Halloween is a famous American tradition and with that comes trick or treating. I always wanted to do that in the United States. Unfortunately ever since I got here, everyone kept telling me I was way too old to go. This Halloween however I decided to ignore that and try anyways. Here are some tips on how to do go trick and treating in America when you are way too old!
- Make a sign
Since everyone told me I was “too old” to go trick and treating, I decided to make myself a sign that said this was my first Halloween in America (this is actually my second but no one wanted to take me last year ). This way I wouldn’t have to explain myself at every single door.
- Dress up
It isn’t Halloween if you don’t dress up. Also if you are already “too old” to go trick or treating, people want to see that you at least put some effort into your costume. I have heard of numerous accounts were teenagers would were sweaters saying they’re “slender man”. I tried to wear a sweater and leggings to dress up “American” however my friends discouraged me from doing this. I also wanted to go as Hillary Clinton but this is America and I rather not get shot. Therefore I decided on my minion onesie with my Elsa from Frozen wig plus my sign that made me look like a homeless minion.
- Go with Americans
American’s have celebrated this tradition for a long time and they can tell you exactly what to expect and what to do. For example I did not know that if the house is completely dark you have to take this as a sign that those people are out of candy, they are not home or they have probably seen that you’re way too old and don’t want to open the door for you. Another example is that you have to shout “Trick or Treat” when you knock on the door. I felt weird doing this since people probably expect little children’s voices and not the voice of a 21-year-old.
It is also really good to go with an American friend because you can hide behind them when you’re too scared to actually knock on the door (this might or might have not been the case for me).
- Team up with other way too old people!
When I first started going from door to door I was just with one other person. I felt slightly awkward about this because here I am, 21-years-old, following little children for candy. Luckily my friend and I spotted two other Dutch girls that are going to Green River and their host sister. This made a total of five people who were way too old but it made things less scary and people gave me way less hardcore judgmental stares.
- Eat candy!
The best part of the evening is off course eating all the candy! But before you dive in you apparently have to throw all of your candy on the ground together with your friend’s candy and trade. Luckily for my friend I hate peanut butter or anything related to it, so I gave her all my peanut butter candy while she gave me her fruity and chocolate candy. Score!
Kayleigh de Vrij, from the Netherlands, attends Green River College in Auburn, Washington. She is majoring in Gender Studies. She intended to go to Green River College for nine months as a gap year experience but has extended her stay by six months to finish the Gender Studies program and to transfer to University College Roosevelt in the Netherlands.
