My sister is 23 and still dresses up and goes out knocking doors for candy… and I find it weird but I let her do her. It got me thinking, at what age do you think someone should stop Trick r Treating at? Just curious.
When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.
- C.S. Lewis
Good on your sister for not losing track of what makes her happy. Not doing things just because they are “childish” is the most childish trait an adult can display.
THATS the rest of the quote!!?! Ha. Man I’ve always just heard it stop at “ childish things”. Makes more sense now
Actually no, Lewis is parodying the Bible: https://www.biblehub.com/1_corinthians/13-11.htm
The Bible quote does say that, but he’s poking fun at it by saying “why so serious?”
You heard it that way because that’s because that’s the end of 1 Corinthians 13:11:
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
C.S. Lewis is playing off of a Bible quote and that became its own thing.
Because quotes get cut wherever they benefit the person repeating them. You were shown the quote from people who don’t enjoy life and want others to suffer the same way.
The rule is, if you dress up you get candy. I don’t care how old you are, but you have to be dressed up.
I always end up over buying and want that candy GONE! No age restrictions for me either.
The key to buying Halloween candy is to buy the things you would want to eat yourself. We freeze the leftovers and slowly eat them. Still working on last years!
I make an exception for parents watching their young kids. I have no problem rewarding good, responsible parents.
Plus, we give out juice boxes. Sometimes, when parents see their kids walking away with juice boxes, they’ll ask for one themselves. Walking around the neighborhood with kids is thirsty work! I’ll happily give juice to parents!
“I’m Backwards-Jacket Guy!”
I hate the idea that older kids shouldn’t do it. Like I remember getting shit when I decided to be kid-like again at 15 after not having done it when I was 13 and 14.
Houses told me I was too old. And looking back now, as a parent of teens, and I wish they and their friends were just going out trick r treating. I will definitely encourage any kid I see. And at my age anyone under 26 is a kid, easily. I’d much rather kids do something communal and fun than just go out drinking. I’m sure that by the next Halloween when I was 16 I was probably doing something less good than asking for free candy.
If we want people to be communal, have fun, and be safe then we shouldn’t give them shit when they do that. So I don’t care if the old dude down the streets dons a skeleton costume and grabs a pillow case. If he has a costume, he gets candy. And anyone who tells me different will get called out for being a killjoy.
I think getting older means they can do some pretty cool stuff with their costumes. I see nothing wrong with it, it’s a massive outdoor party.
Risky to tell them they’re too old. Teenagers are full of mischief, they don’t get the treat and you get the trick – eggs on your front door!
As long as you’re wearing a costume, I don’t care how old you are. You’ll get a treat.
I’d be super happy with no upper limit on age.
What I definitely have is an attitude limit; I loathe it when sullen teenagers knock the door, mutter “trckotrt”, no dress up except someone has drawn a tear on their face and then grabs five portions of candy and just dashes out.
Like, you can be fucking 40 for all I care, but you squeal “triiick of treaaaat”, then I say “wow, aren’t your costumes great” and offer the bowl up. You then grab one large or a couple of small things, say thank you and walk off excitedly.
The requirement for me is that you look like you’re enjoying it. Otherwise, why am I opening the door to strangers and offering them sweets?
This.
As you age, trick or treat should be more like wasseling, where we wander the local hood, check in the people we should see more often, share candy back and forth and agree that Mr Stewart in #10 is a bit of a dick.
It should keep a more social aspect with less candy as we mature as social adults. Parents should take older kids to mature them a bit.
That’s a neat concept. I’d like that
I give candy to parents with costumes. Knock on my door, say trick or treat, and you get candy. Them’s the rules.
I also give adults I know beer or seltzer.
If you don’t give a treat, you risk getting tricked.
Yep. If you show up to my door with a costume, you’re getting candy. Age is an afterthought if at all.
We do full-sized candy bars, but we also have small candy for when we run out of full-sized ones. Last year I had an adult that was not in costume take the last full-sized one, unwrap it, and bite into it right in front of us. I don’t care if you take a little one for yourself, but the full-sized bars are for the kids. You can buy your own damn full-sized candy bars.
If it makes her happy, why do you care? I assume that most people do “childish” things despite their age because it makes them happy.
She can do her, and I am happy for her. I’m just curious what other people’s opinions are is all?
Honestly? I wouldn’t care about age. Just tell her not to destroy other people’s property by doing the “trick”.
Fair enough really. She is right in that she isn’t out getting drunk or anything like that.
All the thirty five year olds giving her candy probably think it’s funny
I’ve watched from their driveway and they usually have a look of debate on their faces as to if they want to give her candy or not. They usually just give her a piece though.
Most older people don’t want to be left with a bunch of candy at the end of the night. If they didn’t want to give it to her, they wouldn’t.
Age limitation on trick-or-treaters is an inherently fascist concept and will be trashed when the revolution happens.
Comrade 🤝
If someone has the confidence to dress up and ring my doorbell, they’re getting candy and positive vibes from me.
There’s no age limit. Adulthood isn’t about not being whimsical it’s about being whimsical and not caring that losers are judging you for being happy
It’s better that teenagers are out collecting candy and not committing mischief.
They should do both
No age limit in this household. I’d say “just show up with a bag,” but I just gave treats so some 4yo with no bag. If an adult asked? They’d get them.
I just want to be kind. I wasn’t allowed to trick or treat as a kid. I did as a teen, and you know what? Nobody cared how old our group was. We got candy like the rest of them. God bless those neighbors.
And God bless Halloween.
I stopped trick-or-treating at 11 or so when I became self-conscious and had some depression/introvert stuff happen. Sometimes I’m sad that I stopped so early in my childhood. I just want people to know that I love them and want them to be happy and have fun.
I don’t give a fuck how old you are. Are you having fun and want some candy?!
I like this comment very much. Thank you for sharing.
How generous of you.
but I let her do it.
Pretty sure they mean they leave their sister to do as she pleases, and not shaming her for it.
Ya, they didn’t even say, “Let her do it,” they said, “let her do her,” as in “you do you.” But it was a clumsy usage of the phrase.
lol right?
I think your Senior year of high school oughta be the cutoff, but I don’t have any issues with college students trick or treating, so I think 23 or so would be my candy refusal threshold. This actually reminds me of a story I read a long time ago:
It’s Halloween and there’s a knock on the door, nothing out of the ordinary, and the person got up and went to the door. When they opened it, they found another door and doorframe up against their door, which read “Please knock for candy”, they knocked and were offered candy by some college students who were carrying an entire door and frame around for this bit. I believe it ended with the homeowner refusing candy and giving the college students candy.
So yeah, I need to add an exception to my Halloween code of ethics: An awesome costume / gag can make up for any age.
this is funny. I’d be fine with anyone doing this one.
I stopped at 14. At 23 it’s definitely weird, but whatever. I think it’s unfortunate that our culture shames adults for partaking in controlled mischief aspects of holidays and other such fun holiday traditions.
It’s an arbitrary cultural custom, with even more arbitrary expectations for who’s included. I find it weird when a grown-up comes to your door and it straight up makes certain people angry, but there’s no logical reason why it’s bad.
Cause they got jobs and buy their own goddamn candy
And that’s the problem. People have started focusing on the candy as the point. It’s the dressing up and having fun that’s supposed to be the point.
By that logic, the kids’ parents have jobs so they can buy their own kids their own goddamn candy.
We do. But on Halloween, we trade showing off our children in cute costumes for candy. And I mean… I also buy candy for the other kids.
It’s a holiday.
Teenagers in costumes are less cute.
I’ll pass out candy to anyone who comes to the door, and I like offering to parents as well, but I judge parents that have a big bucket for themselves the same way I judge people that empty bowls at unattended houses. Just because it’s technically allowed doesn’t make it approved.
