Posted by:
traditionalist
(
)
Date: October 29, 2010 05:38PM
In my opinion, it is for lazy parents who want a way to load up on a ton of candy without having to spend the whole evening accompanying their children on a traditional trick-or-treat. My kids are not preschoolers anymore, but I would still not send them out at night alone (or even in a group of their peers) on the street. For safety reasons, I would need to go with them. I have a lot of good nostalgic memories of trick or treating when I was a kid and I want the same for my kids.
I don't think trunk or treat is any "safer" than traditional trick or treat. Kids would need to be supervised for either activity...."bad strangers' houses" and cars hurrying in and out of a dark parking lot can both be dangerous for young unsupervised kids. My main objections are that they are always held on someone else's turf, i.e., the local mormon church parking lot, where, if you show up, they take that as a sign that you are interested in being the ward project again. The other, and biggest, reason is simply that they are just lame!Marching around a circle of parked cars while the parents furiously dump candy into bags without even looking at the costumes so they can get it over with and get back to their favorite TV show is just not fun! I love traditional trick or treat. When I was a kid, that was a night one of my parents stayed home to tend the door and pass out candy and the other would spend the whole evening with us, making sure we were safe on our "treasure hunt" for the best candy. We had the entire evening where our parent's attention was 100% on us....that's what made it special (as did the concept that people were just giving candy away!!!) People used to go all out and decorate their houses and yards - you can't duplicate that very well with just a parked car. Besides, Halloween is about more than the candy. It is a time when little kids get to play with facing their fears in a safe and controlled environment. As a child, it was also a time when our parents were ours for the whole night, which I loved. The only thing emphasized at the trunk or treats is how many pounds of candy we can collect in the smallest amount of time. Lame! As a parent, I would much rather my kids collect fewer pieces of candy but be able to make an exciting, memory-filled evening out of the candy quest!
I want to have the excuse to devote the entire evening once a year towards my kids having the same kinds of fond Halloween memories that I have. I *hate* trunk or treat! Mormons just do not get that having it at the church and then stating "everyone's welcome" doesn't mean people feel comfortable showing up on their turf. They have a well-deserved reputation for being obnoxiously pushy with their religion if anyone shows any interest in their activities, even if it's just showing up so their kid doesn't get completely left out of the Halloween celebration.
I say it's fine to have it as a separate party, but I wish people wouldn't send their kids to the trunk or treat and then go home and turn off the porch light, discouraging kids who might be out doing the traditional trick or treat. Such a practice screams, "All the important Mormon children (in other words, the children that matter) have already gotten their candy stash....no need to pass out candy to those not entangled in our church/community. (Church and community, to a mormon, is the same thing with no room for nonconformists.)