Halloween is Coming!

I have to admit I love Halloween. We live on what is known as "the" Halloween street in the neighborhood. I kid you not, last year we handed out about 600 pieces of candy in a little over two hours. My mom, who lives only a few blocks away, hands out maybe 40-50. We take the kids out early just so we can get back to sit on the porch (we gave up answering the door about 1/2 hour into our first Halloween) and see all the kids come by. At the height of the rush, from about 7 to 7:30, you literally look out on a sea of people in the street. The only thing that comes close to what it looks like is the old fraternity row parties I used to go to at USC when they would block off the ends of the street with beer trucks--but I'll save that for another post, LOL.

I can't think of any holiday that has changed more than Halloween since I was a kid. It must be second only to Christmas in terms of commercialization. I was at Target last weekend (buying about 700 pieces of candy!) and was completely blown away by the aisles and aisles of decorations. For some reason the commercialization bothers me less for Halloween than it does for Christmas--and I have to admit we have a few witches, scarecrows and pumpkins adorning our porch. I was tempted to add to the collection, but refrained (at least until the after Halloween sales). As much as I'd like to scoff at the idea of "decorating" for Halloween, it's pretty fun seeing all the decorations go up around the neighborhood and the kids love it.

This year I have a ghost and a bunny--nothing too elaborate. The one thing I don't do is sew, so the kids usually put something together or get store bought. My mom, on the other hand, used to make me some pretty amazing costumes. The ones that stick out: Princess Leia, Wonderwoman and a Raiderette. Thankfully all of these were pre-digital so I don't need to fear that Raiderette picture popping up somewhere. :)

So are you ready for Halloween? Anyone dressing up in your family? Has Halloween become too commercial for you? What's your favorite holiday?