Halloween and trick or treating information and advice

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) - the night of October 31st.

Halloween activities can include: trick-or-treating; bonfires and fireworks; ghost tours; costume parties; visiting 'haunted houses'; carving Jack-o'-lanterns; reading scary stories and watching horror movies.

Although Halloween can be a great deal of fun for those involved, for many it is a particularly distressing (or unwanted) time of year, particularly for some of the more vulnerable members of our communities - especially the elderly.

Please remember that not everyone will want to take part in your Halloween events or trick or treating - so please respect their point of view.

Useful downloads, including a poster you can put this in your window, or on your door, to help try to stop unwanted callers:

• No trick or treating poster (385KB)
• Trick or treating advice (500KB)

Pumpkins - did you know:

According to research by environmental organisation Hubbub, we buy 39.9 million pumpkins each Halloween and the frightful fact is that most of these go uneaten!

• only one in nine people cook their pumpkin
• 22 million pumpkins will go to waste
• that's £32m of edible food wasted!

A quick search online will throw up loads of delicious pumpkin recipes - for example:

• Eat Your Pumpkin and Join The Pumpkin Rescue! - on the Hubbub website

See also:

• Young people - things for kids to do
• Fireworks safety advice
• Anti-social behaviour
• Sussex Police website - Halloween information, news and advice
• RSPCA website - fireworks frighten animals

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