Halloween is right around the corner. Stores will be stocked with rows of candy and costumes. After that, the streets will be filled with kids laughing and running from house to house, saying “trick or treat”.

But, a few years from now, these kids will be teenagers and they’ll face the question of whether or not it’s acceptable for them to meet their friends, put on a costume and go door to door asking for treats. 

“I feel like you’re never too old to trick or treat, it’s such a fun time, walking around with your friends and spending time with them,” Delaney Hernandez, senior, said.

Halloween is a part of many family traditions. Carving pumpkins, decorating the house and dressing up in spooky costumes are activities that many people look forward too.

“My family takes Halloween very seriously, even my parents dress up. My mom loves Halloween movies so she always gets really creative. My whole house is decorated to the extent that it’s almost too much,” Hernandez said.

Family traditions hold a special place in children’s lives. So, the question is, when a kid becomes a teenager, do they have to say goodbye to the tradition, the excitement and the fear of celebrating Halloween”? 

“The last year I trick or treated was sophomore year because nobody wanted to do it and all my friends wanted to go to parties,” Sophia Lucas, junior, said.

Peers can affect the way you see long held family traditions.  Sometimes, the fear of standing out by asking friends to trick or treat instead of going to a party may be stopping teenagers from participating in Halloween. 

“If my friends asked me this year if I wanted to go trick or treating I would definitely go,” Sophia Lucas, junior, said .  

At the end of the day most teengagers want to go back to being a kid.  They want to dress up, hangout with their friends and enjoy the experience of the scary, the fun, and the tradition of Halloween. And most importantly, fill their pillow case with candy.

“Trick or Treating is a good tradition to do with your friends and family, a great way to get candy for free,” Nicholas Bothe, sophomore said.

Halloween is not an age specific holiday and neither are the activities that come with it.  People of all ages should be encouraged to dress up, grab a bag to fill with candy, and ask your friends and family to take a walk around your neighborhood together. You’re never too old to continue the wonderful tradition that is Halloween.