My children are 18, 16, 14 and 12. This might be a controversial subject for some, but the majority of my kids still enjoy trick-or-treating. Now, before you start throwing stones (or candy bars) in protest, hear me out.
It’s OK If Your Teen Still Wants to Trick-or-Treat
There is a reason I have let my children trick-or-treat through their middle and high school years. It’s because I feel that kids now are encouraged to grow up entirely too fast. There is something sweet about allowing kids to put on a costume for a night and spend an evening doing something that resembles those early years of childhood, when times were simple and dressing up as your favorite character was sometimes a daily occurrence. I don’t see any issue with my kids maintaining their innocence and youth for as long as possible, joining in some clean family fun, and stocking up on delicious mini-candy bars and endless little bags of Skittles in the process.
Trick-or-Treat Times: Cincinnati
Trick-or-Treat Times: Dayton
I can see from the kids walking my neighborhood, and from conversations I have had with other parents of tweens and teens, that trick-or-treating teens are becoming more accepted than they were when I was a child. When I was younger, it felt like there was an unwritten rule that you couldn’t trick-or-treat as a teen. But now, I think we are collectively seeing that it’s not all bad for the big kids to be out there with the little kids — as long as they are kind, not grabbing fist-fulls of candy and obeying all the rules of gathering treats. (No tricks, please!)
Spooky Fun Beyond Collecting Candy
I realize not every child is like mine, and not all kids are interested in ringing doorbells and collecting M&Ms. If you find that your child no longer desires to dress like Yoda with their orange pumpkin bucket in hand, you might grieve for a second. Your next thought will likely be, “So, now what?” Don’t worry! There are plenty of alternatives for children who have aged-out of trick-or-treating. The good news is that these are spooktacular ways to spend a Halloween evening, too.
Hand Out Candy
Maybe your tween or teen wants to get dressed up, but not necessarily go door-to-door. Encourage them to have a friend over and stay behind in costume to answer the door and hand out candy. Everyone knows it’s way more fun to have someone in costume open the door than someone just hanging out in their PJs.
Participate in a Trunk or Treat
If your child is old enough to drive, see if there is a local trunk-or-treat happening nearby. Encourage your kid to pick a fun theme, decorate their trunk and get a costume to go along with the theme of choice. They can even choose themed music to play while they hand out candy to the kids walking through.
Host a Halloween Party
Your teen can invite friends, decorate Halloween inspired cookies, enjoy Halloween treats, listen to music, sing karaoke, whatever their hearts desire (within age appropriate reason of course.)
Have a Movie Night
If your child is old enough and doesn’t scare easily, you can gather with popcorn, soda and their favorite candy, and have a fall or spooky movie night. This can be a family affair, or invite some friends. The more the merrier!
Bake The Boos Away
Invite friends for a Halloween themed bake-off competition. Have them bring a cake, pie or other goulish treat, and have judges decide their favorite. You can even get a little trophy or prize bucket of candy for the winner to take home.
Gather Outside
Host a bonfire complete with s’mores and hotdogs to roast on sticks!
Visit a Haunted House
Again, if your child doesn’t scare easily, they could always head to a haunted house or other local Halloween inspired event.
Our oldest is in college this year, and I think I can say with confidence that she won’t be going door-to-door, but I know that doesn’t mean the fun has stopped. There will come a time when our kids hang up their orange pumpkin buckets, but the good news is that there are lots of alternatives to going door-to-door. And the even better news is: With a lot of those alternatives, you don’t need to worry about what the weather will be like!
