Contrarian claims 'Trunk or Treating' style of Halloween is superior to traditional Trick or Treating: 'I love not having knocks all hours of the night from kids asking for candy.'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Sep 28, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

If you grew up in suburban USA, you probably have strong opinions on Trunk or Treating versus Trick or Treating. If you were born before 2000 and have no idea what Trunk or Treating even is, consider yourself lucky. You probably had a normal, wonderful childhood that was not heavily influenced by stranger danger fear. 

Trunk or Treating is when members of a community group (usually a church group) all drive to a parking lot, open up their trunks, and have their kids go trunk to trunk to get candy. This is supposed to minimize the safety concerns of traditional Trick or Treating (how many articles over the last 10 years have you read about illicit substances getting into a kid's Halloween bag, despite it being a total fabrication?) and reduce the amount of walking that needs to be done to acquire candy. As you can imagine, this style of Trick or Treating is controversial with Halloween's biggest fans. 

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  • The dude in this story doesn't care that Millennials and Gen Zers dislike Trunk or Treating. He believes it mitigates the negative aspects of Trick or Treating by requiring less walking and time. Every kid I've ever met has said,  “I wish that trick or treating took as quickly as possible.”

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    A large group of people standing around each other at a Trunk or Treat event
    via Jason Jarrach

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "The new "Trunk or Treat" style of Halloween is better than traditional Halloween trick or treating"

    Trunk or treating is the new and improved version the traditional Halloween candy hunting for the simple fact that its quicker to do, safer, and overall a new vision of simplicity of trick or treating.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 03
    While in the normal Halloween trick or treating style, you have to go to random peoples homes for hours, stay awake to give kids candy, your feet are tired from all the walking you do all night, cold and miserable outside for hours, and its old, old needs improvement. One positive that
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 04
    came out from the 2020's era was Trunk or treating being the new norm, I love not having knocks all hours of the night from kids asking for candy. Having kids do trunk or treating should be the new norm of Halloween, a whole night of activities can be completed in just under an hour while kids still have fun collecting candy.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 05
    edit: Trunk or treat is when people in a neighborhood or a community all get together at like a school or church or some other big parking lot and decorate their cars and pas out candy to neighborhood kids. It's basically a way to keep all the kids contained in one spot and you know everyone that's handing out candy.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 06
    KidMikey Your feet hurt after walking around the neighborhood for a single night? I think you need to work on getting more steps.
    via u/Glumdumop
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    AdministrativeStep98 And even if they hurt, so what? Isn't that worth it for your kids? I'm sure they didnt like changing diapers but they did anyway
    via u/Glumdumop
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    Terexi01 I didn't realise parents are supposed to come along. I've always gone alone.
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  • 09
    Illustrious-Vast-292 Yeah, only the toddlers' parents go along... and they wait at the street usually, they don't do ALL of the walking... No one else every had parents around.
    via u/Glumdumop
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    Dad holding hand of toddler wearing Snow White costume
    via Haley Phelps

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    HeadGuide4388 On a similar note that I dislike, sometimes parents will drop the kids off at the corner, then just roll along in the car while their kids walk from house to house. If you're that concerned about keeping an eye on your kid, then just get out and walk with them, otherwise just wait at the end of the block with the rest of the parents.
    via u/Glumdumop
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    welcometothemeathaus Yea, if your feet hurt after 10,000 steps, you've gotta walk more
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    Thistime232 In fact, let's make it even quicker and safer and just buy your kid a bag of candy. Why bother with all the Halloween parts of Halloween.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 14
    FrostylcePrincess There used to be a guy in my old neighborhood that would turn his garage into this really cool mad scientist lab He gave out gummy brains/gummy eyeballs/gummy body parts That house was always fun to stop at. Trunk or treat isn't as fun.
    via u/Glumdumop
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    Junior_Response839 We had people make haunted houses out of their house. If you completed the run, you got a full size candy bar of your choosing. It was a combined effort of multiple neighbors. (All sweet people.) People used to ride down the streets in decked out cars or golf carts, throwing candy at kids as they passed.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 16
    We had one lady that did a whole "evil witch" routine, offered you an apple and everything. We also have the famous "pumpkin house" who decorated their trees with pumpkin treat buckets, the rumor was any kid that dared to knock on their door would be eaten and their treat bucket hung up on the tree with the others. (Not true, of course, also she still decorates her house this way every year.)
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 17
    Trunk or treat really does take the soul out of halloween. When I have a house, I really want to make sure to do fun stuff like that to make their childhood as magical as mine was. It's really a shame it's gotten so dull, halloween was my favorite time of the year as a kid.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 18
    aburke626 One of the things that I think Trunk or Treat does is limit it to people with kids - organized at school or whatever. I love handing out candy and seeing all the kids dressed up, but no one ever invites me to the Trunk or Treats
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 19
    Property_6810 OP thinks the point of trick or treating is the candy. The point of trick or treating is the experience. I still have vivid memories from Halloween night as a kid. None of them are about the candy.
    via u/Glumdumop
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    Little kids at a Halloween party
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 21
    Ok_Stable7501 It's like a participation trophy. But I'm not shocked that bulldozer and helicopter parents have ruined more childhood joy.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 22
    Echidna_lefex Wife and I have no kids and decorate the house every year, and get full sized candy bars at Costco and sit in the driveway every year to give out candy cuz we enjoy seeing all the costumes. Last year we had like 5 people come by.... its really sad. Were thinking of not even doing anything this year.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 23
    Mountain DewFountain Must be in the wrong hood, Halloween is absolutely bonkers where me and my wife moved (smallish town in the south). Probably had 400 parents & kids come by our house last year. We dropped at least $200 on candy and still ran out. From 5pm to 9pm we just sit out on our porch handing out candy with lines wrapping around the side walks.
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 24
    FeatureTop4189 "a whole night of activities can be completed in just under an hour while kids still have fun collecting candy." I went house to house trick or treating with my friends and siblings every year of my childhood and I don't remember any of us thinking it took too long. I loved walking around my neighborhood on Halloween, seeing the way different houses decorated and the various candy they handed out. Maybe even get to know your neighbors a little better in a fun, communal activity. K
    via u/Glumdumop
  • 25
    7Mars No, parents want it done fast so they can stop walking around with their kids.
    via u/Glumdumop

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candy trick or treating halloween costumes halloween decorations trunk halloween bad parenting trick or treat trunk or treat bad parents parenting halloween costume parents
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