What’s Too Old for Trick-or-Treating?

By JESSICA SERRANO
UNLEASHED STAFF

The aroma of sugar and chocolate and other goodies is in the air.
Halloween is near. So is the thrill of trick-or-treating and the sugar high from all the free candy.
The holiday is heavily marketed for young people. But adults as well as kids enjoy Halloween, the orange-and-black decorations and haunted houses, dressing up in costume, and of course all the candy.
Are people ever too old to trick-or-treat?
Javier Estrada, an 18-year-old freshman at Heritage University in Toppenish, thinks not.
“There is no age limit to go trick-or-treating,” he says.
For Estrada, the meaning of Halloween lies in the candy and the frightfulness that goes along with the holiday.
“Halloween is that one time of the year that people from all age ranges can get scared over nothing and it gives everyone the chance to be daunting pseudo monsters,” he says.
Estrada is in college and still goes trick-or-treating.
“Without the candy there is no Halloween,” he says.
But he also says it’s for more than just the free candy. He also says it’s for the anticipation that someone will scare the living daylights out of him, just to make things that much more fun and spontaneous.
When pressed, though, he narrows down the appropriate age range of trick-or-treaters from “1 to 30, mostly because I don’t think a lot of older people would enjoy running outside in cold weather, unless they have kids, or have the spirit of a child.”
Others believe trick-or-treating is strictly for kids.
“I think trick-or-treating is definitely meant more for children,” says 17-year-old Julia Riel, a junior at La Salle High School. In fact, “It gets less exciting for me every year.”
Hayden Messer, 18 and a senior at West Valley High School, says he believes it’s meant for children.
“Halloween is kind of pointless to me, but it’s a pretty fun holiday,” he says.
Then there are teens who use trick-or-treating as an opportunity to release their inner child.
“Little kids get to be their favorite hero and teens get a reason to be wacky and uncool for a night without being judged by anyone. And you get free candy!” says 16-year-old April Purcell, a junior at Eisenhower High School.
She says she takes Halloween as an opportunity to liberate her funky side. But she also says she feels trick-or-treating is geared toward younger kids.
Anthony Perez, 16 and a junior at Ike, says he goes trick-or-treating simply to see people’s reaction. Sometimes they laugh; other times they just get irritated, he says.
“I am constantly told that I am too old to be dressing up and going out, but I can’t help it. I’m a child at heart,” he says. “I believe it’s an option for all ages.”
And, “You’re never too old to have fun.”

— Jessica Serrano is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends La Salle High School.