Friday Five: Halloween

We’re celebrating Halloween tomorrow, with a party, and we don’t get trick-or-treaters on Monday (too far up in the mountains without being in a little mountain “neighborhood.”) So a few days early, here are some of my favorite things about Halloween.

1. Candy. Yes, you knew I was going to say that. My favorites? Butterfingers, peanut-butter cups, and the little pumpkins that come in candy corn this time of year.

2. Cute little children in cute little costumes. Oh, yes, and cute dogs in cute costumes, too. Our cat Lacey does not dress up. Or eat candy (like I’m guessing those dogs do!).

3. The shift into a new season. I know, autumn has already technically arrived, but for me it comes right around Halloween. This year, we got cold a couple of weeks earlier than usual. Typically, here in NorCal, we spend the week before Halloween thinking, “Boy, that costume is going to be awfully warm.” Then, the day before the big night, temperatures drop suddenly, and our thoughts shift to, “Wonder if I can persuade the kid to wear a coat over that costume.”

4. The lights and decorations. Yes, I love Xmas lights, too. There’s a several-blocks-long street in town, where the town kids and an awful lot of the mountain kids go to trick-or-treat, and that street maxes out on the decoration. Tacky, gaudy, and oh, so bright–I love them.

5. The thought of all the time off, time with family, time with festivities coming in the next two months!