#171368886 / gettyimages.com
Call me English, but I have a natural aversion to thrusting myself in a stranger’s face demanding sugary goods. Is it just me who finds Halloween a little socially awkward? Are you too polite to trick or treat?
Accepting sweets from strangers after dark? What could be more natural? The very things we tell our kids not to do the rest of the year are suddenly positively encouraged on Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, I like the concept of Trick or Treating – I’m all for doing fun stuff with the kids, meeting new people and gorging on sweets. It’s just I’m not sure I want my neighbours’ first impression of me to be of a frazzled witch with a coven full of Haribo-crazed ghouls.
Of course, the key phrase here is: “first impression”. This is the crux of the problem – I don’t know the neighbours. The scariest thing about Halloween is that it highlights my failure to integrate with the people who live within earshot of my trampoline, to weave our family into the very fabric of the local community. And I just don’t like forcing introductions on people when sober, no matter how many baby groups I’ve had to break into over the years. After a drink, I’m everyone’s friend, obviously, but I’m pretty sure that being drunk in charge of a Trick or Treat posse is not my ticket to Neighbourhood Watch glory.
All right on the Fright Night
So it was, that last year, I did a pre-Trick or Treat. We’d just moved in and yes, I went round to a few neighbours’ houses in broad daylight, carrying the calling card of my cute little baby, and asked them if they were happy to receive us on Halloween dressed as zombies. Most were a little taken aback but very amenable; several were extremely friendly. A couple muttered that they didn’t have anything in – but I was ready for them! I had a carrier bag of Tangfastics to dole out, so there were no excuses. No crusty old cooking sultanas or broken Rich Tea fingers for us! So when it came to Halloween, it was all right on the fright night.
My pre-Trick or Treat round even sparked the beginning of a beautiful friendship with a couple of our nearest neighbours. We’re not best buds (they’re my grandma’s age) but we’re on swapping-recipes terms (read, me running round mid-carrot cake asking for cinnamon and, er, flour). But this Halloween, I face the awkward situation of not having seen most of the other neighbours for the whole intervening year. I created the first impression of a fairly normal local mother who is interested in matters such as the campaign for weekly bin collection and better street lighting. I did not completely sully this with our Halloween appearance – “if you scream on their doorstep, there’s no sweets for you, young Darth Maul!” But that’s as far as it went. But perhaps – like certain family members and Christmas – seeing the neighbours but once a year is the best way to keep up good relations?
November 5, 2020
Are You Too Polite To Trick or Treat? – Wry Mummy
maximios Blog
#171368886 / gettyimages.com
Call me English, but I have a natural aversion to thrusting myself in a stranger’s face demanding sugary goods. Is it just me who finds Halloween a little socially awkward? Are you too polite to trick or treat?
Accepting sweets from strangers after dark? What could be more natural? The very things we tell our kids not to do the rest of the year are suddenly positively encouraged on Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, I like the concept of Trick or Treating – I’m all for doing fun stuff with the kids, meeting new people and gorging on sweets. It’s just I’m not sure I want my neighbours’ first impression of me to be of a frazzled witch with a coven full of Haribo-crazed ghouls.
Of course, the key phrase here is: “first impression”. This is the crux of the problem – I don’t know the neighbours. The scariest thing about Halloween is that it highlights my failure to integrate with the people who live within earshot of my trampoline, to weave our family into the very fabric of the local community. And I just don’t like forcing introductions on people when sober, no matter how many baby groups I’ve had to break into over the years. After a drink, I’m everyone’s friend, obviously, but I’m pretty sure that being drunk in charge of a Trick or Treat posse is not my ticket to Neighbourhood Watch glory.
All right on the Fright Night
So it was, that last year, I did a pre-Trick or Treat. We’d just moved in and yes, I went round to a few neighbours’ houses in broad daylight, carrying the calling card of my cute little baby, and asked them if they were happy to receive us on Halloween dressed as zombies. Most were a little taken aback but very amenable; several were extremely friendly. A couple muttered that they didn’t have anything in – but I was ready for them! I had a carrier bag of Tangfastics to dole out, so there were no excuses. No crusty old cooking sultanas or broken Rich Tea fingers for us! So when it came to Halloween, it was all right on the fright night.
My pre-Trick or Treat round even sparked the beginning of a beautiful friendship with a couple of our nearest neighbours. We’re not best buds (they’re my grandma’s age) but we’re on swapping-recipes terms (read, me running round mid-carrot cake asking for cinnamon and, er, flour). But this Halloween, I face the awkward situation of not having seen most of the other neighbours for the whole intervening year. I created the first impression of a fairly normal local mother who is interested in matters such as the campaign for weekly bin collection and better street lighting. I did not completely sully this with our Halloween appearance – “if you scream on their doorstep, there’s no sweets for you, young Darth Maul!” But that’s as far as it went. But perhaps – like certain family members and Christmas – seeing the neighbours but once a year is the best way to keep up good relations?