You’re never too old to Trick-or-Treat

This archived article was written by: Josie Sue Slade

It’s time to dress up, scare, party and best of all, trick-or-treat. Children in goofy and scary costumes clamor from door to door receiving candies and other treats. Most everyone stocks up on candy to participate in the Halloween tradition.
Despite all the fun Trick-or-Treating is, there comes a time when costumes are put away and you are expected to never Trick-or-Treat again. Instead of Trick-or-Treating, teenagers and young adults attend parties and raves that are supposed to be “fun.” Yet, they don’t quite fill the void that Trick-or-Treating once filled.
While many people think there is an age in which you need to stop Trick-or-Treating, I disagree. You should never put an age on fun and putting an age on Trick-or-Treating is doing just that. You should only stop Trick-or-Treating if you want to, not because someone told you that you are too old.
When I began to reach the “age” I supposedly needed to stop Trick-or-Treating, I had friends and family telling me, “Don’t you have friends to hang out with?” or, “Any teenager would rather be out at a party having fun with friends.” There was one problem with this; I didn’t have friends.
I didn’t have friends who wanted to hang out with me and never got invited to a party on Halloween night. If I didn’t go Trick-or-Treating, I sat home with my mother and watched television.
The one time I was invited to a Halloween party there was alcohol involved and I didn’t understand why I wanted to spend my night surrounded by alcohol and possibly I wanted to spend my night surrounded by alcohol and possibly dangerous situations.
The only person to encourage me when I went trick-or-treating was my mother.
Every year my mom would help me get a costume together and then release me on the streets to get candy. I have never missed a year of trick-or-treating (not even when my grandma was in the hospital) and I still plan to go out on Halloween night for the next few years.
Who decided on this magical age that meant we were too old for trick-or-treating? To me it’s unfair to people who still desire to go trick-or-treating. There will come a time when I will finally hang my candy bag up and instead buy candy to give to the people that come to my door. For now, let me have my fun and stop judging me for being an old trick-or-treater. Have some Halloween spirit.