowing and they had to have me stuff some candy into my hoodie.

 

 

[Fergasun]

Depends on the neighborhood.  My family drove our kids to "the good neighborhood" and it was packed.  Pretty sure there are less kids.  We have quite a few young families where I live. 

 

Wife didn't want our 14 year old going by herself, we walked around together.  

 

I remember growing up we had amatuer  haunted houses in our neighborhood.  Around us there were a few commercial ones charging $30 per person to access their scare zones.  

 

My brother and I tricker treated with friends when we were 12 and 10... I don't recall parents with us.  

 

 

[The Evil Genius]

Tbf I think we're still seeing a pandemic effect. Fwiw I saw about 150 tonight at the door, this after not handing icandy out the last 2 years.

 

Pre pandemic, non rain years we saw up to 250. 

[PokerPacker]

1 hour ago, dfitzo53 said:

Hard to say. Our kids had a blast and actually voluntarily stopped before we completely canvassed the neighborhood because their buckets were overflowing and they had to have me stuff some candy into my hoodie.

That's why you use a pillow case instead of those tiny buckets.

[Renegade7]

This is from 2018, but i kinda felt this way when I gave up handing out candy as where kids were trick or treating was changing and I jus wasn't in the right place for long stretches:

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/10/is-trick-or-treating-on-the-decline/574459/

 

Quote

According to data from the National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween survey, the number of American adults who say they’re planning to take kids trick-or-treating has hovered around 30 percent since 2005. But the NRF doesn’t break that data down between parents and nonparents, so many of the respondents not planning to trick-or-treat may just not have kids. Indeed, a 2011 survey by the nonprofit Safe Kids Worldwide found that 73 percent of parents take their kids trick-or-treating, so the tradition is still going strong.

 

The last time I tried handing out candy was 2017, made my last jack o lantern, but had to accept with two people getting shot across the street from my house in the last year I just wasn't in a good neighborhood.   

 

My Wife is from Nigeria, and despite what she says is a growing curiosity with it in say Lagos with adults buying costumes and such for parties, you can forget that **** in rural areas where she grew up.  She's become more conservative on certain things since she's gotten older and defiently has her feelings about spirits good and bad.  I have my own reasons for why I was trending against wanting my kids to trick or treat well before I met her, and she helped about seal it.  The deal is when the kids get old enough to ask about this that we always do something cooler then trick or treating versus jus ignoring them about it.

 

The reason why I bring that up is while I have no qualms about people celebrating Halloween or not, my perspective of what constituents a good or bad neighborhood for trick or treating has changed.  I live on a block that is absolutely full of kids, little ones that don't have to worry about this anal ass state asking how old they are.

 

But I'm surrounded by mixed races and religions here, I work from home and didn't see them trickling out even in the light rain, during daytime, or even last year to say go elsewhere.  I do not expect a family that looks from the middle east with the mother wearing a head covering their kids going out to trick or treat.

 

What I plan to do since this year my Wife took the kids out and I took some time to jus reboot is look into what Halloween means to other people, as like many holidays has become a composite of traditions over time (some more surprising origins then others):

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Edited November 1, 2022 by Renegade7

[dfitzo53]

2 hours ago, PokerPacker said:

That's why you use a pillow case instead of those tiny buckets.

True, though to the point of the question our old neighborhood was so dead we never even came close to filling a bucket. 

[SkinsFTW]

Trick or treating compared to when I was a kid in the 80s or late 70s is not even comparable. Back then there was literally a line of kids trudging through the neighborhood (w/ without parents) and a lot of time I remember us running or at least walking fast from house to house so that we could get there before half a dozen other kids. Yes there were lines sometimes.

 

Of course it does matter where you live. Back then I lived in Hampton VA where  there were several kids in almost every house. Now I live in a small town in Tennessee where maybe 1/3 or more of the houses are people like us with no kids.

 

My wife is from the Philippines, they didn't do Halloween over there when she was a kid so she got all excited and decorated everything outside, we bought probably 15 pounds of candy and around 6-645 15-20 little kids showed up and we saw cars with parents dropping them off and walking to a few houses with them. Then it was basically over except for a couple teenagers at 8 or so.

 

No kids going house to house making sure to hit every street until their feet fell off or their bag was overloaded like we did back then.

 

Apparently kids aren't deprived of parents buying them candy like it used to be lol.

[skinsmarydu]

Yeah, I used to buy about $40 in candy and still have to go out for more in the middle of it.  I've got half of my bowl left after last night...had 2 big rounds and then my next door neighbor...that was it. 

(Turns out that she's the owner of that gorgeous *and super friendly* bengal/striped kitty that hangs out on my deck.  I was holding him and she was petting him, it was really funny...his real name is Leon, I had been calling him Oliver.)

But yeah, it's nothing like it was when I was a kid in Sterling, Manassas or Lorton, and nothing like ATL used to be just 3-4 years ago.  

[purbeast]

We were out for like 3 hours last night with the kiddos.  It was probably the most kids I've ever seen out trick or treating, granted it's like my 4th time ever going with kids.  And it was raining off and on the whole time.  We even had 2 houses giving out alcoholic drinks to adults lol.  Fun times.

[Bang]

I have not had a trick or treater in 20 years. 
My neighborhood is a bit dark, only one light at one end. 
Prior to this year, the house next to mine (the one that is on the corner as you enter the street) was falling apart. The woman who owned it died about 10 yrs ago or so, and it just decayed. Big hole in the roof, broken windows.. weeds and trees all out of control and all over the place.  If I was 8, there's no way I'd come down this street for that haunted looking place alone.
But that house is gone, my new neighbor has grandchildren running around and a few inflatable Halloween decorations out, so I figured I may get a knock or two. Bought a bag of Kit Kats, and nothing.
When my son was little I had a couple of neighborhoods we'd go park and walk for trick or treat. I suspect those neighborhoods sill have plenty.
 

~Bang

Edited November 1, 2022 by Bang

[ixcuincle]

No we ran out of candy here and I had 30 bars 

[GhostofSparta]

Last night was the busiest I've seen in about 5 years. I even bought more candy than normal just to have some left over and still ended up running out by 7:30. So I guess YMMV.

[PleaseBlitz]

I got less than usual due to the rain.  Normally we'll get between 500-1000 on a weekday, 1000+ if it falls on a weekend.  Halloween is a whole thing in my neighborhood. 

[balki1867]

10 hours ago, Cooked Crack said:

People probably scared by all the drug dealers losing large amounts of money to hand out fentanyl.

 

I went out and spent top dollar on getting the finest fentanyl i could find to inject into each Snickers and now I'm stuck with... hold on.. .there's a knock on the door, BRB.

[Cooleyfan1993]

My parents haven’t had trick or treaters in YEARS. Their house is at the very end of a long pipe stem driveway, very hidden from the street, and when my brother, sister and I were younger we’d be bringing all our friends around to our house for candy and then head on to other houses in our neighborhood. But almost every kid I knew back then from our culdesac has grown up and is in their 20’s, and living in different places. The new families that have moved into our neighborhood now just don’t know anyone lives down our driveway, plus nobody wants to make their way down it in the dark anyway.

 

I got candy though from the store on Sunday, mainly to pig out on during our game, and ended up bringing most of it back to my apartment Sunday evening (one bag of snickers, one bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups)

[Dan T.]

I'm in a small, older neighborhood with a recent influx of younger families, so we had a few more kids than years past.  I get a kick out of seeing the kiddies in their costumes all excited.  And all were unfailingly polite.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Dan T.

[Xameil]

Lots of kids around the neighborhood we went to. Its also a younger family area so lots and lots of kids.

 

Only thing ive noticed from when i was a kid is no shaving cream all over the streets. Kids seem tamer then when i was a little tyke roaming the developments raising hell.

[PleaseBlitz]

My neighborhood usually looks like ths.