Halloween no where near as big as in the 90s?

[grappos13]

Hi all..

just wanted to get your opinions on this... maybe its just my area i dunno...and it can be very well attributed a lot to the change of the timing of daylight savings times... and this year maybe because of H1N1...

but over the past few years, barely any kids are going out trick or treating... usually my house as far as i can remember always had between 100-120 kids... my mom really loves halloween and decorates the crap out of our house on the outside, always the best one on the street and the other close streets too.. anyways..

after daylight savings times moved to AFTER halloween every year now... kids dont start going out till around 6:45 - 7pm..whereas before it was dark enuff at 5:45 - 6pm... but kids seem to still only go out till around 8:30max.. so that means before they use to get over 2.5 hrs.. but now only 1.5 hrs... this could be the big thing...but even last year my mom still had about 80 kids or so... considerably down from before the change in daylight savings time.. but this year, we had like 25-30... liek wow.. my mom bought 2 big boxes of 48 chips each and a box of like 100 chocolates to give one chip bag and one chocolate out.. but now we have soo much excess.... even my friend told me that his mom said they had 9 kids in his area...like wow..

any thought on this? maybe this year it was strickly low because of H1N1 fears? saturday night?

what u all think?

when i was a kid.. man i use to see tons and tons of kids everywhere i went on my street, they were everywhere.. then when i got older and would go off by myself and my friends (from 10-13)..there were still tons of kids everywhere... now its nothing... halloween is not big anymore :(... i hope when i have kids that it makes a comeback so they can experience it like i did when i was a kid

[chinokid]

i was thinking the same thing earlier. i went out for dinner and saw less than 10 kids while driving from finch and mccowan to yonge and steeles. hope when i have kids, they'll enjoy halloween like i did

[rabbit]

It's society. It's getting more dangerous (or perceived as such), so parents don't let their kids run wild on Hallowe'en anymore.

I used to stay out late trick or treating, and it didn't matter if it was dark (what are street lights for?). One year, I dressed up as Darth Vader, and had red cellophane covering the eye holes so I couldn't see very well. I think there was snow, also (I wasn't living in Vancouver back then).

I don't recall there being parents patrolling the streets in cars, and people didn't have Hallowe'en parties in lieu of trick or treating.

[UrbanPoet]

It's society. It's getting more dangerous (or perceived as such), so parents don't let their kids run wild on Hallowe'en anymore.

I used to stay out late trick or treating, and it didn't matter if it was dark (what are street lights for?). One year, I dressed up as Darth Vader, and had red cellophane covering the eye holes so I couldn't see very well. I think there was snow, also (I wasn't living in Vancouver back then).

I don't recall there being parents patrolling the streets in cars, and people didn't have Hallowe'en parties in lieu of trick or treating.


It was actually more dangerous in the 70s and 80s then it is now...
Crime goes up and down. So far there arent many significant changes in crime levels.

The % ratio of kids was a lot higher a few decades ago... mainly due to lax immigration policies in the 70s and early 80s that promoted population growth.

Now in the 90s-00's population growth has slowed down, immigration policy is much tougher, and people are having less kids.

[D-Roc]

Maybe the kids in your area grew up?

[nano]

there was 4 homes on my block with lights on. when i was younger there would have been 4 homes with lights off... i think everyone is getting older in my area.

[Ground_0]

its pretty sad we used ti get over 100 total 17 last night

[brunes]

The parents nowadays load up kids in the car and take them to the "rich, safe, family" neighborhoods. where tey can load up their bags in less time and go back home.

I got less than 10 kids this year, was talking to my buddy who got well over 200. He lives in one of these neighbourhoods.

So, maybe that is what you are seeing in your area too, it is now an "out" neighbourhood to go to.

[gmark2000]

Too many immigrants don't know what Halloween is and either barricade themselves and shut off the lights or go out for dinner.

[Usuyami]

Too many immigrants don't know what Halloween is and either barricade themselves and shut off the lights or go out for dinner.

Possibly true. Or they might go trick or treating as a family without knowing it's only for kids. Had a few brown families come by yesterday each touting a bag asking for candy. Awkward..

[ibanker]

this is the internet age. why would kids to trick or treating when they can just subscribe to a channel with another kid on youtube doing it feel like they did it too

[YoungDr3amer]

They began arriving at my doorsteps around 6:30, from that moment on, I completely depleted my entire 250 bite-size candy bars within 45 minutes. Eventually, I turned off my drive way lights and door hall lights to avoid further trick-or-treaters.

A lot of cute little kids in their cute little costumes, reminds me of the good ol' times...

[voraciousbookworm]

Possibly true. Or they might go trick or treating as a family without knowing it's only for kids. Had a few brown families come by yesterday each touting a bag asking for candy. Awkward..

Wow, that is strange. Did you end up giving candy to each family member?

[littlevince]

Possibly true. Or they might go trick or treating as a family without knowing it's only for kids. Had a few brown families come by yesterday each touting a bag asking for candy. Awkward..

i had a bunch of chinese ppl in my area do that as well.


i thin one family had like 14 ppl seriously and all of them had a bag.

[mwong168]

even my friend told me that his mom said they had 9 kids in his area...like wow..

I had like 10 kids in total come the entire evening. I think it is a combination of the H1N1 virus and it was also pretty cold. My daughter is only 10 months old but if she were older I probably would have kept her in because she would have had a lot left over for herself because not many people came :razz:

Also with it being cold and a bit windy the chances of getting sick is there too and that would require a trip to the doctor or walk-in clinic and be exposed to other potentially sick people who might have H1N1. But I have noticed the popularity of Halloween in getting less and less each year. I use to love going out trick or treating with my who entourage of friends. We would have garbage bags and pillow cases filled by the end of the night.

[googoo]

Too many immigrants don't know what Halloween is and either barricade themselves and shut off the lights or go out for dinner.

I'm not too sure about the immigrant idea, but I do notice that some people can't even be bothered putting out a pumpkin. What really bothers me is how would they have felt?

This year we had about 150 kids, usually about 130, and my families biggest year ever was about 240 kids, that was in Ballantrae, and we saw school buses bringing kids in!

Brnet

[ClubberLang]

I beleive a great deal of this comes down to the demographic of the area. At the time I was growing up our subdivision was brand new, tonnes of young families. Now that is not the case.

I garauntee if you were to check out Whitby, where new homes have popped up like flies over the past 5-10 years Halloween would be thriving.

[ephemera]

I think the opposite was true, I saw more people out than last year. My kids bags where stuffed with candy. Even full size bars. So much for the recession.

[macy69]

Had a kid come to the door wearing a yard waste bag to two eye holes cut out; nothing else.

I asked him what he was, and he said he was a Maple Leaf fan. It made me laugh, since I was watching CBC and the Habs had just scored a dreadful goal.

...so I gave him an extra chocolate bar.

[discostupid]

i live in a fairly well-to-do, safe neighbourhood close to a K-8 school...i think i got 10 doorbell rings, maybe 30 kids in total

best costume was this kid in a commercial pilot outfit with matching roll-around luggage (for candy)

[skyblue12]

i've noticed in my area that as the years have progressed fewer and fewer children go trick-or-treating. i remember back when i went myself (which was about 7-8 years ago?) there were many kids on the street, and many houses that were decorated very nicely for halloween. now it seems like there's just a few random kids around and barely any of the houses have any decorations except for a pumpkin on the doorstep or something.

one of the reasons why i stopped giving out candy was because there seemed to be so many fewer kids trick-or-treating in my area now, so chances are if i turned my light and gave out candy i wouldn't even be able to give out more than a dozen.

[raps4lyfe]

Had a kid come to the door wearing a yard waste bag to two eye holes cut out; nothing else.

I asked him what he was, and he said he was a Maple Leaf fan. It made me laugh, since I was watching CBC and the Habs had just scored a dreadful goal.

...so I gave him an extra chocolate bar.

Hahahaha that did deserve some extra candy lol.

Our street and surrounding area was filled with kids. We had about 350 pieces of chocolates and some suckers, and we ran out of them by 8:30.
I agree with some above posters it's all about where you live and what the demographics of the area is. I did have this Older lady come trick or treating. She comes every year and she has about 6 childrens of her own and some go to high school and one is in college, talk about akwardness

[Emancipated]

There's just no suspension of disbelief anymore. Everyone is scared half to death about something or other that keeps them confined in their bubble. TV networks don't even bother playing specials like Charlie Brown's Special.

Sigh.

[Yankees 1903]

Halloween has been slowing moving from just a day for kids to being for adults also. Trick or Treating is down because more kids are going to parties or indoor Trick or Treating. More adults are also buying costumes and going to or hosting parties. I believe Halloween sales have actually broken records the last few years and continue to rise even through a down economic period. Adult costumes do cost more than kids costumes. Most of my street seemed to have their lights on and was giving out candy.

[Teh_Canadian]

Possibly true. Or they might go trick or treating as a family without knowing it's only for kids. Had a few brown families come by yesterday each touting a bag asking for candy. Awkward..

Probaly my friends family. Haha.

Immigrant thing is true though. My parents can't get the concept of giving away candy, and turn off the lights and hide. A Jamaican smoking on his doorstep told me no candy because they're too many kids to give it to. Which is true.

[wikkid_bigshot]

What's the deal with airline food anyways....

If we are creating a Seinfeld type rant about kids nowadays, I remember when I used to be a kid we biked EVERYWHERE. Every kid owned a bike and we biked to the store, to arcade, to each other's houses, everything. A bike and a bike lock is the most important social tools of an elementary school/young high school student.

Now, no kids every bike anywhere. That's why they are all fat and is type 2 diabetic and have eye problems.

[Imran DeRoy]

Too many immigrants don't know what Halloween is and either barricade themselves and shut off the lights or go out for dinner.


Sure, put it on the 'immigrants'. Surely there aren't any wholesome white people doing so!

My parents were immigrants and so were those of all my friends and we all went out on Halloween while our parents gave out candy at home. Immigrants these days are even more eager to assimilate and imitate.

As for the brown families and Chinese ones coming with adults asking for candy - if that is true - who cares? You think Canadians don't embarrass themselves abroad by ignoring or not being aware of local customs? Just look at all the bumbling white people in Japan for crying out loud.


Halloween these days is dead, though. Around here anyway (NW Calgary). Nothing like when I was a kid..

[Sauerkraut]

Sure, put it on the 'immigrants'. Surely there aren't any wholesome white people not doing so!

(snip)..

Uh, you can migrate to Canada and also be white. Thousands have done it, my family included.

[Imran DeRoy]

Uh, you can migrate to Canada and also be white. Thousands have done it, my family included.


Rants like the previous ones focus on obvious minorities, as demonstrated by the Chinese and brown family rants. The timeless whining about Brampton and Markham being 'invaded' always refers to Asians, Chinese and brown. The assumption of these rants is that real, wholesome, white Canadians would never do such a thing.

[peroxide8888]

Maybe the kids in your area grew up?
BINGO! (in my parents' neighbourhood, for sure). My folks have been in their house for 32 years, and many neighbours have been there almost as long or longer. All the kids from the neighbourhood in my trick-or-treating days have all grown up, and have their own kids now.

I handed out the treats at my parents' house a couple times in the past few years; there were 2 kids the first year and 4 the next. I remember droves of kids in my days.

For my daughter's first time out trick-or-treating this year, we went to a local shopping mall. It's bright, dry and safe; we only had to worry about her being knocked over by the bigger kids (or immigrant Chinese moms who were trick-or-treating themselves :confused::lol:).

[lip]

Depends totally on how many kids are in the neighbourhood which varies from decade to decade....my parents used to get close to a hundred at one time but now there are no kids on the street so they only get a few kids...
When I used to go trick or treating I used to go out when it just started to get dark and would be out until my dad would force me to come home...I used to pull in 2-3 pillow cases full of candy (this is when I was 8 or 9 years old)...those where the days!!!!

It was not bad in my Brampton street for a street that is essentially a dead end...my 3 year old was a pirate (peter pan pirate) and had a great time...he is cute so most gave a couple of handfuls (great for fattening dad up as we will not let the boy eat much candy)...
The "brown" families were giving candy out as much as any other ethnic/white group and I find most get into these sorts of things...lots of kids of different colour out and about...as long as kids go to public schools such integration will always happen which is great...it only goes the other way when people keep with their own kind and put their kids in religious type schools...

There was one young family that I actually know that had a sign on their door that said "we don't celebrate Halloween"...they are religious nutters...makes me a little sick(I am vehemently anti-religious) to see their stupid beliefs wreck what would be a great night for their little two kids...anyway...enough ranting...

LIP

[Evil Baby]

It would only make sense that you'd be getting less kids than years past. As new sub divisions pop up, new families move there. This year I actually got more kids than the last 3 years.


However it went from 6-8 kids to about 23 last night. Had to run to Avondale and pick up some more chocolate bars.

[CSR]

Ya, didn't seem like there were many kids on my street... and there was a convoy of cars following the kids around.

[Evil Baby]

Ya, didn't seem like there were many kids on my street... and there was a convoy of cars following the kids around.

haha, yeah I saw a few those as well. Lazy fat b***ards

[thelefteyeguy]

didnt help that it was freaking freezing ...with lots of wind

[CSAgent]

Zero kids in the area next to the police station in Markham (at McCowan and Hwy 7).

I know of a few churches in the Richmond Hill and Markham areas that held their own indoor carnival where kids could play games with Monopoly money and used it to "buy" their candy. Every year it's always packed as it provides a safer venue, not to mention indoors for children with their parents.

[grappos13]

Zero kids in the area next to the police station in Markham (at McCowan and Hwy 7).

I know of a few churches in the Richmond Hill and Markham areas that held their own indoor carnival where kids could play games with Monopoly money and used it to "buy" their candy. Every year it's always packed as it provides a safer venue, not to mention indoors for children with their parents.

ya thats close to my area (the police station), right across from my old high school.. i live just up the street at the next set of lights and yup.. no kids at all.. basically a like 75% drop from previous years..

[Shimso]

One group of toddlers came to my house...that was it. And all the restaurants and businesses near my house used to be packed with people, but they were pretty barren too (which is weird because saturdays are supposed to be the busiest in the week).

[VorteC]

9/11 + anthrax + H1N1 + cold = GG for Halloween.

[the_fm]

well, to be fair, it was raining and people had better things to do like watching the Habs vs Leafs ;)

[goobelygoop]

It was actually more dangerous in the 70s and 80s then it is now...
Crime goes up and down. So far there arent many significant changes in crime levels.

The % ratio of kids was a lot higher a few decades ago... mainly due to lax immigration policies in the 70s and early 80s that promoted population growth.

Now in the 90s-00's population growth has slowed down, immigration policy is much tougher, and people are having less kids.

Errr...no.
:rolleyes:

[stevelam]

i live over in the queen west/dundas/sorauren area and the residential streets here were packed with kids everywhere!!! it was amazing. you couldn't even walk on the sidewalk without having to step off to let the droves of kids/families walk by.

and another surprise to me was the pumpkin patch at sorauren park the very next night. lines and lines of pumpkins surrounded the entire park. it was pretty nice to see.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs052.snc3/13961_174465141011_515221011_3421672_7115437_n.jpg

[Emancipated]

Damn that's awesome. Wish we had something like that here. It's also pretty ripe for the picking if any mischievous kids with a baseball bat wanders around there.

[BananaHunter]

I think it's true. When I was a kid, I went out every year and see lots of other kids.

Saturday, no one came to my house. That's right...0!

[fattest]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RfNl9fcJtM