I'm no fan of Halloween...

At the risk of sounding like a crappy parent, I'm just going to say this right off the bat:  I can't stand Halloween.

As a child, I remember planning my costume months in advance, just like my kids now do.  I remember the excitement of thumbing through the costume catalogs and circling all of the ones I liked best.  I remember coming off the bus and waiting for my mom to give me the okay to start going from door to door in hopes of filling my entire basket with candy that she never kept in the house.  I am pretty certain I puked every Halloween night.  It was awesome. 

As a parent, I think Halloween is totally overrated.  For starters, it's not just a one shot deal. 

There's the class party. 
There's the Halloween party with the kids from the neighborhood. 
There's the costume parties at the Karate and Dance studios. 
Then, because we live in Toms River, there's trick-or-treating the day before Halloween. 
And then there is trick-or-treating on Halloween at my parents house in a nearby town. 

x2 kids. 

That's roughly ten times that my children will need to be changed into and out of their costumes, and about 20 pounds of candy that will eventually make its way from their baskets to my backside.

Don't even get me started on the costumes!  I spent over $70 this year on my childrens costumes, and, sadly, I'm not even sure that they will make it through five changes a piece. 

I even find it somewhat disturbing that for 364 days a year, we tell our children to never take candy from strangers, and then we willingly walk them from house to house and let said strangers fill their bags of loot.  Talk about mixed messages!? 

Despite how I really feel, I'll gladly schlep my kids from party to party, and house to house.  And I'll even dress the part.  Because, after all, it makes them happy and isn't that what this parenting gig is all about!?