Creative ways to stop trick or treaters

  • Thread starter Thread starter Feanaro_s_Wife
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I concur with the great big dish of candy at the foot of the driveway. Also, call your vet, and get your barking buddy a prescription for one pill of doggie Klonopin for the rough night. Problem solved.
 
ronnette said:
I concur with the great big dish of candy at the foot of the driveway. Also, call your vet, and get your barking buddy a prescription for one pill of doggie Klonopin for the rough night. Problem solved.
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**
She has slept through the dog barking before so it’s not him that worries me most…it’s the sheer noise of kids running up and down the block yelling, laughing, and screaming “TRICK OR TREAT!!!” at the tops of their lungs.

How can i get all door to door trick or treating cancelled???:p**
 
Della said:
All you really want is to keep them from coming close to the house and ringing your doorbell, right? Depending on how cold it gets in your area, how about you or your dh sitting out near the sidewalk to pass out candy to the kids? Or hire a neighbor kid to do it (pay him or her with a nice bucket of candy for him/her). That way the neighbor kids won’t think of you as “mean” and you won’t have any tricks played on you. 😉
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I was thinking of this idea, too.
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
**
She has slept through the dog barking before so it’s not him that worries me most…it’s the sheer noise of kids running up and down the block yelling, laughing, and screaming “TRICK OR TREAT!!!” at the tops of their lungs.

How can i get all door to door trick or treating cancelled???:p**
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Run a fan in Lily’s room. That will create a noise buffer for her, so the other noises won’t be easily heard. I did this with all my kids when they were sleeping, and it worked like a charm. The fan blocked noises from the rest of the house, and while the baby was sleeping, the rest of us could live without having to tiptoe around the house, fearful of waking the baby.
 
Malia – I only have a slight variation to what others have suggested: not sure how your house is layed out, but instead of the porch, maybe try to put the unattended candy bowl at the end of the driveway or sidewalk that leads up to your door with a note that says, “Please help yourself to one. If the bowl if empty, we are out of candy, sorry!”

OR…

In lieu of the “No trick-or-treating here” sign, you could just put up a sign that says, “We are out of candy, sorry!” (Which could be true if you ate and hubby ate it all! 😛 )
 
**I just got a very rude PM from a new member about this thread. She has chosen the option to not receive PMs so I am posting here. She has used my example of being “unchristian” to choose not to visit this forum anymore.

I am sorry she sees it this way. She obviously has missed my use of smileys and “lol’s”. But if you are reading this, please know that I am only trying to help my DD, not ruin halloween fun for any other little ones.

Malia**
 
NMJenny said:
One suggestion–can’t your husband disconnect the doorbell? I don’t know how to do it myself, but I know that mine can be disconnected because my husband did it one year when I had a whole bunch of sick kids.
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Jay2 said:
Turn off the porch light, and pull the drapes/curtains. Keep the street-side of the house dark.

Disconnecting the doorbell is easy - if you have a small straight-blade screwdriver - Doorbells in the US are 99.9% low-voltage, only 24 volts, so there’s no real danger of a lethal shock. Just hold the wire by the insulation (not the exposed copper) and you’ll be fine. If you’re uncomfortable with this, ask a neighbor.

(assuming your button is a rectangular/surface mounted type)
Remove the screws holding the button to the doorframe. Gently pull out a bit and the wires will be exposed. Loosen 1 of the screws holding 1 of the wires, and remove the wire. Put a piece of tape (any kind) over the exposed wire, and re-mount the now disconnected switch back on the doorframe.

(if your doorbell button is “flush-mounted”, or just a button inset into the doorframe)
You’ll have to disconnect 1 of the wires from the doorbell unit itself. The cover over the “bells” usually just lifts off. You’ll see the screws holding the wires. Just remove any 1 of them and the doorbell will be disabled. Cover the bare wire with tape, and put the cover back on.
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There you go!👍 👍 We did this, years ago, when we had sick people in the house. It works great. (:o Actually, I liked it so much, it has never been re-attached…)
I recommend just turning off all the lights possible, drawing shades, & if necessary, a single (twin) sized blanket is big enough to cover a large window…works to block light, & helps muffle noise, too. Just use clothespins to fasten it to the curtain rod.
HTH!!!
 
As Mr Burns would say…
"release the hounds’ 😛

Seriously though, but a sign will work wonders, just put on it ‘please know knocking, baby asleep’ or something.
 
Can’t you give one night a year to help the young have some harmless enjoyment. Your child will not suffer irreputable harm
I went trick or treating. No one ever sent me away empty- handed. My children always went too. I am poor. I worked in the Catholic schools . I am a single parent with a dead beat father to my children. In my neighborhood, we also have many older teenagers come to the door and if they have so much fun, who am I to stop it? Halloween is a neighborhood and community festivity, Stop being so self -centered. We all have had young children and still managed to asnwer the door.
Hope I don’t sound too mean. I don’t mean to be.
 
jailbelle said:
Can’t you give one night a year to help the young have some harmless enjoyment. Your child will not suffer irreputable harm.
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You haven’t met Lily, yet, have you? 😉

Poor Lily took forever to get into a routine in the first place - who knows how long it might take to get her back into it, if it gets disrupted.

Normal kids can have their routines disrupted now and then, with no harmful effects, but Lily is a very sensitive child - I fully understand Malia not wanting to do anything that might throw away all her hard work of recent months, to finally get her to stop screaming, and to finally get some sleep at night.
 
Malia;

Definitely put signs and bowls of candy at the end of the sidewalk or the driveway - if they get all the way to the door before they see a sign, they might just decide to try the doorbell, anyway.
 
jailbelle said:
Hope I don’t sound too mean. I don’t mean to be.
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**
Well, you did. But without knowing my individual situation and my child I can’t expect you to understand. My primary concern is my daughter and my family. If I can also accommodate the neighborhood trick or treaters, great. If not?

Malia**

p.s thank you jmcrae for explaining things for me!
 
We had the same problem when our DS was a baby. We taped the “do not disturb, the baby is sleeping” sign OVER our doorbell so the kids couldn’t ring it.🙂 Good luck.
 
Halloween is a neighborhood and community festivity, Stop being so self -centered. We all have had young children and still managed to asnwer the door.
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I’ll have to side with part of this argument… it IS a community & regional night out, and the kids really look forward to it. It may not fit in with your current situation, but you live where you live, and Halloween/Trick or Treating is a part of your community.

You can take all of our advise - but still can reasonably expect a few kids knocking on your door - regardless of what you’ve done to prevent it…after all it is only 1 night of 365.
 
Jessamy said:
Every time I went by one of those bowls when I was a kid it was ALWAYS empty. We had some neighbors 4 houses down who did that every year. We would get to their house early because they were so close, but every time there was no candy left.
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That’s it then…simply leave an empty bowl with a sign as if you had really left candy for the kids!!! 👍

However, I wouldn’t say “went out for the night” as someone else suggested. You may find someone trying to break in your back window if they think no one is home.
 
**Well, bought the candy tonight. Going to set up a table on the driveway with a little note saying that we are busy with baby but to help themselves to some candy and have a safe and happy halloween… and pray that no greedy kids come by early and clean us out!

Malia

p.s I really don’t appreciate any of you thinking I am self centered for wanting to do my best to protect my baby as well as accommodate the neighborhood kids… only those of you who have never been in a similar situation would assume that.

So, if you really believe that then I would appreciate your prayers much more than cutting words
**
 
I will pray that you and all other mommies (and their little ones) get a good night’s sleep tonight.
 
I think no such thing! :hug3: You are certainly trying to do what is neighborly, but having read Lily’s sleep chronicles, I think you have been very prudent.
 
**How does this sound for the sign on the table:

**
**Please help yourself to some Halloween treats!

Don’t come to the door
Our baby is sleeping
While you cute little goblins and ghosts
Are out creeping

Take 3 or 4 pieces
Don’t take too many
Or the next kids who come
Aren’t going to have any!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!!!

Then on the inside bottom of the candy bowl I’ll put a little note saying that we are out of candy…

What do you think?

I still think the first dozen or so kids will wipe us out but it’s out of my control. We’re doing our best…

Malia
**
 
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