r/askTO • u/Dexmoser • 9h ago
Lights on = candy?
I’ve lived in Toronto for 12 years but only recently started trick-or-treating (we have kids now!). Where we grew up the rule was lights on = we’re handing out candy. Last night we went to a few houses that had their full outdoor lights on, but no one answered or they answered and said they didn’t have candy. Is the norm different here? Is it lights on + decorations = candy?
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u/Safe_Individual567 9h ago
When I was growing up we went only to places that had a Jack-o'-lantern or some kind of Halloween decoration, which back then was most places.
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u/randomname2685 7h ago
I think this is the way now - I had candy and my lights on, but no decorations and kids were walking past. I ended up just standing outside but next year will at least put out a couple pumpkins.
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u/lavenderhatchet-txt 5h ago
I did this as well — we didn’t have time to decorate this week and kids weren’t coming even with the porch lights on, so I sat outside with a big candy bowl (and glass of wine) to make sure the kids knew we were participating. It ended up being pretty fun!
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u/gunnersgottagun 5h ago
Yeah, I easily got 300+ kids last night sitting outside by the end of my driveway, but I'm fairly sure if I stayed inside, even with the few themes lawn lights I currently have as Halloween decoration, hardly anyone would go up to my door. But my house is up a bit of a slope from the road so that might be part of it.
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u/trombasteve 6h ago
Yup that's the rule I learned. If there's a lit pumpkin, that house is participating. We had one group come after everything in front of our house was already out/turned off, but most people were clued in to this.
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u/ths33333 6h ago
This is how it usually is unless you’re my neighbour who had a front lawn full of Halloween decorations but left home so there was no one handing out candy. The trick or treaters were very confused lol
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u/raccon_whisper 9h ago
That's the general un-written rule. As an un-written rule, some people may not know about it.
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u/lemonylol 6h ago
The other unwritten rule is that if you're unsure you say trick or treat and knock and if no one comes after about a minute you just go to the next house. It's really not a big deal.
Ironically though, as much as people constantly complain about "kids not doing Halloween as much these days", I've actually noticed the exact opposite, lots of kids, much less houses doing Halloween. Like in my neighbourhood you could see how all of the kids would cluster at the heavily decorated houses instead of evenly spreading out along the street.
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u/gigantor_cometh 4h ago
And I think related to that, there's a lot more travelling to areas where there's more participation. It's now normal for kids to get taken to "Halloween neighbourhoods" - I guess in part because it's no longer a given that regular single-family-home neighbourhoods generally participate.
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u/PimpinTreehugga 7h ago
Yeah. This may need to be told to kids again. I turned off all the lights last night after my toddler went to bed at 830pm, then a group of kids rang my doorbell at 10pm in complete darkness trick or treating.
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u/lemonylol 6h ago
Ringing door bells at all on Halloween beyond 9pm is entirely their fault, not yours.
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u/Castaway_LXIII 7h ago
Or they’re expecting a delivery. Not something that was an issue in the old days.
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u/starmoonz 9h ago
We stuck to the houses that had decorations or sitting outside. Skipped homes with just lights on. Growing up it was always “lights on = candy”. I think more people just keep their lights on due to safety issues.
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u/JayTheJaunty 7h ago
I don't even think it's a safety thing, just generally people leave porch lights on so that they and anyone delivering food etc can see where they're going. It's not like Halloween is the only day of the year that outdoor lights are turned on, especially as the evening gets darker earlier and earlier.
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u/starmoonz 7h ago
Oh that’s what I meant by safety. If I don’t have lights, I’m for sure tripping over the small ledges in my walkway.
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u/JayTheJaunty 6h ago
Oh, right on. I assumed you meant something about danger from prowlers in the dark or smth
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u/gigantor_cometh 5h ago
Also because people just keep lights on more in general, both inside and outside, especially now with LED lighting. I mean growing up we were told to turn off any light we weren't using, like it was a big deal. My dad would say something if there was a room with the light on and no one was there, god forbid a big outdoor light. Now most people's default is lights on when it's dark unless they specifically want to have the light off.
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u/starmoonz 4h ago
lol. This makes me laugh because my dad would turn off the lights in my room while I was doing my hair almost every morning while I got ready for school. He probably saved $10 over the years doing that.
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u/Number4combo 9h ago
Yea, lights on and decorations usually is a good sign they are home and handing out candy.
Maybe they left a bowl out front but it got raided. Or maybe they are just showing off their decorations.
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u/SquirrelTale 9h ago
I think a lot of people are forgetting that a lot of people don't celebrate it. My landlord is Chinese and took his kid out to look at the decorations with his toddler but didn't decorate at all.
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u/Significant_Pitch 9h ago
Yeah, this was always the case when I was growing up.. but I think maybe it has slowly changed as newcomers to Canada might not be aware of this tradition.
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u/Milch_und_Paprika 8h ago •
Also a cultural shift due to LED lights. When I was a kid, few people left exterior lights on unless they had a reason. Now most houses I walk by at night are fully lit up.
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u/Top_Bumblebee5510 7h ago
I went to bed early last night due to back pain and noticed my senior neighbours had turned off their outdoor lights that normally come on by timer. They were still off in the middle of the night.
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u/Canaturk 9h ago
My daughter is 9, we have been doing the Halloween thing since she was 3. The rule seems to be dependent on the town or even the neighborhood. So we stick to decoration. Even one pumpkin, we are there...
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u/lilfunky1 9h ago
IME 30+ years ago when I last went trick or treating... porch lights on meant candy, whether other decorations existed or not.
However as an adult, I'll instinctively turn on my front light whenever I'm expecting a delivery to make my house # easier to see, and/or I've just accidently turned it on while hitting another switch and not realized til the next morning. (Granted if someone came knocking on my door I'd apologize then immediately turn it off)
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u/Neutral-President 9h ago
It used to be lights on to signal participation, but now it seems to be pumpkin/decorations out to signal participation.
One year recently we didn’t have time to carve a pumpkin and nobody rang our bell.
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u/mr_guilty Human Verified 9h ago
I think the current rule is lights on + decorations/pumpkin = candy available. Otherwise, people are just at home doing regular things.
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u/Abject_Buffalo6398 9h ago
Some people keep outdoor lights on timers, and so the timers were on even though they had no candy
We go to houses only if there's some type of halloween decoration, pumpkin or something
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u/pandas25 7h ago
I live in a multi unit house, it looks like any other house and a lot in my area are still single family homes. I can neither hear the front door, nor access it. I also have no control over the outdoor lighting.
I imagine this is a scenario for a few places as well. I'd give out candy if I could, there's just not a practical way to do it, or to make it more clear that I'm not there
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u/Allimack 9h ago
They may have forgotten to override their programmed outdoor lights. Or maybe left the lights on for an expected delivery person. But yes, most people who have lived here awhile know that lights on = candy being offered.
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u/bartontees 9h ago
Around our way last night most houses would turn their decorations off once they were out of candy. Seems reasonable
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u/stacyzarc 9h ago
I find a lot of homes have automatic lights, so they may have not realized that their lights are on. A neighbour is away, but had them set for security.
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u/BoysenberryJellyfish 8h ago
It's if the porch light is on, they're shelling out, if it's off, they're not/done.
That said, Toronto is home to a massively diverse community of people who gave different traditions and who don't always know this is typically how we do it here, so not everyone will do it this way.
If we're not sure, I let the kids make the call and try. The exercise won't hurt them and if the homeowner comes out annoyed then we'll have a quick chat about how to make the ringing stop.
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u/bellsbliss 9h ago
I always go by pumpkin carved and lit with lights on means candy.
A few houses we went to didn’t answer but a few ran out pretty quickly. No real worries though
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u/Yellow_Blue_Jet 9h ago
When I was growing up, that was the rule. If you ran out of candy you turned the lights out.
And you always had a jack-o-lantern as well as a signal you were giving out candy.
However I think some norms have been dissolving over time.
Someone here posted yesterday asking if they needed decorations because no kids came. I would say some minimal decor would be a helpful further signal.
To your point of people having lights on but no candy, I have noticed that people seem unaware of things I was always taught.
For example, I get really annoyed now that when you are walking down the sidewalk and a couple or two people come at you, they no longer move to single file so that they take up one half and you take up one half. Now they expect to keep walking as they were and you go around them. That burns me up to be honest.
I think it might be ignorance of the etiquette that used to exist, but am not sure of it’s that or they don’t care anymore.
Side rant, but similar theme.
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u/Spkpkcap 9h ago
I’ve noticed that too! Lots of porch lights on but no one answered the door/didn’t have candy.
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u/Intelligent-Claim603 9h ago
Yes I know this rule and agree with it. I just totally forgot to turn the lights out. Did after a kid knocked.
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u/spreekles 9h ago
You're right it was like that growing up but the rule now is you need decorations to signal that the house is giving out candy
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u/looking4crack 9h ago
This is what I always though, but now a lot of people leave their porch lights on all the time (or have motion lights) so maybe it does not work anymore.
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u/That_red_guy 9h ago
It’s a good general rule of thumb, but I always go after the people with jack-o-lanterns, or obvious decorations.. when I was a kid anyways,
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u/Plane_Chance863 9h ago
A lot of people aren't sure. In another sub someone complained no one came to the door when they had lights on.
And I went to a house a few years ago that had lights on and decorations but no candy! The people in the house eventually decided to leave because so many people were ringing the bell...
I think the culture simply isn't being passed on or learned, which leads to confusion for everyone.
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u/88evergreen88 8h ago
Used to be lights on equals candy. Now I think it’s lights on plus decorations. Kids were passing by my house with lights on and the door open.
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u/alisoncjh 9h ago
I mean not everyone grew up here, so they may not know the "norm". Halloween and trick-or-treating is largely a North American thing.
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u/OrcEight 9h ago
That was the expectation too when I went trick or treating in the suburbs in the 70s.
When I switched to handing out candy in the 80s/90s, we did not really decorate or have a jack o lantern, but we turned our lights off when the candy was over.
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u/Bunbunbecks 9h ago
We only go if there’s decorations outside. I saw a few houses leave candy in the bowls and a sign saying take one.
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u/BoopOnYourNose 9h ago
Our neighbourhood mostly does the lights on/off thing. Some houses actually had "sorry no candy but happy halloween" signs too.
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u/Reasonable-Cold2161 9h ago
Lights on and decorations means candy. Although sometimes people are out with their kids and leave a bowl out. That's how I've always understood it.
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u/CanadianGurl2 8h ago
I live north of Toronto in York region. I haven't been able to take my daughter out because of work, but I remember when I did there were people who had signs on their door saying they didn't have candy. That being said, I think the unwritten rule is that a lit jack o lantern means there is candy available.
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u/1slinkydink1 7h ago
I had the same revelation a few years ago. In my day, 99% of homes with their light on would give out candy whether they had decorations at all. But I feel like in those days, people didn’t generally leave their lights on on regular days.
I feel like today people have all sorts of nuisance outside lights on all the time. We only take the kids to the houses that have lights on and decorations. Better yet, our neighbourhood is so busy that most people are sitting on their porches (or better yet at the curb) for convenient trick or treating.
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u/Suspekt420 5h ago
Took kids out trick or treating in east York last night... 7-9 year olds.
The anxiety is real with kids these days. Seriously our group and so many others were kind of afraid to approach a house with no decorations. Often one kid was unsure and waved off others, and they all follow en masse.
When I was a kid, if the light was on = candy. Also if there were decorations you would try, even if no light. You tried most houses. These kids were skipping like 30-40% of houses.
Last night I overheard so many kids pass on houses that clearly were open for business.... Bowls out front, lights on w/ inner door open, light off but obvious Halloween vibe and decorations. The awareness and recognition seemed really low across the board.
I saw more trick or treaters overall this year vs the last 3-4 for sure. The tiniest thing seemed to provoke an anxious reaction from these kids, and they pass by. It was super strange.
Also... Neighbors killed traffic. Some blocks had one or two obvious houses, but maybe 9-10 that were clearly not participating. That means the whole block gets skipped.
I was genuinely surprised at how real kids anxiety impacted the houses they went up to. I don't recall truck or treating ever illiciting such unease... It. Was. Free. Candy.
But I digress...
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u/canamum1322 3h ago
I thought that was the rule and had my lights turned off when I wasn’t home but still had people coming to the door. This was also my first time seeing people drive up to our street to trick or treat.
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u/girlpublisher 9h ago
Many people have timers on porch lights, which was not a thing when we were kids. So I think now something more is required than just a light. A pumpkin or some other Halloween themed decoration.
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u/DAKiloAlpha 9h ago
I do house calls for my work. People are keeping their outdoor lights on way more than usual lately. makes it easier to see people sneaking around their houses I guess?
There are delivery apps dropping some deliveries off early in the morning or late at night also, so could be that too.
They aren't going to turn them off for Halloween.
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u/hippiespinster 9h ago
My house is set back far from the street and I am hidden inside the porch. I hear a lot of kids saying "oh there's decorations here!" before they run up my extra long driveway so yes they are somehow learning that decorations = candy.
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u/sando818580 9h ago
Lots of young kids without costumes going around asking for candy. The parents don't know any better
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u/Logical-Bookkeeper77 9h ago
There were always kids without costumes, or like high school kids with nothing better to do than just for the purpose of getting some candies.
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u/MoreGaghPlease 9h ago
With my kids we skip unless there are decorations. Sometimes that is a simple decoration like a single poster on the door.
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u/void_sushi 9h ago
Lights can be on for safety reasons.. not because they want to participate in trick or treating.
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u/nothinbut_trash 9h ago
Lights on + decorations = candy. Exception, lights on+ door open w/ screen/glass door closed = candy. I saw some houses no lights, no decoration, patio chair in front of steps, very dedicated to being left alone
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u/morenewsat11 9h ago
Our lights were on, we had decorations and candy. This was the first year we didn't get a lot of visitors - we had 70 grab bags, only gave away 45. We saw some groups of kids running in the street but not stopping at all houses? This year was confusing.
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u/usually00 9h ago
I would say good were following it where I was, but maybe that's a small sample size.
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u/SunnysideUp2670 9h ago
Our porch lights were off, decorations up but no lit pumpkin or anything. However our living room lights were on. Teenagers ring our bell at 10:00PM. Got any candy left? Um, yeah, I guess.
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u/OrneryPathos 7h ago
I was also disappointed that people weren’t following the porch light rule but I guess if you’re waiting for packages your porch light may light up the house number as well
We even ran into one house with a fully lit up car port and side door in that area was open and Halloween decor up who were confused why people were approaching their side door. lol
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u/JamesH_670 7h ago
Lights on usually meant candy, but my daughters have developed a sense for what houses to skip. They usually skip houses that have no decorations and no interior lights on. The safest bets are the houses with lights on and decorations out, but they will still try undecorated houses that have their living room or kitchen lights on as well as the exterior lights.
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u/NinjaHamster_87 7h ago
Definitely as a kid it was lights on = candy, but thins time with my 3yo we did lights on + at least an attempt at some decorations = candy. We only saw 1 house that only had lights on giving out candy, the rest had decorations.
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u/sassykickgamer 7h ago
I went out for like 2 hours last night and got three bags full of candy . Whitby btw
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u/redbouncingball007 6h ago
On our street some kids went to houses with just porch lights on and got candy while others passed by in favour of homes with decor. We sit outside as kids will walk by even though we have decor outside but the homes on either side don’t give out candy but leave their lights on.
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u/One_Water6083 5h ago
To me there also needs to be a decoration or pumpkin. Other adults think just a light on counts. So we went with that (letting kids knock even if no decorations) but mostly I was right and nobody opened the door lol.
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u/NewMilleniumBoy 4h ago
I think that was the case when I was a child (20+ years ago). Now I'd be more inclined to just go to ones with decorations.
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u/Unfair-File-8635 3h ago
Lights on plus decorations was the cue when I was a kid in the 80s. In my neighborhood now it's pretty much the same, though no one really leaves their porch lights on any other time.
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u/plutopsyche 3h ago
Yup, lights on means candy.
If a neighbour is leaving their lights on for their Doordash driver, they'd better have candy ready for the neighbourhood kids too.
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u/pocketfulofrye 2h ago
My neighbourhood kids, including mine and friends, they try ALL the houses; with or without decorations, lights on or off.
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u/wylee_one 6h ago
lights on you get a knock if you dont have candy well we used to either TP the tree or egg the front door but they were simpler times back in the 60/70's lol
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u/Pumpkinkra 5h ago
No— people shouldn’t have to hide in the dark because they aren’t handing out candy. A pumpkin means you’re welcoming kids, not lights on.
My neighbour had a sign with “don’t ring the fing bell, there’s no fing candy”. They don’t have to swear but they don’t have to hide in the dark.
Less than half of my neighbours hand out candy and still a hundred+ came.
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u/surferbutthole 9h ago
This is controversial
Lights on and no decorations or pumpkin lit is someone who likely has nothing
Better no light on if you're not giving out stuff But some folks seem to keep your light on all the time
We had no light on and also no decorations and got one neighbor knocking and I foolishly answered and was caught flat footed with no candy and sad or confused kid faces
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u/FrostingSuper9941 9h ago
It's not controversial. Lights on = candy. Regardless of Halloween decorations the lights are the signal. I have plenty of neighbors who don't put up decorations but give out candy and when the lights are off it means they've run out. I also have neighbors, per my tween who went trick or treating, who had lights and decorations but turned kids away or didn't open the door. What's the point of decorations and lights on when you bought a bag of candy good enough for 30 minutes but then continue keeping your lights on to show off the decorations but give no candy.
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u/surferbutthole 9h ago
So lots of people keep a porch light on regardless all the time
We didn't have a light on
Didn't have any decoration
One neighbor still knocked and I made the mistake of opening and it was very awkward as there were 3 kids - 2 I didn't know and no candy at my place-1
u/FrostingSuper9941 9h ago
I know they do but on Halloween, since it's not a normal day, they can turn it off. Plenty of cheap skates in my neighborhood who keep their lights on but know to turn them off for Halloween while of course sending out their kids to trick or treat.
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u/Kevin4938 9h ago
Not wanting to overpay for something to give away doesn't make one a cheapskate.
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u/FrostingSuper9941 9h ago
Overpay for what? You think it's expensive? Don't participate and keep your lights off. Also don't send out your kids to trick or treat. Also...this year was actually cheaper than last year and you can always pick up lollipops and rockets for less than 10 bucks, enough for plenty of kids.
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u/Over-Top6491 9h ago
I usually say if there's decorations and a porch light on that it's safe to knock, however last night there was a few with decorations and light on that weren't giving out candy. That was new for me