Every year, kids across the country go trick-or-treating. Kids anticipate this night on Halloween by getting their costumes ready and finding something to keep all of their candy in. Door-to-door, kids will ring doorbells or knock on doors and recite the phrase, “Trick-or-treat!”. This is meant as a fun tradition, however, there are a number of parents who do not let their children participate in this event.
Many parents fear this is an opportunity for their kids to fall into danger. “My mom always worried I’d get hit by a car, kidnapped, or have my candy spiked,” said Nha Nguyen ‘22. “I remember one year she heard there were needles inside lollipops.”
Due to so many dangers and fears of trick-or-treating, many safer alternate events have started increasing throughout the years; this has given the chance for kids who are not normally allowed to trick-or-treat, celebrate Halloween. However, there is a debate on which is better: Trick-or-Treat or Trunk-or-Treat.
Many schools and organizations annually hold an event where people may volunteer to decorate the trunk of their car at a designated location to give out candy, this is known as Trunk-or-Treating. Parents may walk with their kids from car to car getting candy. Keizer Elks Lodge holds a Trunk-or-Treat on Oct. 27th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Their website describes the event as, “A safe alternative to Trick-or-Treating door to door.”
Some kids have become divided on which they prefer to do. “I think I prefer trick-or-treating. That’s a hard choice, but with trick-or-treating you can go to the houses which add another level of halloween spook,” said Harry Rusin ‘19.
“Trunk-or-Treat was always something I looked forward to every year,” said Elizabeth Le ’21. “With houses, you never know which ones are participating in Halloween or not; with Trunk-or-Treat, I know everyone there is participating.”
For those families who do not Trick-or-Treat, another safe, local, alternative is South’s annual Halloween Doors. It’s hosted every year from 6:00pm to 7:30pm on Oct. 30th.
“Clubs sign up for a door, and they decorate it based on a theme; they come in costume. Sometimes they bring their own candy, sometimes they use the candy that we collect from period 6 classes,” said the coordinator, Kathy August.
Whether you prefer the traditional trick-or-treating or an alternative to it, trunk-or-treating, both are great ways to spend Halloween. If you no longer spend the evening collecting candy, volunteering and handing it out is a great way to serve the community.
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