Not Happy.....

[Soccermom]

It makes me sad...parents just seem way too busy nowadays to think about these little things. But they are important to their child.
Whenever I ask parents to bring things in, I get the same problem.
I don't think it is fair to punish the kids for their parents negligence though. I would make sure they all get the same amount of candy.
However, next year I would give the DCPS the option. Either bring in candy or give 5$ and you will purchase candy for DCK to pass out. You can add the 5$ to their weekly bill or they can just give you a 5$ bill.
This might help

[My3cents]

I do a different take on it......

I do because I want to do and don't worry about who does what.....

I picked up halloween buckets and I asked the parents if they would like, they can send in "healthyish" treats to share with friends. I figure they will get enough candy on Halloween and I want the parents to share in that experience with the child, with out the child getting sick from too much candy and sweets, during the day.

I put a box of fish, a special apple, 100% juice drinks, and apple sauce in the buckets. Some parents brought in, and some did not. They all knew

I don't worry about who does what. I do because I want to do. If no one brought anything in we would go on what I had already done.

We had a pizza party for lunch and I made Ghost toast for breakfast. (cut the bread to look like Ghost)

My kids are little so this worked out great and again, I never worry about who does what. I love these kids and I do because I want to do for them. I have great parents, and if they make a choice not to participate, they make that choice. Just like if they choose not to buy books from scholastic, they make that choice. I don't let this become a big deal.

I also stuck some organic lies from Trader Joe's in their take home buckets......yes I am bad and yes I have a hard time following my own rules- but hey it is going home, and it is Halloween after all. One of my favorite days of the year!

[Sugar Magnolia]

I did treats, then I stopped, for the exact problem Meeko has. I just buy some simple halloween themed cookies and apples. Done. My expense.
Rinse and repeat for valentines day.
Rinse and repeat for christmas/haunakah.

[MissAnn]

I didn't do treats but a weeks worth of activities and cooking projects instead. I try not to ask for things from parents. I can't even get them to bring in extra clothes for their kids! Oh, but a mom brought in treat bags for all the kids....isn't that nice? Now I feel guilty that I'm not the one who did it! Can't win for losing.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

My son suggested that the kids who don't bring anything, still get to decorate a bag, but only get a few treats (from us) Maybe if parents see the other kids with bags stuffed full, they'll supply some next time?

Is this fair or not? I don't want the kids to feel punished because their parents are lazy, but at the same time, I hate being taken advantage of.

It just makes me want to stop doing activities like this even though in past years it's been a roaring success.

Input?

That's exactly what I would do.
The kids will be fine. They will go trick or treating and get plenty of candy from strangers (AND THEIR PARENTS) tonight. Candy is a privilige, not a right.

[bunnyslippers]

I would give all the kids the same amount of treats. But I would send home a notice saying that if participation does not improve for events like this, that they will be cancelled for good. And in the same letter, thank the parents BY NAME who did bring in treats.

"Halloween was a blast this year! The kids had so much fun decorating bags and collecting treats from friends. Thank you to Johnny for bringing Rice Krispy treats, Amanda for the lipops, and Ryan for the gold coins!

It is participation that makes events like this special for all the children. To those who haven't considered donating in the past, please do next time. The children really love our class parties, but we cannot continue to do them without assistance. Sharing is caring! "

I agree with this! I also think parents have become lazy. I had two families contact me last night to see if I was doing special treats today. We have just come out of a two day power outage and a hurricane, leading to my program being closed. I let them know that I didn't have anything special planned, but that they were more than welcome to send special snacks. Guess what? Neither of them did. Soooo, it was a regular day here.

[Sunchimes]

I didn't do things here, but I only have 1 family (2 kids) right now. But, I did make up special treat bags for my dcks past and present. All of my past kids come here to trick or treat. I made up a bunch of pumpkin spice play dough and put in baby food cups. I also made some candy corn bark and pretzel pumpkins. I put them in treat bags with a tag to remind parents who the homemade candy was from.

Each year, I make enough for my kids and any friends or cousins that may be with them. I only gave out 4 this year, so I have a ton of play dough left.

If I had a lot of kids, I probably wouldn't bother and might go more for a party.