I guess I'm a big meanie. No one gets to pick candy from a bowl. I drop candy into bags, pumpkins whatever. When I go to bed, the porch light goes out and no more candy. The flip side of not refusing candy to anyone who is minimally polite.

And his little girl said, "No, Daddy, we're not allowed to go to houses with unmembers."

Ugh. That just ruins things, for the kids and your husband.

I guess I'm a big meanie. No one gets to pick candy from a bowl. I drop candy into bags, pumpkins whatever.

Same here. Good costumes get extra candy, but no one gets to grab from the bowl.

I don't mind the older kids coming by in whatever half assed costume or not. I can't really begrudge them wanting free candy!

Yeah, my neighborhood is pretty poor in some areas, so I'm not going to begrudge a kid a fun-size Snickers bar, no matter what he's wearing. As long as he's polite, which they generally are. Some are mumbly, but not mean. Just that adolescent look-at-your-feet-and-mumble thing. But most managed an audible "trick or treat" and they all said "thank you."

One toddler was adorable, because he wouldn't say "trick or treat," and couldn't quite get out "thank you," and when his mom prompted him again with "What do we say?" he suddenly yelled, "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" Worked for me.

Damn it, that reminded me I wanted to watch Fear, Itself.

I watch that and Halloween every year, but I got rid of a bunch of my Buffy DVDs when I moved and only have seasons 1, 3, and 7.

No one gets to pick candy from a bowl.

Yeah, that's going to be my practice from here on out. I never would have dared as a kid.

How did the little girl know?

I suspect they had a run-down yesterday in Sunday School about trick or treating safety and how to know which houses are "safe". I doubt it was phrased as "don't go to the Neils' house" as much of "It's much safer to go to the houses of families you know from church." Which even a 5-year-old can interpret in the way it's meant.

I just grabbed handfuls, though if someone voiced a preference "Oh, you have twix!" I'd pick those out for them. And there was the exhausted grandma who looked like she needed a boost wrangling her rambunctious charges. "Come get a handful of your favorites..."

Anna let the really cute costumes pick out their favorites. You shoulda seen their faces. She totally makes a game of it. Also, if they like her favorites, they get more of them (so they don't remain and tempt her.)

Pumpkin is staking out a Loki, who is still sleeping in the carrier. It's hilarious.

One toddler was adorable, because he wouldn't say "trick or treat," and couldn't quite get out "thank you," and when his mom prompted him again with "What do we say?" he suddenly yelled, "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" Worked for me.

hee! My favorite was a little boy who was with, I think, his preteen sister and friend, who said "Trick or Treat" and then after he got the candy "Have a nice day!!!" I could hear him saying it all up the street.

"It's much safer to go to the houses of families you know from church."

Oh, that makes sense. I was wondering how else kids would know you weren't members, and I was picturing some sort of mark on your fence like hobo marks, only to warn Mormons away from nonmembers.

I finally didn't bother this year. We're just so far out. We got more on the Navajo rez. And in between there we had the crazy right in the heart of it one million kids neighborhood.

Anyway, I spent Halloween running atound to four different stores to find dog toothpaste. But I'm home and relatively happy now.

You with the adult paper bag kids should have pulled the Primus trick - ice cube in the bag.