Halloween is a holiday where parents have the rare opportunity to have buckets of candy. Their kids get to dress up in costumes of people and characters that they aspire to be.

Here’s my issue with Halloween. Half of the teenage population decides to go out and trick-or-treat. Newsflash! I hate to break it to you, but you are way too old for that. If you are old enough to drive, you are too old to trick-or-treat.

The other half of the teenage population either does nothing or too much. They will either sit at home praying that no one comes to the door to trick-or-treat or be out at a party that got a little too out of control before it even started. I propose we find a happy medium. These are my options:

Option one: Have a responsible, adult monitored party. There is nothing wrong with a party, as long as it is controlled, legal and safe. Set up some decorations, put on an appropriate costume, set out some snacks and candy and invite some people over. It doesn’t have to be anything big, just fun.

Option two: A great way to get candy is to stay home. You get to control what kinds you get and get to eat what is left over. If you decide to stay at home, the least you can do is dress up for your little siblings, or if you do not have any, then for the kids that come to his or her door to trick-or-treat. To them, older people are heros and role models. Don’t make them think that getting older means you can’t participate at all.

Option three: For anyone with younger siblings, this option is more than relevant. Take your siblings trick-or-treating. Believe it or not, it is actually a lot of fun. Have you ever watched a kid’s face when they get candy? Their face lights up. Now have you ever watched a kid’s face when he or she gets buckets full of candy? That’s a sight to see.

Don’t act too cool to participate in Halloween. At the very least, dress up for the little trick-or-treaters, have some friends over, sit on the couch and watch a horror movie. Don’t be too cool, but also don’t be too into it. Halloween, just like any other day, requires responsibility. So whatever you choose to do on Halloween, don’t go trick-or-treating, be responsible, and most importantly, have fun.