how old is too old for trick or treating

[estellacruella]

My 11 year old son wants to go trick or treating tonight he loves halloween and has his costume all ready. if he does go this would be his last year as i feel he is getting too old for it. my husband thinks he is too old since he started high school in august
Do you think 11 is too old to go out round the doors or should it be ok for him too go tonight
TIA

I've just passed a group of teenagers out while walking the dog, they were dressed up..buckets in hands...in very good spirits. They spoke to me, commented on my dog..I asked if they had lots of sweets, they said 'yeeeeaaaahhh' , so I said 'sugar highs tonight then'...they laughed and said 'definitely ' they were polite and a good bunch of kids.

We don’t go guising any more though - the kids now call it trick or treating or just Halloween. Guising and neep lanterns are a thing of the past.

Not in my house, kids go guising - get dressed up, do a party piece and get sweets in return, kids coming to my house do a party piece too. The only reason we don’t have neep laterns is me not wanting to lose my fingers carving them.

I don't mind if they are going around in a group with other children. It's adults at my door with toddlers who don't even know it's Halloween. I much prefer the school aged children.

Around 16/17 years old in my village. Tend to know most from school though and it's quite fun working out who is behind the masks. Some very gory and creative costumes. All polite and friendly and only visit houses with pumpkins amd decorations. At any point in the evening I can peer out into the darkness and see pre-school witches with parents, primary aged ghouls emptying entire sweet buckets and groups of teenage vampires flitting up and down the road. I quiite like it, it's a long dark winter ahead, why not get out and enjoy it!

”Twiz5218 · Today 19:03
Why not pre-school? My two year old nephew went out tonight. He went to do two doors dressed as a pumpkin with his mam and decided he'd had enough because he was so excited to get home and eat the chocolate he'd been given from those two doors. He's had lovely night.
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I don't mind if they are going around in a group with other children. It's adults at my door with toddlers who don't even know it's Halloween. I much prefer the school aged children.”

By the sounds of things the poster above had a pre school child that had a great experience. My pre schooler went with me and slightly older sibling and had a fantastic time, certainly knew it was Halloween too!

I really don't mind teenagers up to about 16 - they're still kids who like sugar! All the ones we had knocking tonight were polite and respectful, and the older kids I saw trick or treating when I took my kids out were generally very nice to the little ones and watched their language etc. Last year there was a lovely boy who came to our door who could see my DD was a bit scared of his mask, immediately took it off to show her that it was nothing to worry about.

Kids being kids is a good thing IMO!

My 15yo is going with some friends tonight. But we’re in the US so maybe it’s ok. Might be his last year. I’ve also taken my youngest since she was a baby. Last 2 years she’s definitely recognised it’s Halloween and makes us drive around the neighbourhood looking at the dec’s. She’s 5 now and was most put out she had to go to school today on Halloween

I don’t care if adults turn up in fancy dress and trick or treat, they could totally have candy! 😂 I love this holiday!

but honestly what harm is a teenager trick or treating (we had a number turn up this year, some had gone all out on costumes, some just with masks ? At least they aren’t out terrorising people.

It depends whether they're looking for cash, and can be intimidating in big groups, especially for older people. The last group we had looked a bit disappointed with mini packed of haribo etc, I was expecting little kids! At least they were dressed up.
Each to their own, but at that age I was having movie nights, and halloween parties/nights out from 17. Each to their own.