How old is TOO old to go trick-or-treating?

[stubbornhubby]

that's it really, how old is too old?

Why, at the age of 13, should a young person suddenly:

1. develop a sudden aversion to chuppa chups
2. transmogrify into a hulk
3. start to beat up old ladies/little kiddies
4. submit to a curfew as they are obviously up to no good?

Sheesh

Well -

1. They usually have more access to these things - chuppa chups - on account of going out more, well in my experience anyway.

1. Never really seen this - that's generally around 15, again just in my house. Well then again not so much a hulk as a beanpole.

1. Never seen this either.

1. Well actually, they usually start the 'teenage party season' around 13, obviously trainee parties to start with.

I get surprised, and again this is only in my experience, because by this age most teenagers of my acquaintance had other (party, film, pizza express) halloween activities.

Just my experience - which in turn led to my views.

No offence intended.

Sorry I missed out computer gaming 'hub' parties.

Last year two girls of 13 / 14 came to the door; me + mum were very impressed with their perfect make-up and costumes so gave them lots of sweets. Also the local mums + toddlers call round.
Don't mind that but am a bit concerned this year as i politely asked the local thug (age 40) to move his son's goalpost + nets out of the middle of our cul-de-sac access road and although he gave in this time he was aggressive + i worry that he may send his son's gang round to vandalise stuff with halloween as an excuse :(.

Crikey Lara, that doesn't sound very nice for you at all. But hopefully as it is just trick or treat it can't really get too bad. After all there are just too many witnesses. I once heard of 'eggs', but it was VERY frowned on (Community Police came to the road concerned - a friend of mine told me so this is hearsay - to 'explain vandalism' to the children and parents concerned). But mostly it is just silly string and shaving foam - if you don't cough up the sweets. Tesco are doing some really good deals at the moment.

Good Luck.

If they put the thought and creativity into a fun costume, then I see no problem with teenagers trick-or-treating. I think I did up until age 15 or so (am from the US originally) and most people were really friendly about it. They liked seeing the outfits, and said pretty much the same thing, that it was just nice seeing kids still taking part in the holiday. (many cities in the US now have indoor activities and trick-or-treating in malls so that helicopter parents can hover be nearby in a brightly lit environment)

I'm happy to give good candy to all small children, and to well-dressed older children. If they're in their teens and all they did was slap a mask on, then they're getting lint-covered sweets from the bottom of my purse. :)

in fact, am currently rolling some sweets around the bottom of my purse in preparation for the occasion.

okay, not really. But it's a good idea.

I used to go out with my two until they were about 12 and then we stopped as I think older people can be really frightened by youngsters, specially if theyre in a big group.

16 is too old IMO.

My 2 elder ones grew out of in after about Y6/Y7 which I think is a bit of a shame.In our village the 'no pumpkin-no knocking'rule is adhered to.Lots of people put a bowl of sweets outside the door with a sign to take one, and when they're gone they're gone.
Still see lots of teens coming round and I don't feel in the least intimidated.Even when we lived in quite a rough area when my eldest was just a tyoddler I was never frightened by teenagers knocking on the door asking for sweets FGS.I think some people need to get a grip!

It's impossible to be too old. Anyone can come if they've a good costume and want a bag of sweets.

Another neighbourhood with the 'code' - about one house in three displays a lit pumpkin or a ghost/spider in the window etc - and those are the houses happy to recieve trick-or-treaters. Anyone OUT trick or treating removes the decoration until they are home. Saves everyone time and stress.

I don't understand the attitude to teenagers. The poor buggers - what ARE they supposed to do? Too old for kid stuff and too young for adult stuff. Horrible.

Can't understand being scared of children trick or treating either - 4 or 14

I always like to give out sweets / chocs etc - most kids here are tiny + some families have parties + bring their kids over first. They knock at mine cos im a young woman + make a fuss of them but avoid the elderly residents.
Just find this new thuggish male neighbour a concern as despite having lots of young male neighbours i was the only person to stand up to him that day. I could see neighbours watching him fronting up to me but they didnt come and help! I kept calm even when he swore + he did concede. Now when i see him i give a friendly smile as if nothing happened so am hoping he won't see halloween as an excuse to use his son for 'revenge'. (The last person to complain about the son had rocks thrown at their car).

Can someone explain to me the moral difference between "give us money and I won't smash up your nice corner shop" and "give me sweeties and I won't egg/TP your house" even if you never intend to do the trick, it's still threatened. I teach my DC this is wrong all year round. I'm not going to relax my morality for one night a year. Carol singing/proper guising is different, as you are giving something first and asking for something in return.

what is 'proper guising' ?

I hated Halloween in London, when we were egged a few times and none of the children/teens were people I knew. Usually I'd just turn the lights off in the front of the house though, so not a big deal.

Then we moved to the States and now live in Canada and it is totally different. People really take a lot of trouble decorating their houses and then all the neighbourhood children go out and about (usually between 6-8pm). There's no menacing because everyone with a decorated house (or just a pumpkin to two) has sweets at the ready, and it's a really fun spooky evening. My children will go out with a group of friends, and just walking around the neighbourhood in the dark will be exciting. They are 10 and 11 this year and so don't need any supervising. dh and I just hope that we will get more visitors this year - last year we lived in a house with a very long drive and hardly got anyone (we had lots of left over candy).

I do miss bonfire night though.

Proper "guising" is what has always gone on in Scotland (not sur if it is the same term in Ireland), ie it pre-dates what is now called "Trick or treating" which has been reimported into England from America.

It's short for disguising.

IIRC, when I was wee (in the 60s [hblush]) we did say "Trick or treat" - but it was only meant as "which do you want me to perform, a [magic ]trick or a treat [eg a song]?". But that might just have been my childish interpretation of the term. There was (and is? - certianly not round where we are in Glasgow) no hint of potential vandalism.

My mum used to spend hours scooping out the middle of a neep (purple turnip); that's one good imported tradion - the pumpkins! [hgrin]

I have never seen evidence of silly string, shaving foam, eggs or flour here in Glasgow - either where we live or where SIL lives (ds went guising round there one year with his cousines: actually got far more, as there are more, but smaller, houses and many more families).

Ds wold not be allowed out with silly string - but he wouldn't even think of it.

That's OK alicatte (returns to thread hours later!) [hsmile]

Lots round here certainly haven't grown out of it including my own [hsmile] they looked particularly good last year as managed to borrow some stuff fom their local theatre

Do people still have a trick to do? The last time I had anyone at more door they wanted sweets or money but didnt have any jokes or anything to tell. We used to spend days memorising a poem or some jokes for the neighbours.

As long as kids/teens adhere to the 'pumpkin/decorated houses only' rule, and are polite, I don't mind the older ones. Round here, we rarely get any older than 13-14, and even they tend to look a bit embarrassed. It does sound a bit odd when you get the odd wizard with a deep bass voice

It so depends where you live - my Mum, who is in her 80s, has had people graffiti her doorstep

My friend just 5 minutes up the road had eggs thrown because she was changing her baby's nappy and didn't get to the door on time

We've only, so far, had lovely cheerful dressed up kiddies, mostly accompanied. Its almost like a street party.

I don't mind any age, as long as they are polite and are in the spirit of things.

WHy should teenagers have no fun? If they are prepared to make fools of themselves dressing up and knocking on doors, then I will give some sweets to them.

If they are rude at any age then they should fuck off. I don't want intimidation. I'm happy to open the door to happy, friendly teens.

dd will be going out shes 7 and ds1 will be taking her but he is not into dressing up more becuase she smad ehim promise

Though everyone knows each other here , only 25 houses in village so figure were not going to get any late night door knockers

We have an unofficial but well respected 'don't knock unless there's a pumpkin outside the house' rule in our village so I'm inclined to say as long as they look like kids (ie 16 is pushing your luck IMO) and I've got my pumpkin outside then I don't mind.