Some of my fondest memories are from Halloweens many years ago, running from door to door, trick or treating with my brothers and my friends. It felt like a right of passage to earn the privilege to go trick or treating without our parents. I loved the thrill of Halloween, the slight fear I felt when I saw someone in a scary costume, the chill of the cold evening, and the sounds of scary music playing in people’s houses.
I remember the excitement of dressing up in our costumes and setting out to fill our candy bags, only to be forced to wear a winter coat and hat over them as we braved the cold Midwest weather. Nonetheless, we relished in the experience together, celebrating each successful stop as we rang the bell of each house in our neighborhood. I grew up in a quintessential, small, rural town so my parents had the luxury of knowing I was fairly safe in the local neighborhoods, however, my experience of trick or treating is not ubiquitous.
This year, traditional Halloween trick-or-treater numbers dwindled compared to the growing population of “trunk-or-treaters.” Trunk-or-treating consists of parents and community members driving to agreed-upon locations to provide kids with a safe and fun spot to trick-or-treat. People often decorate their car trunks to specific themes and Halloween stores are now even selling decorations specifically for people’s cars.
These events are normally hosted before or on October 31st by neighborhoods, religious groups, or other organizations with the intent of keeping kids, especially smaller children, safe during Halloween. It also provides a fun, centralized environment for kids to enjoy Halloween in, while also easing the minds of their parents.
Trunk-or-Treat creates solutions to existing problems with traditional trick or treating; unwelcoming or unsafe neighborhoods, un-walkable distance between houses, years when Halloween falls on a weekday, and many more.
While trunk-or-treating seems to have positive attributes, it ultimately comes with a cost, and many of these separate events are exclusive. Though there are trunk-or-treating events that are open to the public, many of these events get busy and are hard to take advantage of.
One issue with this trend is that it leaves traditional trick-or-treaters and homeowners with a taste of uncertainty. Previously, homeowners only had to account for one night of trick-or-treating, in which the majority of kids in the area would visit the houses in their area. However, in recent years, many people don’t even bother to go trick-or-treating if they’ve already gone to a planned trunk-or-treat event. Similarly, many people choose to go to Trunk-or-Treating events on October 31st instead of traditional trick-or-treating. This leaves homeowners who are excited to celebrate Halloween the traditional way with uncertainty about how much candy to buy, and how many kids to expect at their houses.
Similarly, it leaves traditional trick-or-treaters with uncertainty about which areas they will find houses that are giving out candy. In some communities, it seems that trunk-or-treating is over-prioritizing giving parents certainty about their children’s happiness, success, and experience instead of allowing kids to experience the fun that comes with traditional trick-or-treating.
The history of trick-or-treating dates back to the sixteenth century. Since then, the common theme that has emerged, no matter where the trick-or-treating was being performed, was that children would dress up and visit their neighbors in hopes of getting a treat. In some places, the children would put on a small performance whereas in others, children would use their costumes as a disguise, in hopes that their neighbors wouldn’t recognize them and in turn give them a treat. The history of trick-or-treating is centered around getting to know one’s neighbors. Trunk-or-treating, while it addresses several modern-day problems with traditional trick-or-treating, lacks the neighborly aspect that trick-or-treating has involved for centuries.
Supporters of the trunk-or-treating tend to think that these events make Halloween less time-consuming, which would especially be beneficial in scenarios like this year, where Halloween falls on a weekday. As a result, Trunk-or-Treating events allow for a higher candy-per-hour acquisition rate, making Halloween activities more manageable for those with busy schedules.
This begs the question, is trunk-or-treating promoting the idea that Halloween is only about amassing free treats? Is it beneficial for kids to face failure during their Halloween endeavors? If anything, when I was younger, failing to get candy at a house did not ruin Halloween, it encouraged my friends, and me to pursue success at other houses. The possibility of failure and the adventure that comes with traditional trick-or-treating are just as beneficial as those of Trunk-or-Treating.
Trunk-or-Treating has a running list of pros and cons, however, I can’t seem to stop wishing that kids today would get the same Halloween experience that I did. Maybe it is simply childhood nostalgia that creates a distaste for the up-and-coming trend, but it seems that Trunk-or-Treating will continue to assume popularity for many Halloweens to come.
