Q&A for How to Avoid Having Anything to Do with Halloween

I would recommend watching When Harry Met Sally, Autumn in New York, Dead Poets Society, Remember the Titans, or Good Will Hunting in the fall.

It's very unlikely you will convince your whole neighborhood to skip Halloween. If you don't want to participate, turn your porch light off. But just because you believe something is wrong doesn't mean everybody should have to go out of their way to accommodate you.

Put up a note politely asking people to not come to your house. If they still do, turn off all lights at the front of the house, or just go to bed. If the doorbell disturbs you, consider using earphones/earplugs.

If you like giving candy to trick-or-treaters, consider teaming up with a friend or family member so you can help give out candy at their house.

Religion is a large reason why people may not celebrate. Others may not have money in their budget to go all out or to buy candy for hundreds of kids that come to their house. It may be as simple as a personal preference, or if someone has to wake up early in the morning to get to work and needs to be in bed earlier in the evening.

No, this won't be a problem. Often times, if you keep your porch or garage lights off, you won't have trick-or-treaters come to your house. However, if you do get people coming to your door, another alternative is to put up a sign saying you're not giving out candy. You could also put a bowl outside with some candy in it that has a sign saying 'Please take one' or something if you simply don't want to socialize with trick-or-treaters.

Politely explain to your kids that you don't like Halloween and ask them if they want to do something else non-Halloween related.

Keep the outside of your house discreet and quiet. Don't play music loud enough for outsiders to hear. Don't put up any flashy yard decorations (except warning signs), and turn off any lights that are visible from outside. This will make it look like nobody is home. If you want to be more clear, you can put up a noticeable sign on your front door saying you are not giving out candy. A quiet, dark home with no Halloween decor is simply going to be skipped over by most trick-or-treaters.

Pretending you're not home is not necessary, since you can deter trick-or-treaters using methods in this article. But if you still want to do it, turn off every light in the house and park your vehicles either inside or away from your house. Do not play loud music either.

Not necessarily. Some people don't have the money to buy enough decorations to look good in their yard. Perhaps they don't want just a few small decorations, or their yard is too messy. They might prefer spending money on candy or costumes instead. Halloween décor in the yard is a bonus for attracting trick-or-treaters, but the main tell-tale sign of a house giving out candy is the front porch light being on. If the front porch light is turned on, there's a good chance they have candy.

The person who lives there will either ignore the ringing or, if they decide to answer, they'll explain they are not celebrating Halloween and/or not giving out any candy. Kids can then just move on to the next house.

It's possible, but if the TV is not near or in view of the window, it won't likely be visible. It doesn't really matter anyway. A single light being on in the house is not a big deal. If you don't want trick-or-treaters, you can just turn your porch lights off, or put up a sign saying you have no candy. You don't need to pretend you're not home.

If you aren't giving out candy to trick-or-treaters, just eat it like any other day.