Trunk or Treat vs. Trick or Treat?

As Halloween approaches, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, superheroes, princesses, and characters will soon be parading around, ready for treats over tricks. Parents must also consider options for this spooky yet fun holiday. Should your family go with the traditional trick-or-treating, or should you try the increasingly popular trunk-or-treat events, which offer unique experiences. But which is the better choice for your family?

Family spoke with army spouse Kaitlyn Floyd about this topic to explore the pros and cons of each option. She is married to Staff Sergeant Tyler Floyd and mom to McKenna (5). The Floyd’s are stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Is Halloween a holiday you enjoy, and if so, why?

Halloween is, hands down, my favorite holiday! As a kid, I remember reading ghost stories and begging to visit haunted places, even abandoned ones. So naturally, I love Halloween. From watching Halloweentown, carving pumpkins, and putting up all the spooky decorations to the costume parties with the themed snacks, it all just gives me the warm fuzzies inside. It’s been inspiring to see my daughter fall in love with the traditions that I’m getting to share with her. She’s even been wearing Halloween clothes since August.

Would you prefer to trunk-or-treat or trick-or-treat? Why?

I prefer traditional trick-or-treating. I’m also a big supporter of trick-or-treating starting after dark. Nothing is more exciting for a kid than running loose in the neighborhood with all your friends, trying to find out who can fill their pillowcases full of candy first. You’re walking through their spooky decorations to ring their doorbell. A witch answers the door, you say trick or treat, secure the goods, and take off as fast as you can to beat your friends to the next house. You really get to experience traditional Halloween.

If trunk-or- treating is not replacing traditional trick-or-treating, then sure, I’m all for it. Maybe the kids get to show off an extra costume or spend that time with friends they won’t see on Halloween, and it becomes a special time for them. That said, to me, trunk-or-treating seems very robotic, for lack of a better word. Kind of like, “Yeah, yeah. It’s Halloween, whatever, just give me the candy.” The whole experience is what makes Halloween fun. Some people go big with the decorations at trunk-or-treat, but just think, that’s just their car, now imagine what their house would probably look like! Being in Halloweentown or Hocus Pocus, that’s what it would look like!

What about families living on post versus off post?

Living off post can sometimes make traditional trick-or-treating harder, especially for younger children. We live off post currently but have trick-or-treat on-and-off post. We have loved both options for different reasons. On-post usually allows for shorter walks between houses, and typically, the installation will announce set hours for trick or treating from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm, both of which are great for little ones. Off post, you may have a longer distance between houses, but we’ll see kids out from dark until about 10:00 pm or even later, which I enjoy more. Sometimes, you can get the best of both worlds: trick-or-treat on post, go home for a little rest, and go back out for some more ghouling around.

Something to remember, like any holiday and duty station, is that Halloween is what you make of it. Whether you watch Halloween movies and carve pumpkins or wear spooky-themed outfits and hairstyles at school every day of October, it will be a special time of bonding with friends and family that you all will remember many PCS from now on. After all, we are military spouses, and our friends become our family.