Halloween, though not federally recognized as a holiday, is widely celebrated across the U.S. with consumers estimated to spend a total of $13.5 billion according to the National Retail Federation. With the holiday’s popularity, people of all ages are celebrating and participating in the century long tradition of trick or treating. The debate is the same every year: should trick or treating include teenagers?
According to a 2024 Fairleigh Dickinson University poll in New Jersey surveying 800 Americans, the average age people should stop trick or treating is 13 and a half years old.
My opinion is that trick or treating should be for both kids and teenagers because not only are they both still in their youth and haven’t grown into adults yet, but because fun shouldn’t have to go away with childhood.
The holiday is meant to be a fun night for everybody no matter the age, so excluding certain age groups from participating creates an unnecessary conflict where older kids feel like they can’t have fun. As long as someone has a costume I personally don’t mind their age since there is no universal age limit, and if they’re respectful and actively participating, you should get candy like everybody else. Especially for teenagers there’s a stigma against them trick or treating. When I was a sophomore in high school I had received comments on whether I was too old for trick or treating by people handing out candy.
Although the tradition of going door to door is directly rooted in the original Celtic holiday in Ireland, its modern equivalent of dressing up is associated with elementary school kids running around. There’s an expectation that only younger kids should trick or treat and by the time your adolescence starts you have to leave it behind. So while some may think once you reach your teens you should hang up the costumes, I think Halloween is a holiday where everybody can celebrate, including trick or treaters of any age.
