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When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Age limitation on trick-or-treaters is an inherently fascist concept and will be trashed when the revolution happens.
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.
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.
If someone has the confidence to dress up and ring my doorbell, they’re getting candy and positive vibes from me.
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.
The older you are, the more effort I expect. A kid can get away with a cape and a mask. If an older teen comes, I expect full costume, not everyday clothes. Adult? You better be rocking a great cosplay. Not that I'd refuse anyone, but I'll be happiest giving treats to young children or people showing off really amazing effort in the costume department.
None.
Halloween isn't really a thing here, but last year the elderly home organized a Trick or Treating event where everyone was invited, but it was mainly setup to give the elderly a fun activity.
I don't think I've ever seen people enjoy dressing up for Halloween as much as they did.
There's no age limit.
Honestly? Do whatever you want as long as you're not hurting anyone or being a dick. Wanna put on a spooky costume and go ask the neighbours for candy? Please be my guest and I hope you have such a fun time. I guess you might get some funny looks but like, that's on them, not you. This doesn't even just apply to trick or treating.
You're never too old to enjoy something. The world is miserable enough, have ice cream for dinner once, go trick or treating, learn to ride a bike, have a sleepover with your friends, or do none of those things if you wouldn't derive joy from them.
If you are an adult, and clearly an adult, then it's probably too old.
I'll still give you candy if I answer the door, but that is probably where you might creep some people out, or they give creeper vibes and don't trust answering the door.
That said, in my own experience, you are too old to trick or treat once you pass about 5'6" (~165 cm).
I remember finding out I was too old. After an event, some friends wanted to go trick or treating. I was in high school still, but just shy of 6 feet. Female friend the same age was just over 5', and another female friend that was a few years older was about 4'9".
Anyways, they trick or treated fine, and I got stares, and clearly treated differently. Clearly trick or treating is not about age, but perceived age. (and effort. If you're short and all covered up in your costume, no one will know or care... long as your voice isn't boss baby)
18/20 because after that you ought to be able to be a candy-giver. This whole thing only works if we have enough candy-givers, and too late of a cutoff age skews the balance.
Honestly, I don't really set an age limit. I won't judge people who are out for fun. I've been there, there's not much to do around where I live.
That being said though... Regardless of your age, if you costume up, you're likely to get more candy from me. (I'll also offer candy to parents and older siblings who aren't taking part because I'm cool like that. Just don't stick chocolate bars in your pockets LMAO)
Yeah if you have a costume on, that's all I need to know
If you don't have a costume, I'll use the special bowl of candy full of Almond Joy's..
I’d just be happy she has a costume on. Around here we get grown adults with no costumes asking for candy with their kids. I guess I enable them because I don’t want to call them out in front of their own kids, but come on.
In my area, it is less age and more size. Someone that is large scares more people than a small person. I was large so stopped early, but a small woman with a mask could go quite a long time.
As a timid tall person, this comment hit me in the feels. I don't like being intimidating, but there's not much I can do about it. And so many people comment about my height like it's a great thing, but sometimes I just want to be small.
No age. Anyone against fun social traditions is a jerk and a loser. I stand by my word.
I started getting judgemental looks in my teens. That being said, I don't know how much I would care if an adult popped up on my doorstep
In Mexico, there are two dates for "trick or treat". One is for kids (the Day of ~the Holly Innocents~ All the Saints) and the next day is for Day of the dead or Día de Muertos, which is for everyone, in a clearly adult-centric celebration. The treats in the first day are candy-like, in the second day it's very-Mexican-food-like.
Ask your sister which one would she celebrate. The rightest answer is both, the right is one or the other, the wrong is none.
Also, if she's watching after some kids, that's great and deserves a treat. Ultimately, as this post and comments suggests, it all depends on the people's heart.
I would put together a costume if it meant I could go trick-or-treating and get tamales and empanadas instead of candy.
If you're looking out for your kid/brother for safety, no limits. Otherwise, 16.
Why?
We have like 4 children in our neighbourhood. If an adult showed up at my door in costume, I'd be thrilled to get a visitor, give them candy and offer them booze (it's also common in my area for homes to offer drinks to parents who are chaperoning their kids).
On a similar note, when my son was about 7, my girlfriend at the time (who was 28) came with us in costume and and went up to houses with him with a candy bag and collected treats. The first couple houses, I actually felt like "this is a little embarrassing" but people just gave her candy and alcohol and I was like "You know what, this is fun!" I realized I was being a stiff adult and should just get over myself (a beer and a couple cup of hot cider with whiskey didn't hurt my attitude either).
It's weird at any age.
I allow it if it's a parent or sibling accompanying a child. Or if they have an amazing costume. If it's a grown ass man wearing a trash bag or a $3 mask not so much.
Anyone of any age can dress up and not have it be weird... but trick-'r-treating? Anything over 12 is just fucking weird to me. I'm instantly sus of any adult doing it (unless they have a kid with them).
If you still “let” them apparently they are young enough
When you have a place to live and can afford a bucket of candy, I think it is an obligation to everyone who wants this tradition to continue to stay at home (yours or someone else if youre having a halloween party) and give out candy to the kids and compliment their costumes.
But other than that, nah, no age limit as long as you can still say thanks and enjoy it.
Sometime when I was 13 or 14, I stopped. For one year. (I thought I had outgrown it, and was too old for “kid stuff”.) The next year my friends and I ended up putting on our costumes and trick or treating “ironically”. If anyone judged us, that was their problem. They missed out on free candy and a license to be stupid. We had a great time!
When I took the kids trick or treating there was one house with a fire pit that was offering candy, Pokemon cards or beer depending on the age and preference of the trick or treater
previously I think I would have said about 10-12 feels like the proper cutoff, but I took my 3.5 year old out tonight, and at one house she got a king size snickers bar while the teens after us got fun size. this feels the most fair.
Shouldn't be one. I don't give a shit if you're 65 years old, if you knock you can have some candy. It's a holiday, for fun, I don't need to turn it into another fucking ethics test. I just want to have fun and I want others to have fun.
When (not if — there’s a few every year) clearly adult women knock on the door asking for a treat, I tell them they have to turn a trick first. Gets rid of them pretty quickly.