Dear Rocky,

I’m facing a major dilemma! Halloween is coming up soon, and I was really looking forward to dressing up and getting tons of candy with my friends, but everyone is telling me that high-schoolers are too old for that! Are high-schoolers really too old to trick-or-treat?

-High School Trick-or-Treater

Dear Trick-or-Treater,

This is a “tricky” question (pun intended) because everyone has different ideas as to what age is “too old” for trick-or-treating. Some high-schoolers believe that they are too old for costumes and candy bars, but many others are still attached to the tradition. There are also rumors that many neighbors will not answer the door for high school trick-or-treaters because they think the students are being immature and childish.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating Halloween, as long as you go about it in a more mature way than you might have as a child. If you still have fun putting together costumes and going out for candy with your friends, don’t let others ruin it for you! As long as you are not disrupting other trick-or-treaters, especially younger ones and the people giving out candy, you are not doing anything wrong. High-schoolers are notorious for “egging,” “TP’ing,” and scaring younger children on Halloween, so show your neighborhood that lots of teens still want to celebrate in respectful and appropriate ways!

If you still want to go trick-or-treating, but you feel a little too old, you can always choose a simpler costume like Rosie the Riveter, a Pink Lady, or even one of your own athletic or work uniforms. These are much easier to put together, and they are a great way to continue your favorite Halloween traditions without going too over-the-top.

If your friends aren’t feeling up to trick-or-treating, but you still want to go, you can always offer to take a younger sibling, cousin, or neighbor, so you don’t miss out on the fun. You might even make a profit from babysitting!

There are lots of ways to celebrate Halloween, so don’t feel too discouraged if others are telling you you’re too old!

Meep Meep,

Rocky