Thread: A little old for Halloween?

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"Aren't you a little... old for Halloween?" he asked, a patronizing smirk smeared across his face. He didn't wait for an answer, but instead allowed himself a dramatic sad shake of his head, as if the concept was too tragic to consider. How he lives with his mature wisdom, I've no idea. It must be terrible to live in a world where adults have fun, when they should be constantly worried about appearing as emotionally dead as possible.

I'm thirty-six, employed with a growing business and fully insured. I have a car that is paid for, a wife, a house of our own and no debt. I make far more than minimum wage and I even clean dishes and mow the lawn when I must.
I celebrate Halloween.
I carve Jack o' Lanterns, so much so I got a pattern published with Pumpkin Masters (Harvest Moon, it was called). I light candles and listen to creepy music. I clutter the house with bones and leaves, cobwebs and creepy lights. I watch every special I can. I go to Halloween stores and spend my money like millions of other Americans. I have candy for the tricksters, and I take my nieces out when they come to town. I host a huge party, in costume with games and decor, food and drink. I celebrate like many american adults, so obviously I'm okay.
Little toddlers and grade schoolers come to the door, sometimes in groups, sometimes with a parent. Candy and decorations are prepared for their visits, so obviously they're okay.
What was the cut off? Was it 11, 12, 14, 16 years of age?
When does the revamp hit? When you pay rent and society allows you to decorate?
Who are these worthless, sad, empty-headed, arrogant jerks that introduced the idea that you might be too old for Halloween? It used to be teens and twenties used the holiday for courtship games, and adults had parties. Kids starting being offered candy to keep the pranks across Depression Era America at a minimum. But one day, some kid's holiday was destroyed when some smirking adult said...
"Aren't you a little... old for Halloween?"
and they stopped. There was no official "too old" age I recall ever being published in the newspapers or announced on the news. Did Congress pass a law? So these folks grow up, hand out candy if they feel like it, and ask everyone they ever meet over the age of 7... "aren't you a little old for Halloween?"

NO! I'm not! Aren't you a little young for a corpse? Sorry you decided to give up one having any fun outside of monday night football and beer, but most of us would like to live life while we're here. Luckily, this generation doesn't seem to buy into the "too old" nonsense, especially since no one can give a reasonable answer for when and why age has anything to do with it.

Wanna save trick or treat? Get whole families doing it. When the college kids have the guts to come to your door and politely trick or treat you, lavish them with goods and tell them it was great to see them! Give Mom and Dad some candy, tell them they get more next year if they are in costume!
Take candy to work and offer it to folks, let them know they aren't too old for chocolate and a horror movie, so Halloween should be par for the course.

Sorry. Just a bit of a rant after running into some backwater idiot who wanted to know who shopped at Spirit, since Halloween was just for little kids, and everybody else was a moron if they bothered. He actually made a scene in the parking lot, yelling at his wife what a stupid concept a Halloween store was.

He's right about one thing, though.

He was a little... old for Halloween. Shame, though. He only looked about forty years of age, plenty of decades of halloween fun still to be had at that age. Oh, well.

lol good read

im 20 yrs old, i somewhat think Im too old for halloween,

.....but then again, I dont care wat others think, I love Halloween and its one of very few times I get to celebrate something that brings me back to being a kid again

My heartbreak was at 15"sniff"now I scare their kids.I love your posts,always thought inducing. I think I would have been mad if I had been hearing that goober.might of said something. I know my wife would have.Something like "Ehh... git off my lawn you darn kids"LOL! my wife And I are older (so to speak)and we celebrate every year.hand out treats to everyone, have a anniversary/halloween/birthday party and get people at work into the spirit.Never too old to celebrate Halloween!!!

Are you too old for Halloween?

Heck no, I believe in Santa Claus too. (why risk NOT believing?)

Great post...a really fun read! I agree and have never quite understood why some people believe "getting older" means "no more fun". I'm an avid Halloween fan who loves to decorate my yard and house. I also decorate quite a lot for Christmas - just call me Clark Griswold.

Also, I'm an avid Sci-Fi fan (particularly Star Wars and Firefly), so yeah, I'm one of those geeks who dresses in costume and attends conventions and other events. Several of the costuming groups I belong to spend many, many hours volunteering to help raise money for wonderful charitable causes, and sometimes just for their own fun and the enjoyment of the kids we meet.

I say, let's all continue to be young at heart, as we can do nothing to stop the physical aging that we all encounter, but our actions can set the tone for enjoyment with our loves ones and friends for many years to come!

Well said Spats.

His loss.

The world would be a much better place if people would quit judging others!! Nothing sparks my temper faster than that. Like his opinion is worth anything to me.....keep it to yourself buddy.

Good read man.

I did my last trick or treating halloween 05 when i was 18. We got a couple of 'aren't you a little old' and one lady actually REFUSED to give us anything because we were "ruining it for the young ones" apparently. My girlfriend and i, and her two friends. Oh yeah what a troublesome bunch.

I didn't stop because of that though. It had kinda lost it's flare sadly that year. The year before when i was 17 and went as Frank-N-Furter, that was the last big bang, the amount of wives who'd burst out laughing n drag their husbands off the couch to come get a look. Had cars honk and pull over to tell me how awesome i was too. Good memories.

Hope you said something to that jackass, it's a shame people are still so ignorant these days.

I agree Spats. Halloween is not just for kids! It is only in the last few decades that it has become a predominantly kid centered holiday, due to trick or treating. This guy's attitude is something for us to pity. People like that are missing out on a large part of what life is about!
Spats, I love what you said about familys going TOTing together. I often feel ashamed that I am out with my 2 year old, that people will think I'm just out to get candy, but I am trying to instill a love of halloween and pass on the traditions I enjoyed as a kid to her. I hope others can see that when were out TOTing this year!

When I was in highschool and about 15, one lady who answered the door while I was TOT ruined it for me by asking that question. 15? Too old to TOT? Give me a break! At the time I was too young to realize she was just a joyless, old hag, but because of her comment that was the last year I went TOT.

I secretly loved Halloween from then until I was old enough and "mature" enough to realize I can still be an adult and enjoy this holiday... and life in general. I'm now 33, own my own house, and host an annual "COSTUMES REQUIRED, ADULTS ONLY" Halloween party. We have a great turnout every year so I guess we associate with others that are immature as well. I've quickly built up a collection of props and this year the house will be decked to the hilt! Too old, my @$$. If I'm ever asked the question again, I'll have to stick my tongue out at them and make a face.

I also like the thought of encouraging older people to TOT with their kids. I'm going to do the same, and I'll defintely encourage the college kids to come back year after year. Last year, a group of HS seniors TOT from house to house by going to people's back doors instead of the front. Most of the houses on my block don't have fences, so it's like a huge community backyard. I'm sure some people were irritated by the backyard TOT, but I thought it was hilarious! They all wore the exact same costume... a blow-up sumo wrestler. That was awesome!

Great thread!