Halloween

I just turned off the porch light and blew out the candles in the pumpkins. I knew the party was over when a pair of 16-year-olds in hoodies showed up at my doorstep. I winked at them, gave them the last of the Kit Kats I bought this afternoon at CVS for only 26 cents (yes, I'm that good) and told them they were scamming the system. I was tempted to explain how to stack coupons so they could get candy for 26 cents on their own, but I thought better of it. We all laughed and I'm hoping the laugh and the wink means they aren't going to egg my house in an hour.

Now I'm surfing Facebook, reading all the articles about how we're supposed to manage the onslaught of treats our children are getting for Halloween.

I'm reading 'let's give out cheap plastic trinkets instead of sugar-filled candy! We can stimulate the Chinese economy and contribute to landfills! Yay!'

I'm reading about all the swap out candy schemes and let's send candy to the troops! Because, yes, these people are defending our country so what they really need to maintain mental clarity and physical prowess is high-fructose corn syrup and red #5!

We're not going to be doing any of these things.

This year's haul. Pretty manageable.

Here's how we handle Halloween: we don't go to scads of houses. We hit about a dozen. It's getting cold around here, we're not seeing the neighbors quite as much, so we visit the near ones, have a wee chat and let the kids collect some candy. We also end up with a few made-in-China trinkets and a pack of Doritos, but that's about it.

We don't end up with an 'onslaught of treats' because we don't make a career out of visiting 50 neighborhoods. The kids will enjoy a treat or two everyday for the next few days, then it will be over and we'll move on. Really, this is not a long-term dental-cavity-waiting-to-happen kind of thing for us.

One article I read included a comment from a woman saying, "I hate it when people say, 'It's just once a year!' They're getting junk all the time!" Umm... really? Mine aren't. In our home, Halloween really IS just once a year. As a parent, I stoke my kids up with uber-nutrient-dense foods and limit the living daylights out of sugar so they can enjoy treats on Halloween. A few treats, from the near neighbors, and then it's over.

Though next year I'll be saving up some coupons. For the 16-year-olds in the hoodies.