Every year, millions of young Canadians celebrate Halloween by dressing up, going around the neighbourhood, and collecting candy that will stay in their cupboards for the weeks to come. Although Halloween is a staple in nearly every person’s childhood, there comes a point when they have to ditch the festivities and stop trick-or-treating for good. Sadly, after this Halloween, some of us may be approaching that point, so we must ask ourselves that looming question: How old is too old to trick-or-treat?
The greatest reason for trick-or-treating is how fun it is. When we’re young, we’re excited by the candy and being able to dress up as our favourite characters. As we get older, maybe we’ve simply already experienced everything Halloween can offer us. The mystique is lost and we end up looking for new activities to spice up the season. On the other hand, some people believe trick-or-treating is exclusively for little kids, and pressure older children to stop. There’s also many kids who just get tired of going out, and would rather stay home and watch horror movies. There’s a wide array of reasons why people stop participating in Halloween, but none of them answer the question at hand: What is the age when it all ends?
Although a lot about this topic is up for debate, it’s an unwritten rule that Halloween isn’t for adults. Most people believe the unofficial cutoff should be around 14 or 15 years old, when people have already become accustomed to the high schooler lifestyle and can comfortably call themselves adolescents. At that age, they are no longer considered children and have to adapt to more responsibilities, which can imply ditching activities deemed ‘for kids’. Others say the official cutoff should be when people become ‘official adults’ at 18. If you’re still considered a kid by the government, then why not consider yourself young enough to participate in Halloween? Although this is all technically true, another stark reality is that most adults don’t appreciate giving out candy to the older kids on Halloween. Most parents and adults encourage the 14-15 cutoff, which is why it’s widely recognized as the prime time to stop and begin looking for other ways to spend the night.
Even though there’s no definitive age when people should drop trick-or-treating, we can all agree that by the time we start high school, we should start looking at other ways to spend Halloween. There’s so much that the holiday offers, and so many different ways to spend it: watch a scary movie, go to a seriously haunted castle, devise innovative ways to scare your younger siblings (my personal favourite!), etc. Of course, if going trick-or-treating with friends or family still sounds like the best option, go for it!