Trick-or-Treat Friendly Streets in East Dulwich ​🎃

[TWB Cat Sitter]

Hi Neighbours!

With Halloween fast approaching, let's make it easy for families to find those welcoming, spooky doorsteps around East Dulwich. If your street is planning to hand out treats, share the location here! It'll help families plan their routes & make sure no little ghouls & goblins miss out on the fun.

Looking forward to a safe & festive Halloween 🎃

Here's one of our oh-so adorable little lions @ twb. as we're all getting into the Halloween spirit!

[Rockets]

Court Lane and surrounding streets are always good - in fact, many are already putting their decorations up now.

[SpringTime]

Think this year I might encourage the kids to go to the family mausoleum and pick up some goodies and relics, which will ready them for yule, life, birth, and for hell (which isn't an eternally bad place, it's just where you can have a wash before you're born again) and then rebirth. 

Or I might ply them with processed factory trash riddled with sugar after having ordered online their obsolete costumes made by slaves in Asian sweatshops.   X

[TWB Cat Sitter]

Hindmans Rd will be handing out goodies 🎃

[malumbu]

Please stick to your own streets.  I don't understand why you need to go further.  We are pretty child friendly round our way.  Pumpkins are often put out to say it is OK to knock.  Why do you think it is OK to other locations.

Edited October 30 by malumbu

[Azalea]

To me, it’s  bizarre to go to streets and ring strangers’ doorbells purely for the reason of getting free sweets.   There needs to be some interchange with the people who are giving you sweets, they are supposed to vaguely recognise you even though you are costumed and say how great you look which hopefully you do.  The trick or treaters should know who you are.  I’ve heard too many older bratty children (age 10 plus+) walking the streets round here and audibly saying how great it is to be given free stuff while not even wearing a costume.   The tiny children are the only ones I’d have any time for now.    I lived in North America for a while as a child and we only went round our local streets and rang the doorbells of people we knew.  When I was too old to trick or treat , it  was fun to hand out the treats while seeing kids you knew, younger brothers and sisters of your school friends,  and who had spent time and effort organising their costumes.  Some of our neighbours with garages organised bobbing for apples and had hot mulled non alcoholic cider and donuts for both children and the grownups.  

[jazzer]

The whole trick or treat thing is bizarre, another imported & unwanted tradition, the only winners are the shops who sell the costumes and sweets. 

[Moovart]

From the costumes to the decorations it's a horrorfest of non biodegradable orange, white and black plastic and polyester 😱

[claresy]

Trick or treaters (age immaterial, but costume important!) don't forget Lordship Lane - a number of houses opposite The Lordship Pub are ready to welcome you. Personally I've never had anyone not dressed up and all the children have been polite and charming.  I have no problem with older children - when you're too young to go to pubs or parties and too grown up to go with parents you need to have some fun too and my kids loved it at this age. It's only one night of the year and really exciting when you're young. 

[Sue]

When did all this start in England? It seems to be quite recently.

When I lived in Scotland there was guising every year,  but I never remember it in England.

I have very mixed feelings about it, as although it's obviously fun for the children whose parents are financially or otherwise able to participate, it also seems like yet another way for big businesses to take the opportunity to make money.

This is an interesting article about the history etc, though North American centric in parts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating

 

Edited October 31 by Sue

[alice]

Is it that long since we went guying?  I mean healthwise it was better you  got hard cash instead of sweets.

[Dulwichway]

What a sad bunch of boring negative killjoys that frequent this forum! let the good kids have their fun, it's no wonder only a handful of members bother posting on here. 🙄

[claresy]

I don't understand why you need to be 'financially able to contribute'? I was a single mum without much money but rustling up a witch or cat costume was easy and pumpkins and sweets are cheap (or you can make biscuits). One of the joys of Halloween is that, unlike Christmas, it doesn't need to be expensive. I agree that the marketing around it is not ideal -maybe there's pressure to buy stuff now. 

[David Peckham]

Trick or Treat is fairly benign these days.

When it first became a thing in Manchester in the 80s, it was just another scam to raise funds for a bunch of 'Screamer Repeaters' &  'Airbombs', except it was essentially demanding money with menaces rather than basic begging.

It was far more profitable than 'cob coaling' or dressing your mates' smallest brother in an anorak and mask, sticking them in an old pram and asking for a 'Penny for the Guy'.

Teenagers can't buy fireworks now. It's health and safety gone mad.

[Sue]

18 minutes ago, Dulwichway said:

What a sad bunch of boring negative killjoys that frequent this forum! let the good kids have their fun, it's no wonder only a handful of members bother posting on here. 🙄

A forum is for people to express their opinions! It would be very boring if everybody had the same opinion!

You presumably didn't "frequent this forum" in the old days?

It was toxic compared to how it is now.

Edited October 31 by Sue

[satsuma]

Good Lord, so many of you are absolutely miserable.

[Sue]

2 hours ago, satsuma said:

Good Lord, so many of you are absolutely miserable.

Well, that's a cheery post which has really contributed to the discussion  🤣🤣🤣

6 hours ago, claresy said:

I don't understand why you need to be 'financially able to contribute'? I was a single mum without much money but rustling up a witch or cat costume was easy and pumpkins and sweets are cheap (or you can make biscuits). One of the joys of Halloween is that, unlike Christmas, it doesn't need to be expensive. I agree that the marketing around it is not ideal -maybe there's pressure to buy stuff now. 

I did say "financially or otherwise" able to contribute x

[claresy]

I'm curious what 'otherwise' might be 🙂 !

[Sue]

54 minutes ago, claresy said:

I'm curious what 'otherwise' might be 🙂 !

Time, for example.

Edited October 31 by Sue

[ab29]

On 31/10/2024 at 07:57, Moovart said:

From the costumes to the decorations it's a horrorfest of non biodegradable orange, white and black plastic and polyester 😱

This should be number one consideration - how it affects nature