Your Trick or Treating Plans
Decatur Metro | October 6, 2010Rachel writes in…
I am wondering if people are planning on taking their kids trick or treating on the actual holiday, which is a Sunday, or Saturday, to avoid the chaos on a school night.
Rachel writes in…
I am wondering if people are planning on taking their kids trick or treating on the actual holiday, which is a Sunday, or Saturday, to avoid the chaos on a school night.
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Thanks to a party at a friend’s house, we’ll be doing ours on Sunday – despite the “chaos” this surely will cause. But, we’ll have candy at the ready just in case we have any costumed visitors on Saturday.
Sunday is Halloween. That’s when the trick or treating should be.
Agreed. It seems the only time people get confused is when Halloween falls on a Sunday, otherwise, Monday through Thursday trick-or-treating is “all systems —go”.
I’ve never been able to understand that.
Agree with Amanda. Sunday is the 31st. I don’t think it’s convention to switch–we don’t switch the days of trick-or-treating when Halloween falls on a weekday…
I agree with you both. However, some municipalities have made efforts to switch it for various reasons: impact on schools, conflict with Sunday evening church services, etc. I’m not aware of Decatur or surrounding neighborhoods making any such declarations.
CSD has a teacher workday on Nov. 1, does it not?
If anyone shows up at our house on Saturday, they’ll be pretty disappointed.
yes…nov. 1st is a teacher workday so no school for the kiddos!
So by ‘pretty disappointed’ do you mean they’ll get nothing? As an alternative, might I suggest giving out fruits and vegetables. Tell ‘em to come back on Sunday for candy. There’s a curious irony to this concept and it fits in well with the Decatur aesthetic. Just try to get locally sourced produce.
Start out at the Decatur Farmer’s Market. It’s there on Saturday’s and Wednesday’s. OK, I confess. It was me that caused the sign painter’s error on those offensive banners that hang so close to those reckless people giving away innocent baby chicks away for free. Isn’t it obvious that Decaturites aren’t equipped with the level of crunchiness required to adequately care for backyard poultry.
Only go to YDFM if you must. But beware cause some folks have reported hearing the owners using foul language and a certain foul odor of indeterminable origin permeating the air. Be prepared to check your reusable Trader Joe’s bag at the door. I know, I know, it’ll be tough to part with. But they’ll give it back, I promise. They’re just trying to cut down on thievery. And take a coat, it’s wicked chilly in there. (I wonder if Dollar General will sell cute reusable bags. And who would caught carrying one if they did.)
On your way back into town, cause you know YDFM ain’t technically city of Decatur, ride down Scott Blvd and stop by Westchester Elementary. Light a candle, say a prayer or observe a moment of silence in remembrance of when it was a thriving school with happy, smiling children. Dagnabbit, some of ‘em even walked to school. (It’s now home to a cadre of a imperfect policy makers, don’t ya know.) After you’ve given due respect ride back towards Clairemont. (If you head north on Clairemont it becomes Clairmont but that’s a totally separate discussion.) While you’re waiting to take a right at the light, ponder exactly why that bench is sitting there. It’s a good valid question, don’t ya think?
Take Clairemont until it dead ends into the old timey Dekalb County Courthouse. You’ll notice a couple of controversial statues. The carpetbaggers in town universally agree that the confederate solder is offensive and must go. There’s no consensus on whether the old folks embracing on the bench are creepy or heart warming. Recently, some have even suggested the blue hairs should be taxed more heavily than the young ones. To be honest, that kind of ticked Papaw off.
After all this running around, you’ll probably be famished. There’s a slight chance the Decatur Diner will be open as we are nearing the couple weeks mark recently mentioned on DM. Just make sure you’re not a font snob or a faux finish elitist. But even so, it might be worth it if their tuna melt lives up to Cuba’s expectations.
Maybe you’re not that hungry. So, head on over to the Yogurt Tap. You can sit outside and gaze upon the MARTA plaza. Everyone agrees it’s preferable to the previous one but that’s pretty much where the agreement stops on that train. If you see any teenage skateboarders, call the police. Skateboarding is a crime in Decatur, it’s official. Free Westchester. Oh wait! Where’s my editor? And if those rascally bocce ballers are too rowdy at Leon’s, call the cops. Sometimes you can’t even hear the poetry jams at Java Monkey.
Oh shoot, at this point you realize that you were so mesmerized by the selection of bulk snacks at YDFM, you didn’t get enough fruits. Don’t fret, you can head southside to the ELFM. Follow Eastlake Drive all the way out to Hosea Williams. This will take you through historic Oakhurst. It used to be cool before the stroller brigade came in and ran all the dogs off the patios and the heroin users out of the bathrooms. Breeders ruin everything. Even happy hour, apparently. Be sure to come to a complete stop at the 4-way. You never know when some spandexed convoy of anarchist cyclists might be plowing through. Heck, smash ‘em some say. Technically, pedestrians do not always have the right-of-way in Georgia. Don’t suggest otherwise or the lawyers will get on you quick. And if one of those cute little mommies comes walking by pushing her BOB and she’s not on the sidewalk, smash her and her misbehaving, dinner-ruining offspring. Streets are for cars. The really hardened old-timers would point out that you’re doing the city a favor by reducing the strain on the CSD but I’m not one to say that myself.
DM, I hope this isn’t considered thread-jacking. BTW, Writerchad and his minions will be hitting the candy circuit Sunday. If you have any remaining acorn squash, we’ll take those too.
LOL.
LOL!
how much coffee have you had, writerchad ?
it was a funny post, though.
(you forgot to tell people to leave their dogs home…they aren’t welcome on the patios anymore!)
I am utterly offended by the anti-anti-pro-Decaturite prejudice in your post–you MUST be new here and not as liberal/experienced/solvent/initiated as the rest of us. Grow up, chad.
It’s the Dekalb Covnty Covrthovse, in case you hadn’t noticed. (See what riding your bike on Kids Walk and Bike to School Day gets you?)
Hee hee. What they’ll most likely get on Saturday, should they show up, are some disgruntled Georgia fans who’ve suffered a very long and bad day. All the candy will have been consumed, pre-holiday, in a stress-eating binge. We’ll probably have some beer left, though. Or some toothbrushes.
Write another one!
OMG – Writer Chad for mayor! This was post of the year.
Someone needs to adjust their meds though.
love, love, love your post! keep it coming.
Sure an’ The Chadly hath got out of control…no more cane sugar for thee!
I love how Decatur cares about their kids – how great it is to have a teacher work day after Halloween!!!!
I’d venture this is less about caring about the kids than a smart tactical decision for the teachers!
There will be candy at our house only on the 31st.
I was wondering this myself! Glad I’m in good company…
Halloween on Sunday. Candy on Sunday at our house. We don’t change it when it falls on a Monday – Thursday. Saturday is prime time for an adult party!
Saturday is the Psycho Cross event at Dick Lane Velodrome, 1:00 – 7:00. On Sunday evening we will ride bikes in the neighborhood, particularly Avondale Estates! We may even have candy in our panniers. So don’t come knockin’ on our street.
Keep that stuff in Avondale, mister Tom.
Anyone trick or treating on Saturday better be prepared to show proper credentials. Outside of the crucial Halloween exemption on October 31st, that’s just plain old door to door soliciting. I’ll bet Steve can even post the appropriate code, in case you want to print it out and tape it to your front door.
Give ‘em a Snickers and they’ll hit you up for a subscription to People or a donation to the DNC.
by the way— growing up in new york state, we had such a thing as “beggar’s night” which was the night before halloween. a few peeps would come a callin’ looking for tricks or treats…classic!
Come over to First Baptist Decatur on Wednesday the 27th for food, cotton candy, etc. on the front lawn and “trunk’r’treat in the parking deck – 5:00 – 7:30p.
Do I have to bring a child?
The way mine has been acting, I can loan you one.
Why is it “trunk” or treat?
Will there be elephants?
Will costumes be stored in trunks?
Because of the car trunks?
Can anybody tell me why a house on Maxwell Street has had its front yard crammed–and I mean CRAMMED–full of Halloween decorations for at least the past two weeks? We’re talking big inflatable things, fake spiderwebs, all kinds of stuff. It’s quite a small yard, so the effect is pretty overwhelming when you walk by.
I never knew that Halloween was a home decorating competition with strings of lights and Halloween egg trees until I moved to Atlanta. Where I grew up, pumpkinds and cornecopias were more the style. It really puts the pressure on us parents when our kids see yards like this. Tasteful is not a kid value.
It didn’t used to be such a big deal–a jack-o-lantern or two would suffice. It’s like everything else–marketing. Companies that make Christmas decorations figured out how to keep a more reliable revenue stream year-round.
What I want to know is what happens to all that fake spiderweb? It looks totally synthetic and environmentally disastrous.
But there actually IS a contest this year, announced in the Decatur Focus. You are going to participate, aren’t you? For your kids? Better yet, let them do the decorating since it really is okay to be tacky and not-so-tasteful for this holiday. Turn old sheets into ghosts, stuff black trash bags full of paper and stick some pool noodle legs on to become giant spiders to go with the store-bought web stuff, make tombstones out of discarded boogie boards or styrofoam, carve or paint Jack-o-lanterns, build a scarecrow. This holiday is all about creativity and fun. And the candy, of course.
Thanks for the reminder Nancy. I’ve been meaning to post this all week!
Did not know that! That explains a lot! I like a good competition. Just so long as my kids don’t expect us to compete. Given how long it takes us to take down decorations, I can just see us with Halloween decorations still up on Christmas Eve.
Just leave the Halloween decorations up, decorate over them with the Christmas ones, and then just take them all down at the same time. Less work. Skeletons, reindeer, orange lights, red and green lights, I doubt anyone would notice…
Because they like it? I don’t see anything wrong with people making efforts and it bothers me we have to get judgy on people trying to be joyful.
Ditto, except when people get all insane with the Christmas decorations. Then I’m on the “less is more” wagon…still, if you have kid, I can see where it’d be difficult to tell a youngster s/he needs to exercise “taste” in holiday decor…
You don’t love it when Santa and the Little Baby Jesus are hanging out on the roof with a couple of candy canes and the star of Bethlehem?!?
My favorite is when nodding lighted deer are added to the floodlit manger scene.
You left out a gyrating neon Elvis. No manger scene is complete without that.
But we can’t help being “judgy” now can we?
Well, dangit, Gibbetties, if we weren’t judgy, you wouldn;t have any fun here at all! :-p
I would wager that she is married to a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit.
I live in Decatur Heights and I got ZERO trick to treaters last year. I think it was because there was a block party or something, but I thought it was weird.
We need an app for estimating number of trick or treaters. We’ve been caught off-guard in both directions, underestimating and overestimating the number of trick or treaters.
Parents of older kids: Please tell them to stop trick or treating at 9 PM or earlier. Doorbells should not be rung after that because some of us go to bed real early. It becomes more of a trick and less of a treat to answer the door after 9.
I totally agree, both on the candy estimator app and the no-doorbell-ringing-after-9pm. Those of us with little ones and dogs start cringing around 8:30pm.
Gotta add that I’ve been sorely tempted in the past few years to put up one of those “if you are taller than this line” type signs to discourage trick-or-treaters who seem way to old. Seriously, if you are old enough to drive from house to house you should not be asking me for candy…
so true…especially when they show up with NO costume (and NO manners)…
That is SO much a pet peeve of mine. I have actually posted a sign some years saying “No adults unless accompanied by children.”
I don’t mind parents who drive into our neighborhood and escort or supervise groups of little kids around, I assume they live in apartments or in areas where trick or treaters are not welcome and/or safe. As long as they’re costumed in some fashion–after all, I’m supposed to get some entertainment in exchange for the candy–and polite, it’s all good.
On the other hand, teens and adults who go around with no pretense of dressing up and just shove grocery bags in my face expecting big handfuls of candy, make me think each year about keeping the lights turned off and hiding.
A couple of years ago we actually had a group of 6-7 teenagers come around in their street clothes and collecting candy in their backpack…with the school books still in them. I mean, really? You can’t even make the effort of emptying your backpack? Never mind even a teeny attempt at a costume. It’s turning me into the Halloween Curmudgeon…
On Halloween, we keep apples and carrots by the front door. When teens or tweens show up with no costume, we hold up an apple and a carrot and ask them to choose: would you like an apple or a carrot? We don’t offer them candy.
Of course, this is the demographic that eggs and TPs houses, so I know we’re just tempting fate. But it is hilarious. BTW, the kids all choose the apple. Haven’t had a carrot picker yet …
What to do when huge people in no costume show up: Start gushing “Oh my gosh, I just love your costumes. Let me guess who you are….Wait, wait, don’t tell me….Did you Mom help you with that costume? It’s SO-o-o-o darling! Do you want candy or do you want one of these plastic monster rings? They GLOW IN THE DARK!!!!”
So, two years ago, my husband was passing out candy on Halloween. These kids — probably about 10 years old or so — showed up without any costumes. He somewhat jokingly asked, “So, where are your costumes?” One of the little girls replied, “My mom couldn’t afford costumes this year.” I was aghast. And so sad. My husband stopped asking questions after that and dutifully passed out the candy…
By “huge folks”, I meant teenagers, not 10 year olds. I would not challenge 10 year olds who came before 9 PM.
In my day, if the front porch light was off after 9:00 PM that meant the occupants had gone to bed. Lights off = skip that house. Doesn’t that work here?
Depends on your house layout. Our front door still looks fairly lit even with the porch light off because of light coming from inside the house. So we have to turn off all the lights in the front of our house to make it clear that are we are not receiving visitors any longer. And still the doorbell will ring. I think the folks who are clueless about what to wear and when to trick or treat are also clueless about signs that they are not welcome any longer.
We actually blocked the top of the stairs one year with porch chairs when we were done for the evening – at 10:00, no less – and turned off the porch light. Still had a couple of groups of young teens stumble up the steps and move the chairs aside to get to the door.
When it gets to be 9:00 pm, we have a little sign we put up that says:
“Now it’s after 9 o’clock
No more treats
So please don’t knock!”
Then we blow out the jack-o-lanterns…it’s always worked, thus far.
Trick or treating on Sunday with little jj and going to a party at QueenB’s house on Saturday. Woowoo!!!
Some of the old, big houses on Sycamore St go all out for Halloween. Of particular note is the “black cat house” between Commerce and Sycamore Place.
You have really tempted me into saying something about that scary Isakson sign on Sycamore, but I’ll keep it light tonight
In Winnona grown-ups party both nights–trick or treating is always on Halloween. If you’ve never been to Winnona on Halloween then you need to see it, mostly on Avery.
I love chad.
Me too.
I love the enormous pumpkin on Ponce de Leon.
I’ve created a Google Map like the one I’ve done every year marking the Decorate Decatur winners. This one is for houses with great Halloween displays. It’s open for anyone to add markers (I think – I’m not really adept at Google Maps), so feel free to add any addresses o places you all think are worth the drive. Or bike ride or walk.
Link to the map is:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=103861590830461212155.00049147ad57d863f6ff9&z=16
My non American husband thought it was a maypole and got really confused.
Hah!
And I was wrong about anyone being able to add the map. Apparently you have to be a “My Maps” user in order to edit it. Still, it’s easy to sign up for that on Google and very handy. If you don’t want to bother but want to add an address, leave a comment on the map and I’ll add it.
Any idea what Moey is going to be for Halloween this year?
Excellent question!!! altmod? It IS midterm elections time…