I was out with the kids this evening doing the trick or treat gig and noticed an interesting sign. I didn’t get a photo but it stated in all caps, “NO COSTUME – NO CANDY.” Am I missing something here? Although I am now a globetrotting physician-mom, I grew up in a family of seven kids. We never had costumes. Maybe a mask. Maybe not. I watched as one mom with three toddlers (without costumes) read the sign and pulled her kids away. Why marginalize children, especially poor children on Halloween?
My first guess was that the “costume for candy rule” was born out of the desire to keep rowdy teens away. If they do this in your neck of the woods, please comment to let me know the philosophy behind this is. I love my hip, multiracial, gentrifying ‘hood but this left a sour taste in my mouth.
On a happier note, check our costumes out this year. I went with the modern vampire. My dear daughter is a rocked out zombie. The little guy is a skater skeleton. Big P gave us the *side eye* as we went on our way. Happy Halloween!
Modern Vampire
Skater Skeleton & Rocked Out Zombie
Really? That doesn’t strike me as weird at all! That was always a rule in my neighborhood growing up. Nobody was judging the costumes. You could wrap a few feet of toilet paper around yourself and say you were a mummy, it didn’t matter. The point was that in order to “earn” the candy you had to put at least SOME effort into it, you couldn’t just walk around begging.
What was weird, though, was that that building still had the sign up by the time we got there – and they weren’t giving out candy any more!
Ok maybe I have a different take on it. I don’t feel kids have to “earn” the candy. Most kids have a costume or lack there of – because of the circumstances of their parent(s). That could range from being too poor to buy a costume to being to “lazy” to make one. In the end, the kid – not the parent- is “penalized.” I’m just glad that 40+ years ago in Brooklyn, a kid could get some free candy put in a brown paper bag (no fancy candy bag for me!) sans costume!
The No Costume, No Candy rule is a bit harsh. As long as the kids are up to the their ears in Halloween fun, I think they deserve some candy. But Selfish Mom is right, we must put some effort into it, so it will make Halloween fun for everybody. Givers and takers alike.
Ideally the kids should be in costume but perhaps if you are a single, working or non-working parent – that might be the last thing on your mind. Not sure if the parents of the costume less kids are ” just not putting in enough effort” or if they just don’t have the money. Thanks for your comment.