When I was a kid, Halloween was one day. You had a party at school. If you were lucky, it was a year when the school staff were feeling ambitious, which meant an assembly with a costume parade. That night, you went trick or treating for an hour. If you had a complicated costume, you didn’t take it off between school and trick or treating.
Nowadays, Halloween lasts at least a week. Every little business district and mall has its own trick or treat night. There are special events, all over town, for kids to get dressed up and load up with loot. My boys trick or treat where I work. It’s like March Madness for little goblins.
If you’ve read my thoughts on kids’ birthday parties, you’re all ready for me to go into a cranky-old-man rant about this. Well, the trick’s on you, because I’m not. Mostly, I’m not. The cranky old man in me will not go completely silent into that good night, but I have tranquilized him for this one.
I like expanded Halloween. Those of you who are handy and creative put a lot of time and thought into making your kids’ costumes. The rest of us put money into it. It’s a shame to have all of that time, thought, and treasure spent on one or two wearings of the costume.
Any excuse necessary to slap Daddy into handcuffs.
I like seeing all the creativity that went into the costumes. If I’m only taking the boys out trick or treating on Halloween, I don’t get to see much of this, as we tend to fall in with the same group throughout the night. And if it happens to be snowing, like it was this year, all the costumes are hidden under winter coats anyway.
At the other events is where I see all the diverse ideas that would never have occurred to me, and I couldn’t make into reality anyway. I like creativity on display, and there’s no time when you get to witness it quite like during the Halloween season.
Our little soldier boy.
Also, I like candy, which is the foremost reason I’ve taught my children to share. The more events they go to, the more candy they get, and the bigger my cut. Sharing means caring, boys; now fork it over.
Nothing is perfect though, and if the cranky old man could pull the duct tape off, he’d tell you that I don’t care for the on-the-run dinners or the missed bed times that all this Halloween running around creates. Least of all do I enjoy the events where the boys trudge around in long lines, in the cold, and end up with a handful of those tiny Tootsie Rolls to show for it. They won’t miss the candy, but kids can tell when you’re phoning it in.
I’m content with what Halloween has become. This does not mean I’d like to see other “holidays” blow up like this. I don’t need a bloated Valentine’s Day. For one thing, the candy’s not as good.
Three out of three children have hated this costume.
Snoozing on the Sofa 
Yeah, I agree, Snoozer. Arbor Day can stick to a solo, too. My yard’s too small for expansion.
Arbor Day could be all year long for all I care. I just want to limit the ones where my wife is expecting something out of me.
No expectations of planting for yu, I see. And does’t typing the words “wife is expecting” make you shiver a little by now, Snoozer?
I wondered why I felt like I suddenly had the flu while I was typing out that reply.
Love the costumes 😉
Each one store bought with care.
No shame in that!
Holding my head up high.
I was blown away with Halloween in Washington over the past weekend. Never expected it to be such a big holiday…still editing my post on this weird night. No zombies costumes?
You probably just came too near the Capitol without realizing it. All those scary people weren’t for Halloween; they were elected that way.
When push comes to shove, my boys are anti-zombie.
Heard a fun story about zombies whilst over there from none other than the husband of Naptimethoughts, who is a teacher by the way…
A fourteen year-old kid asked him, very seriously: “Sir, does Zombies really exist?”
My reply would have been: “Don’t worry dude, you have nothing to fear, as Zombies eats brains…”
I can’t believe his 14-year-old student called him Sir. Where does he teach, the 1940s?
I, too, enjoy the parent tax. I deserve it, dammit, after running around all day from parade to parade, making sure their little costumes are perfect, and then creating a new one out of the dress up box when the old one in suddenly not good enough to go out to trick or treating.
That reeses peanut butter cup is MINE, buddy.
Peanuts are dangerous to this generation of trick or treaters, so you need to rescue them from any candy with peanut butter, and maybe some of the things that might have been produced in factory that handles peanuts – depending upon what you like.
That’s true… My kids are little… I could very easily convince them they’re allergic to nuts. AND EAT THEM ALL MYSELF. Or maybe I’ll just convince them they’re allergic only in october/early November.
Never mind nuts. Just save yourself some trouble and make them allergic to chocolate.
That’s even better. You’re a genius.
I have never been much of a fan of halloween- I personally hate dressing up! I’m thinking this will change once we have children….seeing the joy on kids faces when dressed up is pretty darn adorable.
Forget about Halloween; if you’ve never been much of a fan of sleep, you’re all ready for children.