HALLOWEEN!

I love Halloween. Every time I say it, I can feel my mother flinch. But I do! What a great holiday! Halloween is like the icing on the delicious spice cake that is Fall. I totally disagree with people who allege that Halloween is better for kids than adults - no way. I get to decorate the house! I get to carve a pumpkin and make pepitas! I get to dress up and put Alex (my almost 2 year old) in a costume! I get to eat his candy because, let's face it, what kind of parent would I be if I let him eat all of that crap?(!) I get to see all the kiddies in their costumes! I get to drink fall beers and flip between fun Halloween movies and football! All the best stores have spooky, fun stuff everywhere; ghosts and spiders and pumpkins and glitter! So ... much... glitter.

One of the best things is the Martha Stewart Halloween magazines that come out. What? Did I just say that out loud? YES! That woman can really do up a Halloween. I love her ideas -- they are clever and fun. Freeze olives in ice for spooky eyeball martinis. Make bat wings from an umbrella. Basically, she's the MacGyver of decorating and costuming. And if she's a little too perfect and unflappable, why not? Being creepy is certainly in tune with the season.



Thanks Mom!

If you are feeling like you might want to pooh-pooh the season, pull out Idle Hands or The Addams Family or even Labyrinth or Hellboy. There are a million great Halloween appropriate movies that don't involve disembowlings or decapitations. Eat snickerdoodle cookies and wash them down with a cider or a pumpkin ale. Buy some fake eyelashes. Listen to the Monster Mash. There's so much fun to be had this time of year, get into it!