A couple of weeks back we had a very active discussion on our Facebook page about Halloween. One thing this discussion proved is Halloween in Australia is still a vexed event. Some people were for it presenting arguments such as it’s a good way to get out to meet neighbours. Some people were against it with their concerns around child safety and commercialisation.
In our original post we suggested if you were willing to be called upon for Trick or Treaters to either decorate the front of your home with Halloween items or simply place an orange balloon out the front. One person suggested even a simple picture of a pumpkin on the letterbox as another idea (search Google). Others suggested leaving your light on was an indication of willing to participate but this may not necessarily be a safe bet.
Our recommendation is if you are wanting to take your kids out Trick or Treating is to letterbox your neighbours and advise. Include with your note an orange balloon or picture of a Halloween pumpkin advising them to stick them out the front if they are willing to be visited. I would also suggest including a picture that indicates they clearly DO NOT want Trick or Treaters (search Google). This makes it a simple option for your neighbours to opt-in or clearly show they have no interest to participate.
For those that don’t want to be called upon by Trick or Treaters the recommendation above of printing out a picture showing you don’t want to be visited by Trick or Treaters is a good idea to avoid being disturbed.
If you would like to read up on the history of Halloween see this entry on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween