Anonymous wrote:Why not let them hand out candy at your house? Order pizza for dinner. Or have some kind of soup in the crock pot. If the issue is having them follow you around when you want to spend time with neighbors then that's solved by them handing out candy.

+1. My in-laws loved to hand out candy while we took the kids out. We get early take out for dinner and they leave after the kids get back and show them their loot. Win-win for us and them.

Why not let them hand out candy at your house? Order pizza for dinner. Or have some kind of soup in the crock pot. If the issue is having them follow you around when you want to spend time with neighbors then that's solved by them handing out candy.

My grandparents were wonderful, loving grandparents. I don't think it ever dawned on them to go trick or treating with us. They had jobs and friends and hobbies. Why on earth would they want to be a part of it, and every year?

The people who are all "that sounds great, why are you so mean?" are probably the ones with social, fun parents like those of some of my friends- they know all the names and lives of their adult children's friends and we consider them our friends. They're social, interesting, and it's always a treat if they show up.

Those of us who are understanding your plea of, "how do I make this stop" probably have parents like mine, who insist on pretending to be social but then stand two feet back in every conversation, act like fifth-wheel martyrs ("oh, we'll just stay out of the way" while hovering anxiously but silently around conversations), and make everyone generally uncomfortable.

No advice on how to put a stop to it, but I live 1500 miles away from mine so that might work for you.