As a former child and now as an educator I have mixed feelings regarding Halloween. I loved dressing up as a child (becoming the Princess...) and getting "good" candy. Now, as a 2nd grade teacher I dislike dressing up students for a "Harvest Party" and the parents that come in to "help " their child get ready (i.e. take pictures...can't they do that at home?) and complaints from the students that the candy isn't "good" enough (just be thankful I'm letting you eat some of it). After all this I find a place of balance. Making the most of the memory for the children and not letting my wits leave me. It's not fun if mom/the teacher isn't ahving fun. They know. They can tell.

I have always HATED halloween. The only good part about it now for me is seeing a three year old dressed as a giraffe. Other than that, I'm totally over it!

Halloween is much better for kids. I think that's true of so many things. Birthdays, sleepovers, Easter egg hunts and snow days are a few of the things that seem to be more fun for "them" than for "us". I will be happy if I get an Almond Joy that no one wants and it doesn't rain! PS- did you get my story? I resent it a few times, most recently today. Thanks!

Well, I LOVE Halloween, and I dress up too! I am aided in this endeavor by my mostly black wardrobe and a witch hat I've had for years, and creative makeup. My daughter loves Halloween and this year she's wearing two costumes: one for school and one for trick or treating (Miley Cyrus-Hannah Montana's alterego, and a butterfly, if you want to know). She tries to get my husband to dress up, too, and some years he does. I even enjoy trick or treating in my neighborhood - sometimes I even score a glass of wine!

Even for those of us who don't have kids...I went to buy candy the other day, and it is now up to $10/bag for decent candy. And you know you need at least 3 bags. That seems like a lot of money to spend on a stranger's children....

I'm okay with Halloween, but husband seems to have some strange fear of Halloween. Rather, it may be the fear of packs of other people's children banging on the door. He seems to be okay if I'm home to deal with them and tell them how cute/scary/gory they are. It's all very amusing.

I hear you! The hyperactivity of 3 boyz hopped up on sugar is just SO NOT FUN for me.
Happy Halloween? BAH HUMBUG!

For me, it is about the photos. The photos show the excitement on my children's faces and the chocolate on their fingers and lips. In the end, I hope, that is what I will remember (and not the incident at the neighbor’s house having to use their bathroom twice or when the chocolate was all over the car and newly sewn costumes) but the happy, clean, magical parts of the occasion.

Okay, you guys, I l ove Halloween. I never let an opportunity to wear a costume pass me by. When I was in school I did singing telegrams in costumes I made from the Good Will. As another Mom in the trenches, I have insisted (though, admittedly sometimes caved)on home-made costumes, saying store-bought shows no imagination, and are too expensive. Sure, I get frustrated when my 16-year- old changes her mind about what she'll wear three more times before she finally walks out the door. Sure it bugs me our neighborhood is not safe to trick-or-treat so we have to go to a friend's house every year. But check this out:
One Halloween years ago I went to the elementary school costume parade, dressed up as an angel. I had a blast, and afterward I went about my daily activities. Yep. Forgot about being an angel. Because it was daytime, adults forgot it was Halloween, I guess, because it was a day I'll never forget. One man asked me to touch him, that he really needed to be touched by an angel. What a responsibility. I'm a nurse and believe touching can be helpful to patients anyway, so I mustered up all my hope and prayed God git down here right now and help me out. I touched him, and he seemed much more relaxed. I still feel unworthy when I think about it, but I figure my intention was good.
So I guess you could say I know Halloween can be a pain, but I hope for the best every year. Will I be an angel again? Maybe. If I ever have the courage.

I adore costuming - always have - so that's the fun part. We're dressing up as a family in super-simple costumes: she's Little Red Riding Hood, I'm Grandma, and daddy is the Wolf.
I'm sure as kids get older and the sugar-rush gets bigger and they don't want your help going around the neighborhood, it gets scarier in not a good way.
Hooray for Thanksgiving, up next!

I am usually a lurker but sometimes it really does seem like you and I are leading parallel lives. I wrote a blog post yesterday complaining about the rampant consumerism of Halloween and just whining in general about what used to be a simple little holiday. But I got my comeuppance (http://sothethingisblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-got-booed-and-i-deserved-it.html) so I am daring to wish you a Happy and Stress-free Halloween! Hang in there!

--Barb Cooper

My son's birthday is on Halloween - he's 4 years old today. While I know this birthday will bring years of fun for him, for me it is an insane amount of activity packed into about four hours.
Between the costumes, supper, birthday cake, opening presents and actually getting out there to knock on doors, there just doesn't seem to be any "easy" way to fit it all into one night.
Not to mention that his little brother is insisting he also will dress up on his birthday - in March. ;-)

I feel better knowing I'm not the only one stressed out over Halloween!
Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad it's not just me who has holiday guilt. (mine extends to Christmas too...but don't get me started!) Halloween is a fun holiday and I enjoy the *idea* of it -- but like everything else in our chaotic lives these days, it seems to get ramped up a lot more than it probably should. I feel like I have already lost the contest for mom of the year when I haven't decorated my yard as a haunted house, sewn my daughters costume, arrived at school to help with kindergarten crafts, and made homemade goodies & treat bags for all of my daughter's classmates. I suppose I have to try to remember that what really is important is to teach my daughter the simple fun in it all, because all she will probably remember is the costumes and the candy! Us adults seem to make it all a bit more complicated than it needs to be, me thinks...

Kristin, thanks for your blog. You are insightful and inspirational and I always get a good laugh (usually because I can totally relate!).

I was about to collapse into bed after a day set apart in the category of exhaustion but the lure of the computer brought me to semi-alertness, which brought me to this blog entry... And now I have learned that this day will likely always find me on the brink of collapse! It's a parenthood phenom! My oldest child just started Kindergarten this year and so today was my very first Halloween parade where I did the picture-taking dance and did indeed find myself *not* relishing in it as I thought I should... how nice to read here that I am not alone. And now... to bed!

Thank you all for your thoughts. In the There Is A Silver Lining column, I will note that I was in bed by 9:30 pm, after trick or treating and a party, with a happy little Headless Horseman (my middle son) snuggled up beside me. We made it through another year!

Yeah. Stress isn't the word. In addition, my husband's birthday is on Halloween! So we always have my parents at our place for dinner, gifts, birthday cake, the kids getting costumes organized, the doorbell ringing. We get about 125 kids at the door on average. It's the stuff of nightmares. I have given up on most of the decorating for the occasion. Someday, I'm going to be really organized and host a birthday/costume party for my husband. Have mercy!

Ah, I was so exhausted last night (Halloween) and wasn't quite sure why, but you've hit the nail on the head. I love the spooky build-up to Halloween and the fact that it's the one day that you can dress-up in full-on witch gear and go to the office (not that you should, but you could). The best part about Halloween, is that it's the one day a year that really captures what childhood is all about -- dressing up, imaginations and, of course, candy! And that's what I try to remember every year.

My kids and husband love it so much and I just do all I can to go along for the ride. I was exhausted by 9:30 but in retrospect, it's great fun to look back on even if it is stressful finding the costumes/ keeping kids out of street etc.
The only disappointment was there were a fair number of families who left candy on porch so they could all go out together so neither parent missed their child's fun...WHAT IS THAT? If everyone did that, there would be no trick-or-treating at all! I agree with the 2nd grade teacher that parents need to let go and let their kids enjoy. Of course, one adult needs to be with kids, especially little ones, but come on...And now, I am getting stressed thinking about it so I will sign off and eat a peanut butter cup. Happy November!

Holidays, like everything else in life, is stressful for those who make it stressful. This time of year is such a magical time, a chill in the air, the changing Autum leaves and the wind down to another year. Halloween can be as "fun" or as "dreadful" as you make it. The fun/ silly/ scary costumes, the candy, the photos, the school parties and costume parades and of course the trick or treaters... the whole traditional simplicity of it all is what children will remember, smile and look back on as they grow. Adults seem to make it more complicated than it has to be. I work at a local school and have 2 school age children, and what is sad to see about this holiday is misconceptions of it's origins and how "PC" it has to be now, treading so carefully with words like "dress up" instead of costume, or "autumn/ harvest/ fall party" instead using the word "Halloween". Treading so lightly as not to offend is what sucks all the fun out of this whimsical holiday along with negative words like "hate" and in general complaining about buying candy for "strangers children" - the real simple solution would be just not to participate.

I too find Halloween stressful, mostly because I don't get home till an hour before trick or treating begins, and we usually have the in-laws for dinner, and the dog is barking and the kids are whining and chaos reigns supreme!

I think it's overdone too. Do they really need a Halloween party the weekend before, and then the party and parade in school on top of the actual trick or treating?

The most fun I've had on Halloween was when I was in college and would go to as many costume parties as I could find. Halloween was a week-long event in the good old days.

Note to self: Get dressed up and drink lots of wine. If I can't be in college, I may as well pretend that I am.