Trick or Treat best places to go
Posted by ChronikkJon@reddit | miltonkeynes | View on Reddit | 31 comments
Looking to change where we go for trick or treat with the kids this year, we usually go around Stantonbury however would like a change, there are only a few houses that really decorate and loads of streets where no one is interested.
Any recommendation for places to go with a better turnout for decorations and places to knock?
Many Thanks in advanced :)
Practical_Finding600@reddit
Sorry cannot speak for this topic. Somewhere like the shenleys with plentiful local schools tend to get a massive Halloween turnout. General rule , any decorations you can knock, no decorations leave alone.
Come Christmas you are in luck. Summerhayes is famous for crazy street xmas decorations. All for a good charitable good cause of cause so please ensure you make it worthwhile for the residents to go all out (out of their own pockets!!!)
ChronikkJon@reddit (OP)
I had no idea about summerhayes! That really is right next to me. I'll absolutely be taking the kids there this year :) thank you!
Practical_Finding600@reddit
Yeah we live the other side of mk but our kids love the event and we make sure the charity boxes are well stocked in the street to ensure it is a worthwhile cause for the generous residents to carry on doing what they do
Accurate-Ad9790@reddit
Great Brickhill where i live, does it really well.
clues13@reddit
I have had sweets 🍭 bagged up, but for the past few years I have not had one visiter. It is definitely nothing like it used to be. I try to make sure I have some sweets, as it is only once a year and the kids like it. The parents are chuffed when someone opens the door as I expect they get a lot of no answers. I do totally understand the no answers as well. I try to have a Halloween 🎃 👻item at the driveway to show that I don’t mind them knocking.
NoBreakfast3243@reddit
Have to admit I've never heard of anyone going outside of their neighborhood for this, is this standard in the UK?
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
You need to read the origins on Wikipedia then.
Samhain Halloween
All ties in with molly / Morris men / cider orchards "blessings" first footing at new year.
Celts took samhain to america (be they cornish, Irish, Welsh, scot).. It's a seasonal equinox celebration that has (just like Xmas) been diluted down over the centuries
NoBreakfast3243@reddit
So this is a yes? It's ok to visit different neighborhoods? I'm keen to understand how to follow the custom here but not looking to get a qualification in the details of Halloween lol
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
Yes, just don't shirk your own neighbourhood
Understanding halloween is to be able to correct the morons who insist it is an American custom they don't want over here,... It is deeply ingrained in our heritage, without understanding it halloween is open to manipulation by twats and is merely a greedy sweet grab.
shdanko@reddit
It’s really not that deep. We’re not celebrating anything other than our kids having a nice time.
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
That's a bit like getting the flags out & not knowing who the f the story behind st george's day is about, shame.
sleepindawg@reddit
Yet they will likely have more fun than you, so...
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
You ignorant moron, don't procreate further please, I pity your kids if this is your attitude.
sleepindawg@reddit
Lol ok weirdo
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
Without historical knowledge then you are simply begging, no more no less.
ChronikkJon@reddit (OP)
I wouldn't say it is the standard no. But not everyone participates in halloween, and to ensure the kids have the best times we have explored different estates.
NoBreakfast3243@reddit
This is really helpful thank you
alittlehalloween@reddit
I live in Oakgrove and personally we had 100s of kids last year and some of the parents said they drove here especially for Halloween 😊 I go all out and so do my neighbours 😊
Johnwick0078@reddit
Dubai🤣
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
First rule of Trick or treat, if you go treating, you must be a house that decorates & has sweets too, with someone to deal with the excited kids, it should not be a 1 way sweet grabbing affair.
The only way you make it a neighbourhood that participates is to put the work in & make your home a stop off, & encourage others within the street to do the same.
Second rule is NO HARIBO MINI BAGS ...THEY SUCK ASS (as do "fruit pops" which is on the whole what thoughtless but well meaning adults tend to buy, it really screws with the end of night haul with so much repetition.
If / when you ever stop decorating, pass it onto someone nearby who is taking the torch & maintaining the tradition..
ChronikkJon@reddit (OP)
I completely agree with you there :) My wife is in charge of buying the decorations every year, and she loves it :)
My neighbourhood consists of two streets, and not many people do much, which is why we go to Stantonbury very close by and have had a decent return (for the kids...) there.
Just hoping there is somewhere else we can go for a change for them. But yes, to clarify, we leave a large bowl out for families walking past with hand-made bags of numerous different sweets inside. Also, have someone at home for when it runs out to be refilled or if they knock :)
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
That is a risk, but if you need to you must!
OP, go to Zombie pumpkins, order warren cutlery branded pumpkin knife kit (what I use professionally) & order some expensive but reusable "saral paper" get some low tackfirst aid adhesive tape, print stencil from ZP website (as a beginner iy affords some good results, for the more pro, then it is Stoneykins website) learn to enlarge your prints over several pieces of A4 for your NON SUPERMARKET pumpkins that are tall & shoud have a flattish side, get a black biro, cut design excess off, cut a sheet to fit (its expensive) of saral, place the right way down so when you go over the outline on the paper it transfers the lines to the pumpkin.
NB pre wash & dry pumpkin.
Get a sardine can, ..this is your wall thinner.
Use large blade to cut a small neat lid
get a petrol station glove on your hand (pumpkins can be acidic to skin after a while.
Thin pumpkin in general, paying special care to design side.
use the micro saw blade to test poke how thin your pumpkin face is.
If good & thin 1-1.5cm thick & goop free, start with the micro saw from the centre outwards to maintain structural integrity.
Micro blade saw will do majority of work, rotate & saw, the big blade is good but i'm so used to it that it does 90% of my cuts with less flesh wobble!
Get a garden trug, bleach dunk carfeully submerges so that water pressure does not blow the design.
Soak 30 mins, remove, drain, tidy up the "fuzzies" (a scalpel is ideal, failing that micro saw again)
Clean tools, wipe dry.
LED
Store in dark when not in use on cardboard, rehydrate every 12 hours in bleachy water, remove drain allow to dry, put back out at night.
"It's not about being THE BEST, it is about being better than your neighbours"
At peak we got around 176 visitors, that was 22+ kg of sweets.
I am in a small village.
Substantial_Steak723@reddit
I'll link into my post with a pic of a really simple carve, when you have the right tools, decent kins, well carved get kids excited to try their hand, questions from parents etc, ...& inspire creativity that kids & adults alike think (because they were never taught with proper tools (& a sardine tin) how simple it can be to get decent results.
The one in the link took about an hour, was a first time carve of that design & next time would be far faster, in essence if I do a complicated design (this wasn;t) & it takes me 8 hours to carve (& more to put the pattern on correctly) then after a few I can get it down to 3 or 4 hours without much effort.
https://www.reddit.com/r/pumpkincarving/comments/1fyzt31/a_simple_speed_carve/
Ok-Zookeepergame-324@reddit
Our neighbourhood went all out last year, loads of decorated houses and people in costume trick of treating. Glebe Farm.
LadyCatTree@reddit
I was in Wolverton last year and there were a LOT of kids and a lot of people giving out sweets! Highly recommend. I’m in a different estate this year and I’m actually a bit disappointed as I suspect it won’t be quite as busy.
newtonbase@reddit
Wolverton is always busy but last year we went to Bradville. Halley's Comet pub was giving out treats and we then went around Stanton Avenue. There were some brilliant displays on many of the houses and it's a no through road so pretty safe for the kids.
kopsy@reddit
Brooklands always turns out well. Start at Carmania Circle and work down Maritime Way and then back up Fenn St. Take a left up Broughton Grounds Lane to end up where you started.
FinchMandala@reddit
I tend to have queues for my house in Wolvo during Halloween because we're year-round goffs but I've been long-term unwell and I've not prepped for this year. 😞
ChronikkJon@reddit (OP)
Wow! And oh no, I hope you still enjoy the holiday regardless!
nuttydogpoo@reddit
America
ChronikkJon@reddit (OP)
Yup... sadly, it's not an easy drive to get there...