With Halloween around the corner, kids, teenagers, and parents are deciding their plans for the spooky evening. This year, Halloween falls on a weekday, meaning both children and parents will need to be mindful of school the next morning. Some teenagers have younger siblings to tag along with, others prefer to go trick-or-treating with friends, and some don’t go at all. Most of the students the Chronicle interviewed said they will not be trick-or-treating this year.
Many students believe they’ve outgrown the Halloween tradition, and now prefer to celebrate with their friends. “I feel like it’s more fun to enjoy a movie with friends than to walk around outside in the cold,” sophomore Olivia Fong said.
Staff member Eric Wilmurt felt similarly about trick-or-treating throughout his teenage years. “I was getting older, I had better things to do than walk around and get free candy,” he said.
“I just don’t feel like being around little kids,” senior Kendra Mancia added.
However, some high schoolers still see trick-or-treating as a crucial part of their Halloween. “I like the free candy, and think it’s a super fun way to bond with friends and make new memories,” sophomore Ashley Porter said.
When asked what age is too old for trick or treating, freshman Xavier Crawford said, “No age is too old.”
“I don’t feel like I’m too old to trick or treat,” Fong added.
Many parents worry that teenagers trick-or-treating may lead to pumpkin-smashing and candy-stealing. “When I was eight, I saw a bunch of kids doing what I’m probably gonna do this year: run up to a house, dump the whole bucket of candy in a pillowcase, then drive off in a car,” senior Rex Jones said.
“Once, they stole all the candy from my house and my mom got really mad,” Fong said.
“If someone leaves a bowl of candy out, then take one or two pieces. Don’t take the whole bowl,” Lisa Guevara, a parent who lives on the popular trick-or-treating street Princeton Road, said.
Still, Guevara believes teen trick-or-treating is perfectly fine. “If there is a young person who is polite and good-natured, I don’t fuss with it.”
