Point (Cora Smith): Put the Treats on the Streets 

Trick-or-treating is a beloved spooky tradition enjoyed by toddlers to teenagers. Everyone gets dressed up in their fun costumes with a pillowcase in hand and knocks door to door to yell “trick or treat!” to receive Kit Kats, Reese’s, Snickers, or other candies and treats. This Halloween activity has been around for centuries but has been scared out by the new ghoul in town: Trunk-or-Treating. 

Trunk-or-treating is a newer, less traditional way of trick or treating. People walk to different decorated cars and gather candy from trunks instead of houses. 

It is popular for being easier for little kids, more convenient for parents, and deemed “safer” than walking around neighborhoods at night. However, it seems to largely take away from the culture and tradition of Halloween. 

Halloween isn’t supposed to be about convenience; it is meant to be about community. It’s one of the few times a year when neighborhoods come alive; porches glow, and people actually meet the families who live down the street. Walking from door to door is more than a candy hunt; it’s an experience of belonging. When everybody moves their festivities to a parking lot, that sense of connection disappears. Trunk-or-treating may be efficient; but it’s also sterile. Instead of wandering though spooky yards and admiring fun decorations, kids shuffle between cars under fluorescent lights. 

Another issue with trunk-or-treating is how commercialized it has become. What started as a simple, safe alternative has turned into a competition for “best decorated trunk,” complete with displays and props. The focus shifts from the spirit and creativity of Halloween to who can spend the most money on decorations or candy. Kids no longer get to adore the mystery of each house or the effort some families put into their decorations; they’re just handed candy in parking lots where true discovery is gone. 

The supposed “safety” argument is also exaggerated. Traditional trick-or-treating has always had rules: go with a group, bring a flashlight, stay on the sidewalk, and only visit houses with lights on. Communities have continued to make the event safer with more police patrols and earlier start times. The truth is, trunk-or-treating doesn’t make Halloween safer; it just makes it smaller. According to a poll from USA Today, trick-or-treating has decreased by 74%, a large portion of which is because of trunk-or-treating. 

For many teenagers, there is a deep sense of nostalgia attached to Halloween. Memories of trick-or-treating with friends, dressing up, trading candy on the curb, and staying out later than is usually allowed. Now, many teens are watching that magic disintegrate. Neighborhoods are quieter, fewer porch lights are on, and teenagers miss what Halloween used to feel like—before it was just cars in a parking lot. 

This October 31st, we shouldn’t trade our porches for parking lots or our spooky night for safety zone lots. Keep Halloween the sidewalks, in the neighborhoods, and at the doorstep where it belongs. The tradition isn’t broken, and it doesn’t need to be replaced. What makes Halloween special is the thrill of ringing the next doorbell, not opening a car trunk. 

Counter Point (Victoria McCrown): Trunk-or-treat is a sweet addition to Halloween 

As any popularizing social phenomenon is wont to do, trunk-or-treating has drawn controversy. Since its relatively recent inception in the early 1990s, it’s become a well-received Halloween social event for churches and schools, among other organizations. Although some argue otherwise, trunk-or-treat does not detract from the holiday, rather, it can add to it. 

One of the first instances of a recorded trunk-or-treat was in Alabama in 1994, by a Baptist church near Birmingham. By 2025, the event has increasingly grown in popularity. This rise has been blamed for the decrease in traditional Halloween trick-or-treating, 24.54% of parents planning on trick-or-treating with their kids in 2024—though it should be noted that this is an increase from 2023, where 19.63% reported the same to Statista. This follows an increase in more general Halloween participation from 2020, and COVID-19, to recent years. 

However, arguments against trunk-or-treats tend to focus on the social aspect of trick-or-treat. Community within neighborhoods, they say, is essential to safety and quality of life. One article on The Urbanist states that “the holistic benefits of trick-or-treating which result from neighborhood communities rallying together to create a fun, safe, and memorable experience are being lost. The sad part is that these holistic benefits would continue long beyond the Halloween holiday,” which is fair in that neighborhood community can be lost with decreased trick-or-treating, but the issue does not solely lie on the shoulders of trunk-or-treat events. These specific benefits can be “lost” by going to different neighborhoods to trick-or-treat as well, just as some go to Plantation Hill in Gulf Breeze. 

Instead, trunk-or-treat can still provide a community to people; most events are hosted by churches, schools, and other social organizations, to the point they are often considered a form of “Halloween tailgating” online. Parents are offered the opportunity to socialize with others in their community, if not those directly next door, while the kids still get to dress up and gather candy. 

The nature of trunk-or-treat locations makes it safer as well. These events are held in sectioned-off parking lots, where the earlier arrival and set-up decrease the chances of an accident occurring compared to those present during normal trick-or-treating. This combines with better visibility due to the events typically being hosted during daylight hours in open parking lots. For parents, worries can be reduced in this environment, allowing them to enjoy the holiday with one less stressor hanging overhead. 

Along with the sentiment of increased enjoyment, trunk-or-treats often include other events, like costume contests, hayrides, or any number of other fun Halloween-themed additions. These can bring both families and other participants closer together in a way traditional trick-or-treating doesn’t offer. 

All in all, trunk-or-treating is an evolution of trick-or-treating. It provides parents a safer alternative with additional benefits—and there is no reason a family can’t do both. Many trunk-or-treats are not hosted on Halloween night itself. Every family does what works for them, and traditions have always evolved over time. Trick-or-treating isn’t going away; it’s adapting to modern life.