Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's in suburban New Jersey, it was minor vandalism as a rule. A lot of soaping went on.

Some of us lived near stables or other rural animal locations and used to collect the droppings for "fire bags." We would put a paper bag of some sort of manure on a doorstep, light the sack, ring the bell and run far enough to be out of the direct light. When the door was answered, the natural reaction of the homeowner was to stomp the bag to put the fire out. 'Nuff sed.

TPing [toilet papering] a house or front yard was common.

The famous potato in the exhaust pipe was also fairly common.

One time, when my mother was teaching, we heard a rumor that some of her students were coming over to "egg" our house. After it got dark, I waited behind a neighbors bushes and waited until they were pretty much in position. Rising up behind them, I opined in my best basso, ghoulish, voice "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." They fled into the night and were not seen in our neighborhood again.