At the risk of sounding “seinfeldian”, have you ever noticed that the Christmas stuff is coming out earlier and earlier? It used to be it came out around the end of November, now it really ramps up the day after Halloween. I fully expect the day will come that we will be doing back to school shopping in August and elbowing our way through the Christmas schlock at the same time! Come to think of it, I recall seeing some Christmas stuff in Costco this August…

We had a fun Halloween, and I say this with a bit of surprise because I am a little ‘bah humbug’ about Halloween: I think it’s gotten a little ridiculous and over done. Why are parents decorating for Halloween a month in advance? (I hope Halloween stuff won’t be on the shelves during Stampede!) Why are parents buying or making 6 different costumes because the child changes his mind more frequently than his underwear? Why are we catering to the little buggers so much!

I digress…

Living in an older neighbourhood, we get few children, so last year when the kids were 2, Melissa (who lives in a newer neighbourhood where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting 6 children) suggested we come over for dinner and let the dads take the kids trick or treating to a few houses. It worked well, so we did it again this year. The weather was so fabulous that when the men took the kids out, we sat on the porch with fondue, wine and candy. It was great!

I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the parents and the infectious joy of the children. Many of the little ones were just blown away by the realization that all they had to do was say “Trick or Treat” and people gave them candy. Really! Candy for nothing!

And the best part about Halloween, for me anyway, is double checking the candy for gold coins and confiscating the stuff I like 🙂 And yes, I do let her have some too, just sparingly!

Voula