Trick-or-Treating is one of the best holiday traditions EVER. Seriously, you guys. What's better than ToTing? That's right: nothing. I'd like to outline a few major U.S. holidays and their associated traditions just to prove that ToTing is the best one.Holiday: Christmas/Hanukkah
Tradition: Get presents, have meal with family, make snowmen (tall or not-so-tall).
Analysis: Christmas/Hanukkah get the most press of all holidays. Why is this? Because you get presents. Kids love presents! But that's just the beginning. Generally, these holidays come with other events. Things like having to wear Grandma's sweater she bought you, going to a religious ceremony, etc. Kids don't really love these as much...
Awesomeness: 8.5/10
Holiday: New Year's Eve
Tradition: Stay up late, count down from 10, blow on noisemakers until your parents hit you.
Analysis: Sure, every kid likes to stay up late, and noisemakers are fun, but without the alcohol and kissing, what's in it for the little ones?
Awesomeness: 5/10
Holiday: Valentine's Day
Tradition: Buy a bunch of paper valentines from Walgreens to give to your classmates. Get candy wrapped in pink, heart-shaped boxes.
Analysis: Ugh, can anyone say they honestly enjoyed the valentine exchange in their elementary school? I mean, everyone got one from everyone else, so it was really no biggie. Unlike New Year's, though, this one doesn't get better with age, just more expensive.
Awesomeness: 2/10
Holiday: Easter
Tradition: Hunt for eggs, get candy, go to church in nice clothes.
Analysis: Easter egg hunts are great (provided you find ALL the eggs or use plastic ones). You also get candy again! This is looking like a pretty awesome holiday, so far. However, it's also another one of those holidays with religious attachment, so you gotta dress nice...
Awesomeness: 5/10
Holiday: Halloween
Tradition: Dress up in costumes, walk around neighborhood collecting candy.
Analysis: Here we go! Now we've finally found a holiday tradition that has all of the fun stuff with none of the obligation! You dress up in ANY costume (monster, Power Ranger, Barbie, frog...), walk up and down the neighborhood streets, ring doorbells, say three words, and have people put candy directly into your candy-carrying satchel! It couldn't be easier!!! Also, every now and then, you run into the Holy Grail of ToTing: The unattended "Take Only One" bowl.
Awesomeness: 10/10
See? It really is the best! These ratings are based on solid scientific document and evidence, of course, and based on them, it's plain to see why Trick-or-Treating is my Thing of the Week.
Next Week: I rank these same holidays from an adult point of view. New Year's Eve makes a surprising comeback!!!
