Too Old For Trick Or Treat? 4 Ways To Have A Teenage Led Halloween

Trick or treat or not. How do you help your teenagers get into the Halloween spirit? We’ve got 4 easy non-invasive ways to encourage them without pushing.

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. There is a chill in the air that you can smell, the day star is not trying to kill me as much, and my curls just seem bouncier.  You know what else autumn brings? Halloween! The one day of the year kids and adults alike truly feel like they can be anything.

There’s a middle ground though, where teenagers tend to want to eschew the trick-or-treating as something only little kids do, how do you help your older offspring get into the Halloween spirit? I’ve got 4 easy non-invasive ways to encourage them without pushing.

Trick or treat or not. How do you help your teenagers get into the Halloween spirit? We’ve got 4 easy non-invasive ways to encourage them without pushing.

  1. Let them help decorate. Maybe picking a theme or creating some simple decorations to put up. Some choice over the outward appearances can help foster a sense of ownership and excitement. I know when I was a teenager I wanted to be able to turn my yard into a haunted house.
  2. Let them be excited if they are. It might be tempting to ask if they really want to watch Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween movie but don’t. Revel in your not-so-little enjoying little things. I’m a full adult and I love watching cartoons, it took me a while to find a kid’s Halloween movie that I wouldn’t plop down and watch myself.
  3. Let them be “too old” without razzing them. I’m sure if you think back there was a time in your life where you wanted to be more adult than you had the ability to be. Listen as they tell you about how they are too adult to wear a costume.
  4. Let them change their mind at the last minute. Pick up some face paint or a couple masks and keep them handy on the off chance they relapse from their impending adulthood and want to trick or treat.

Notice how all of these suggestions started with let them? When they were toddlers, it was easy to let them explore. Now the boundaries are higher stakes but they are still exploring and they need to know that they’re safe to do it with us.

What are your favorite ways to get your kids, young and old, excited about Halloween?

About Holly G. Darkly 25 Articles
Holly fancies herself as a pretentious punk version of Martha Stewart. When not finding spots to stash craft supplies or working, she's at the mercy of the five children reenacting Lord of the Flies in her house.

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