Fun, friends, spooky creatures, costumes and enough candy to fill a pillow case. For many people, Trick-or-Treating and dressing up for Halloween is a very exciting and important part of October. It gives kids a chance to dress up as their favorite superheroes, Disney princesses, or TV show heartthrobs and have a really fun time getting as much candy as they can fit in their pillow case, so what’s not to like? However when is it time to stop Trick-or-Treating?

As a kid, everything felt so new and exciting when I went Trick-or-Treating. Getting free candy from houses around my neighborhood and visiting mysterious and spooky places made the experience that much better. Nonetheless as I got older, putting on costumes was still pretty fun, but hunting down candy from random houses lost its flare, or in this case, candle light.

Getting older means having a wider variety of things to do in your freetime, especially on Halloween. Some people have fun Halloween costume parties to show off their costumes. Others, including myself, have a fun gatherings with friends that involve lots of candy. I have very fond memories of going to Halloween parties as a very excitable elementary schooler in my mini-Spiderman costume. In addition, due to Worlds of Fun being so close, many people go there to get a good spook at the Halloween Haunt. Events like these kind of put an ugly vampire cloak that just screams “Stay away from Trick-or-Treating.”

Every year many of my friends and I continue to debate whether or not to go Trick-or-Treating. They know that there are better opportunities for having fun at other events like the Halloween Haunt at Worlds of Fun or costumes parties; which dominate the Halloween holiday.

Trick-or-Treating, while safe and exciting, is for kids. Chances are you could probably have more fun at a party or a small gathering with friends and chow down on sweets for the night. I’m not saying that going Trick-or-Treating is for babies, but unless you’re taking your younger siblings out for Trick-or-Treating, there isn’t much to enjoy besides the nostalgia. Especially since after Halloween stores end up discounting their candy, so you can get jumbo bags of fun-sized Snickers bars as you want and at pretty low price.

As time moves on and we get older, Trick-or-Treating continues to be a staple to the Fall season, and an event that kids, teens and many adults still enjoy. Personally I have nothing against Trick-or-Treating, but I know I don’t want to see 30 year-old men coming to my door and asking for candy. I feel as if at a certain age Trick-or-Treating should be left to the pros: younger kids.