Homeowner In An Upscale Neighborhood Refuses To Hand Out Halloween Candy To Kids Who Don’t Live There
Stingy or smart?
Irina Mikhailichenko | Shutterstock The Grinch of Halloween opened up in a since-deleted Reddit post about her plan to deny candy to kids who don't live in her upscale neighborhood. She shared her plan with her HOA to put up a sign at the end of her driveway stating, "candy only for kids living in the Rosewood Hills neighborhood," and while many of her neighbors were on board, one HOA member felt, like many of the commenters on Reddit did, that this was absurd.
The homeowner said their 24-house neighborhood is known for “giving out better candy, baked goods…extensive Halloween decorations…haunted houses." That, she claimed, draws families from other neighborhoods for trick-or-treating, but she said they are destructive and unappreciative, and she doesn't want to entertain them anymore.
A rich homeowner said she doesn't want to hand out Halloween candy to kids who don't live in her upscale neighborhood.
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A couple of Halloweens ago, the homeowner decided to make fancy gift baskets instead of passing out candy, but she was disappointed because they were all gone before the local neighborhood kids could get one. To add insult to injury, she claimed the kids that came to trick-or-treat from other neighborhoods were "rude," and even accused them of "taking candy from younger kids."
She wrote, "Last year I had older kids stomp my pumpkins, entitled parents demanded they get a gift basket too, almost everyone had decorations get stolen, I had kids cuss me out and step in my flowers. All of the kids doing it did not live in the neighborhood."
In an effort to curb the behavior, she told her HOA that she wanted to put up a sign that read, "Candy only for kids living in the Rosewood Hills neighborhood." She added, “I don’t want my neighbor’s kids as well as kids from outside of the neighborhood coming to my door, and giving one kid a piece of candy and a different kid a gift basket."
The homeowner brought up her plan to refuse out-of-town trick-or-treaters at an HOA meeting, but not everyone was on board.
One HOA member, Karina, suggested that hiring “an off-duty police officer to…deal with kids who steal” would be a better option than refusing candy to kids on Halloween. She wrote, “Karina and I argued a lot about it," but ultimately, “most of the neighborhood is on my side and are tired of these kids ruining Halloween for a lot of people.”
Many of the commenters ridiculed her for being “classist" after she complained about the cost of candy while making Halloween gift baskets for the kids living in her upscale neighborhood. In fact, they flat-out called her out on her nonsense, stating, "She thinks no one knows what she actually means by 'kids from outside the neighborhood.' Every person who says this has a specific meaning."
Another wasn't quite so gentle in their reproach, stating, "Honestly, this post sounds like a racist/classist dog whistle. I'm extremely grateful to be living in the neighborhood I live in. I'm grateful I live in a neighborhood that feels safe enough for kids outside of my neighborhood to come trick-or-treating in. I recognize that not all kids are lucky enough to live in a safe, welcoming neighborhood, and they should not be left out of Halloween because we've built a society that [expletive] on poor people. They're kids, for gods sake. What the [heck] is wrong with some people?"
The fun of Halloween is not exclusive to kids who live in affluent neighborhoods.
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You know who is wrong in this Halloween tale? The rich homeowner. You can't gatekeep Halloween. Kids from every town and every economic background deserve to experience the holiday. More importantly, they deserve to experience it safely.
As the above Reddit commenter pointed out, not all neighborhoods are safe for kids to traipse through after dark, which is precisely why neighborhoods that are well-known as safe trick-or-treat destinations should be celebrated and welcoming. In fact, according to etiquette experts, there's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a trick-or-treat destination outside of where you live.
Jodi RR Smith, author, etiquette expert, and owner of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting, told House Beautiful that there's absolutely nothing wrong with exploring a Halloween-friendly neighborhood outside your town because "safety first." She added, “If the houses are spaced far apart — or if there are no sidewalks and lots of traffic — it is better to trick or treat elsewhere.”
If this snooty homeowner really wants to exclude kids from other towns from trick-or-treating in her neighborhood, she should deliver her gift baskets to the kids on her block before the holiday and turn off all her lights on Halloween night. No one said she had to participate, but the Great Pumpkin won't be paying her any visits either. She certainly is a Grinch through and through.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
